When you think about flipping items for profit, inevitably HGTV shows filled with nervous homeowners ripping up walls come to mind. While home flipping can be a great source of income for some people, there is a whole other world out there of items that can be upsold (at a cost far less than a house […]
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There are plenty of reasons to consider applying for an auto loan before you head to the dealership. Applying early can help you determine the interest rate you can qualify for — and how much you can afford to spend on a car. Getting approved for a loan outside the dealership can also give you some bargaining power, since you don’t have to rely on the dealer for financing.
Bank of America is a lender that offers auto loans to consumers who want to get their financing squared away before they shop. You can fill out your auto loan application online, and they offer low starting rates. Also note that you can use a Bank of America auto loan to refinance a car loan you already have.
Before you start applying for auto loans, consider how Bank of America might help you get into the car you want. In this review, we’ll break down this bank’s auto loan offerings, including their fees and pros and cons.
Bank of America offers auto loans that can work in a variety of situations, ranging from loans for new or used cars purchased from a dealership to auto lease buyouts. You can use a Bank of America auto loan to purchase a car from a private individual, or to refinance an auto loan you already have.
Bank of America auto loans are available in all 50 states, and interest rates vary depending on the type of loan you apply for. As of this writing, starting APRs are as follows:
Existing Bank of America customers can qualify for even lower rates in some cases. That’s because the bank offers a preferred interest rate discount of 0.25% to 0.50% for customers who are enrolled in Preferred Rewards or Banking Rewards for Wealth Management at the time of their loan application.
Bank of America doesn’t list any minimum credit score requirements for their auto loans, but they do state that interest rates are based on credit scores, income, and other factors. You do have to be at least 18 years old and a U.S. citizen to apply for one of their auto loans.
There aren’t any real downsides of Bank of America auto loans. They’re easy to apply for online, they come with low interest rates for those who qualify, and there aren’t any hidden fees. The main “gotcha” to be aware of is in the requirements for the car you plan to finance, and the type of automobiles these loans just won’t work for.
For example, Bank of America says deep in their fine print that you can’t use one of their auto loans for a vehicle older than 10 years. These loans also don’t work for cars worth less than $6,000 or those with more than 125,000 miles on them. Vehicles used for business or commercial purposes, salvaged titles, delivery vehicles, and recreational vehicles, motorcycles, or boats are also a no-go.
Loan amounts also start at $7,500 nationwide ($8,000 in Minnesota), meaning you can’t borrow less than that. Bank of America also states that loan-to-value restrictions may apply, and that you may need to make a down payment. You may also be charged a loan fee if you live in Indiana or Ohio, although Bank of America doesn’t offer any additional detail.
At The Simple Dollar, we aim to provide a general overview of a lender’s products and services through a standard rating process. After a thorough research and discovery period, here’s how Bank of America auto loans stack up:
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Bank of America makes it easy to apply for one their auto loans online and from the comfort of your home. Simply head to their auto loans home page and click on “get started” to begin the application process.
Information required for your application includes:
Once you apply, you may find out if you’re qualified for an auto loan within a few minutes. This will help you know your interest rate and how much you can borrow before you even head to the dealership.
Most of us need a reliable car to get to work and take care of our families, and this often means borrowing the money and making payments toward our loan for several years. Fortunately, there are many ways to save on your next auto purchase — including shopping around for a loan to get the lowest interest rate and best terms.
Bank of America offers competitive interest rates and flexible loans that can help you get into the car you want, but make sure to compare offers from a few lenders before you move forward.
Related:
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Home Warranty of America prioritizes environmentally friendly solutions and provide coverage for every home, individual, and state.
While Home Warranty of America is headquartered in Illinois, the company provides coverage for all fifty states in the US.
They have more than 20 years of experience with delivering affordable coverage solutions to homeowners with great energy efficient upgrade options.
Home Warranty of America started in 1996 and is now one of the leading providers of home warranties. Below is a review of their coverage, plans, pros and cons, to help you make an informed decision.
Home Warranty of America provides comprehensive coverage for all of your home repair needs, putting them among our top picks for home warranties.
If you encounter problems with anything covered under your home warranty, they’ll send someone out to help right away. Some of the common coverages they offer are listed below.
Your ductwork circulates hot and cold air throughout your house. It keeps you warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
Without it, your house would feel stuffy with stale air.
If something is wrong with your ductwork, you can file a claim with Home Warranty of America to have it inspected and fixed so you can get back to your normal life.
When it comes to doing dishes or taking a bath, you need hot water. Your water heater provides your home with the water you need to go about daily living.
When your water heater is on the fritz, Home Warranty of America can send someone out to inspect and fix it quickly so you can go back to showering every day.
Whether you like to make a light breakfast every morning in your toaster or read with a lamp by your bed at night, you need electricity. Electricity flows through your electrical system just like air flows through your ducts.
You need it every day to enjoy most of your home’s features. When the lights go out, Home Warranty of America will be there to turn them back on.
One unique coverage feature from Home Warranty of America is doorbell, burglar alarm, and fire alarm options. Most home warranty providers don’t cover these systems, but Home Warranty of America does.
For your safety and the safety of your home, this coverage goes above and beyond other home warranty solutions.
Your home appliances do all sorts of things for you. Your refrigerator keeps your food cold, your microwave heats up leftovers, and your dishwasher gets everything clean when you’re done.
Other covered appliances include your garbage disposal, range, cooktop, oven, and trash compactor.
To make life easier for you, Home Warranty of America covers all these items.
Home Warranty of America provides comprehensive plans at low prices so you can have the peace of mind you need. Their choice of $75 or $100 service fee saves you money over hiring your own contractor to diagnose and fix the issue outside of a home warranty plan. Pricing varies by state.
The premier plan includes coverage for the following:
The premier plus plan includes everything in the premier plan plus the following:
Home Warranty of America not only provides excellent coverage options, but they have several additional benefits that customers will enjoy if they sign up.
With a name like Home Warranty of America, you would expect them to cover every state in the US, and they do. They even cover the District of Columbia.
Anyone in the United States can rest assured that as long as they find a plan and pricing they like, they’ll qualify for coverage.
While price varies based on state, it’s easy to find, and they provide an easy-to-read format for anyone interested in a home warranty plan.
They offer coverage for homeowners, real estate professionals, buyers, and sellers. You’ll see a list of your covered services and your payment options so you can make an educated decision.
Home Warranty of America offers an extensive list of home maintenance tips as well as information about home warranties and how they work.
This provides a great benefit for any homeowner who might want to troubleshoot the problem themselves before paying the service fee. For a do-it-yourself approach to home ownership, Home Warranty of America can help.
Home Warranty of America provides GreenPlus to customers who choose to add it to their plan.
It can help cover the cost of appliances that should be replaced with Energy Star appliances including refrigerators, dishwashers, washing machines, and more.
Home Warranty of America’s membership with the Ethical Directory and United States Green Products makes this benefit possible.
Home Warranty of America makes it easy to submit a claim anytime. Their easy online claims section allows you to request a repair or replacement whenever it’s convenient for you.
Just fill out the form and send it for review, and you’ll be met with a quick response from the company.
No matter what your house looks like, how big it is, or the age, you will qualify for coverage with Home Warranty of America.
They won’t require an inspection to cover your home or the appliances within, so you get the peace of mind you need when buying a home or trying to protect your home from normal wear and tear.
As with any company, there are some downsides to what Home Warranty of America offers.
They don’t have great customer service options. The only way to submit a claim is online, so while it’s easy to do, some customers may feel that the lack of a mobile option prevents it from being convenient.
When contacting customer service, you have live chat, phone, and email options, which seems fine until you realize that it’s not 24 hours a day like some other providers offer. However, when they are available, it’s easy to hop on a chat session when you need help.
Home Warranty of America requires that all customers sign a one-year contract. Other providers will let you go quarterly or even month-to-month.
With Home Warranty of America, you’re locked in for a year whether you like the services or not.
If you don’t want to sign a long-term contract, it’s not a great option for you.
As you shop for the perfect home warranty company, take a look at some of Home Warranty of America’s top alternatives.
Home Warranty of America provides extensive warranty plans with add-on options to help you customize your offering.
The prices are low, but they do require you to sign a one-year contract. Their GreenPlus plan is an excellent choice for the economically-minded individual and a fantastic way to get a discount on new appliances.
If you’re in the market for a home warranty, Home Warranty of America is available to all individuals in all fifty states including the District of Columbia.
They also have options for real estate professionals, buyers, sellers, and existing homeowners.
The post Home Warranty of America Review appeared first on Good Financial Cents®.
What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to summaries of five or fewer words. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question.
1. Budgeting for “discretionary money”
2. Bank recommendation
3. Advantages or drawbacks to marriage
4. Buying a beginner bike
5. Finding a good campground
6. Spending less on food
7. Cosigning advantages on car loan
8. 401(k) contribution question
9. Risk of old microwave?
10. Do tiny houses make sense?
11. Checks and security
12. Library audiobooks
On Saturday, one of my favorite writers, Rachel Held Evans, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly due to an extreme reaction to an antibiotic. She was 37.
I could write several paragraphs here about how her books and essays had a big impact on me, and every word would be true. All four of her books had a real impact and they’re on my re-read list right now.
Perhaps more directly on topic for The Simple Dollar, however, was that she was a writer who died an unexpected and untimely death at an age very close to my own. It’s rather hard not to immediately transpose that sudden death into my own life.
What would it mean for my family and those who care about me if I took an antibiotic tomorrow, had a massive reaction to it, and suddenly died? What if I were driving home last night and a drunk driver plowed into my car and I suddenly died?
It is uncomfortable to think about such things, but they can happen. It is a reminder that we only get one life, and we shouldn’t leave unsaid words and unhealed wounds and moments of anger and frustration and damaged relationships hanging. Life is too short to be angry. Life is too short to let a hurt fester.
Life is also too fragile to leave your loved ones dangling without some kind of plan in place for them.
On with the questions.
The idea of budgeting for “discretionary money” or “hobby money” really clicked with me and it made budgeting make a lot more sense. My question is how do you figure out how much to budget for “discretionary money” each month? I feel like I’m just guessing.
– Jeremy
The first step you should take is to add up your discretionary spending from each of the last several months to get an idea of what you’re spending on those unnecessary things. Take an average of those months to see what you’re actually spending in an average month.
Then, chop off a small portion of that average, say 10%, and use that as your discretionary money budget. If you chop off a huge amount, say 50%, it’ll be quite hard to maintain it and your budget will likely fall apart.
So, let’s say you figured out that, of the money you’re counting as discretionary spending, you spent $300, $280, $330, $290, and $250 the last five months. That averages out to $290 a month. 10% of that is $29 and thus chopping off 10% leaves you with $261. That would be your discretionary spending budget for the month.
We currently use Chase for our savings and checking and they have no free accounts unless you have a Chase mortgage or maintain a daily balance of at least $15k. I’m looking for a free savings and checking account for my husband and I. We’d prefer a bank that has easy to use web UI, an app, and a decent domestic ATM network (at least in the Midwest).
– Carrie
I’d take a look at Capital One 360. They offer both free checking and savings and a pretty good web UI and app. I can’t judge whether they have any ATMs close to you, but they have a lot of them. You can use their ATM search to see if there are any surcharge-free ones near you.
Another option you may want to consider is your local credit union. They often offer most of the same features (at least, I know that two local ones near me offer those features) and by using a credit union, you can be pretty sure that at least some of the proceeds from your checking and savings money (which they can utilize to back up mortgages and so on) stays local.
So, I’d probably point you toward a local credit union, but if they don’t have everything you need, I’d look at Capital One 360.
Assuming that there is zero intent to ever have children, are there enough financial advantages to overcome the drawbacks of getting married? Drawbacks that worry me include unbalanced and messy divorces, higher taxes (we make similar salaries), and money stress as most marriages seem to have a lot of money arguments from what we have been reading. If we don’t want to have kids, why get married?
– Adam
It’s true that a long term cohabitation offers many of the same financial benefits as marriage. It allows the partners to split many of the costs of day to day living – rent, bills, carpooling, and so on.
There are some financial advantages, though. One big one is that if one of you decides to go back to school or is unemployed for very long, being married and filing jointly will be a nice tax savings and you’ll be able to piggyback off of the other’s benefits. You’ll also be able to continue to contribute to a Roth IRA if you’re unemployed and your spouse isn’t. If one of you dies, the law looks favorably upon marriages in terms of who inherits your stuff; if you aren’t married, it can get really messy and will involve some court time.
My general belief is that the benefits of marriage without kids shines best when one partner is not employed, as there is a significant tax savings and benefits extend to the unemployed partner. Married couples find it a lot easier for one person involved to bounce to a new career because of it.
I live about 3.5 miles from my job. There is actually a biking/walking trail that covers most of that distance between home and work and I finally decided to start taking advantage of it. I walked to work almost every day for the last few weeks and decided to invest in a bicycle. I went to a bike shop this Saturday and the guy there just kept recommending bikes that cost more than $1000 which seems like overkill for a commute. Do you have any suggestions or guides for buying a first inexpensive bike (well, since junior high) for riding to work?
– Ed
I don’t even know what that person was recommending to you for more than $1,000. That seems drastically out of line for a first time commuter bike.
Honestly, if I were you, I’d look for a used bike for your first bicycle. Go to some used sporting goods stores in the area and to some bike shops and see if they have any used bikes for sale; you can also check local marketplace sites like Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. You’re better off getting a used bike for $40 that will work for your commute for a year or two than investing hundreds in a bike at first.
The reasons are numerous. First, you don’t have any idea if you’ll stick to this plan, so investing hundreds in a bike is silly. Second, you don’t have any real idea of what you like and dislike in a bicycle, so investing hundreds in a model that you’re unsure about is also silly. Third, because this is all new to you, you have at least some likelihood of doing some extra wear and tear and minor damage to your first bike, so having an inexpensive one is good.
Get a cheap used bike. Ride it every day. Figure out what you like and don’t like. Get good at riding a bike again. Then, if you’re really into it, upgrade from there. If not, you’ve only sunk $40 (or whatever) into this.
How do you find places to camp that aren’t loud and overcrowded? We seem to be on a really bad run of camping, so bad that my wife does not want to camp this summer.
– Jerry
Honestly, my recommendation is to look at camping sites in a National Park or National Forest, if you can find one. In my years of camping experience, I’ve found that rangers in national parks do not put up with noise, and most people there get it anyway and don’t get noisy. They’re almost always really quiet. This is largely true of state and county parks as well, though I did have a pretty noisy experience once at a state park where the park ranger appeared to be partying with the other campers.
Private campgrounds are a really mixed bag. Many are quiet, but you’ll find some that seem to be hosting family reunions or something and they’re incredibly noisy with intoxicated partiers all night long. In general, I’ve found a lot more success on private campgrounds on weekdays rather than weekends – Friday night, Saturday during the day, and Saturday night seem to bring out the really loud and intoxicated people.
So, my advice is to try to camp in a National Forest or a National Park and if you can’t find a spot there, avoid private campgrounds on weekends unless you find a lot of online reviews making it clear that they’re very quiet.
I saw your recent post that said an average family of four spends $650 a month on food. How is that possible? My husband and I struggle to keep our food spending under $1000 a month for just the two of us! Do you people eat garbage?
– Anna
If you take a look at the USDA food plan, the cost for a family of four with one child between 6-8 and another between 9-11 is $649.60 a month. That’s where the data comes from.
This is roughly in line with our own family’s food spending. We are a family of five with children in those ranges and another child a little older. We spend a little more than that, but less than $1,000 a month, on food.
We don’t eat “garbage.” Probably 2/3rds of what’s in our shopping cart at the grocery store is stuff from the produce section, as most of our meals are vegetable based. We buy lots of tomatoes, squash, lettuce, carrots, apples, bananas, and so on. We eat out maybe once or twice a month. Sarah and I usually eat leftovers from our dinner the night before (or two nights before) for lunch the next day.
There are three big differences that I notice when comparing our family’s food routines to the handful of other families that I know well enough to see how they regularly eat.
One, we don’t eat many convenience foods or prepackaged foods. We usually make our meals at home from several ingredients rather than popping a frozen meal in the oven or microwave.
Two, we rarely eat out. It’s just not something we do very often, and when we do, it’s usually for a special occasion or achievement or milestone.
Three, our meals at home aren’t elaborate. For example, tonight we’re eating a simple grilled meal of kebabs (pieces of chicken and vegetables through a skewer) and asparagus from our garden. Tomorrow night, we’re having a “spring chili” that’s basically a spring vegetable soup seasoned as though it were chili, along with some from-scratch cornbread. The night after that, our meal plan says we’re having pasta tossed with olive oil and vegetables (meaning we cook the vegetables in a pan until they’re just a bit blackened, then toss them right in with the pasta). Our meals at home are almost entirely plant-based.
Many of the families I know who have much higher food budgets than we do eat a lot of prepackaged meals, eat out or get delivery a lot, and when they do cook their own meal at home, it’s usually involving a giant steak or something. All three of those things are expensive.
Your food spending comes down to consistent choices above all else. If you consistently choose a $10-15 option for a meal rather than a $2-5 option, even if you do that just once a day, your food budget is going to be huge.
I am 22/f and about to graduate. I went shopping for my first car and intended to buy a late model used as you have recommended before. I decided on a 2014 Toyota Corolla. I don’t have the money to buy it right away but I have a job starting on June 1 and I intended to finance it, pay it off, and then keep driving it until it needed to be replaced so I can buy my next car with cash, again as you recommended. The dealership said they would offer me a loan but that they could offer me a better rate if I had a cosigner. The guy was really friendly and patient with me and said they would hold the car for seven days which is something I’ve never heard of anyone doing. What are the benefits or drawbacks to a cosigner? I read several sites but they never seem to get a straight answer.
– Julie
For you, there’s basically no disadvantage to having a co-signer. For the co-signer, there’s a risk.
When someone co-signs on your loan, they’re basically saying that if you don’t keep making the payments, they’ll step in and make them, and that they’re liable in any situations where you don’t make payments. It puts their credit at risk and potentially means they may end up paying for that car even though they’re not using it.
If someone co-signs with you, they’re taking a financial risk in doing so. The dealer seemingly thinks that your credit and financial situation is marginal (probably because you have a limited credit history and want to borrow significant money) and just barely what they would be willing to lend money to, but the loan officer would vastly prefer to have someone else on the loan, probably someone with better credit, just in case. The willingness to hold the car for you is a nice touch, but not unheard of – they likely believe that you’ll be back to buy the car one way or another.
If you have a parent or someone else that’s willing to co-sign on this loan, even with the potential risk to them, you’re going to wind up with lower car payments, and that’s good for you. It just adds up to a financial risk with little benefit for the co-signers.
How much should I put into 401(k) each check? 29 male unmarried don’t plan to be.
– Dario
The simple answer is “as much as possible.” The more you put away now, the less you have to put away later and (potentially) the earlier you can retire and live off the money in your 401(k).
At the very least, if your employer matches your contributions, you really should be contributing enough to get every dollar of that match. If you’re not, you’re leaving money on the table.
I can’t really give you a more specific answer than that without having a full picture of your financial state. All I can say is that if you’re able to contribute to a 401(k), you’re not going wrong by contributing as much as you possibly can. There may be more optimal routes to retirement, but they start involving situational choices.
Are there any health risks with using an old microwave? My parents have had the same microwave since at least 1982 and I think since ’79 or ’80. It’s a huge box and kind of loud when it runs. Are there any health risks associated with it?
– Adah
First of all, microwaves are perfectly safe. All they’re doing is directing a beam of energy at food that causes the water molecules in it to rotate. It’s not creating radiation and there aren’t any long term health effects from anything that would leak out of a functional microwave. While I wouldn’t want to put some items into a microwave, I wouldn’t want to put some items into a fireplace, either.
Honestly, unless there’s some damage to the door or the seal around the door and the microwave works, I wouldn’t worry about it.
If you’re really worried about it, go down to an electrical store and see if they have a microwave leakage tester. This is a good one. It’ll tell you pretty quickly if there are any problematic leaks, but it’s pretty unlikely given that it’s really inexpensive and easy for microwaves to block microwave leakage. The risks involved are low enough that I wouldn’t worry about it – there are way bigger risks in day to day life than this.
If you’re thinking of buying a used microwave, the big thing you want to make sure of is that the seal around the door is intact and there isn’t any damage to the pattern on the glass on the front of the microwave.
I’m really fascinated by people building these tiny houses 100 to 200 square feet and living in them. They seem to be custom built trailers. What are your thoughts on them? Do they make sense?
– Anna
I think they do in certain situations. If you’re willing to be quite minimal about your possessions, then they’re a nice option. They’re not very expensive and very customizable, which is an advantage for some. They’re also easy to move – I’ve seen many that are basically built on a trailer that can easily be towed from place to place, which means that they would work well for a family that moved about frequently. They seem to be fairly popular among professional baseball players for that reason.
I would probably be hesitant to live in one if I lived in Tornado Alley. I’d also be hesitant to live in one if I had more than two adults and a child in one. We had an apartment that wasn’t much different than a tiny home when we were first married and we managed to make it work for one child, but we would not have done well with two or more children in that situation.
I think a very well built tiny home with a fairly typical layout is be a solid investment. If it’s a DIY project for a first time builder or if you’re using a strange layout, it might be hard to recoup your investment.
Are checks secure? My mom still pays all of her bills via check and I am wary about her sending out so many in the mail. They seem ripe for identity theft.
– Alicia
Checks are relatively insecure compared to many other payment options out there. The fact that it’s a paper document that includes your full name, your bank’s routing number, and your bank account number on it is enough to make it a fairly insecure way to share money. Even if you use permanent inks, the check still has information about you on it. Checks solved a particular problem in human history before the information age, but the flaws in checks are clearer than ever.
Obviously, online banking is a much more secure option. Your bank is giving you a platform for secure online transactions. We pay all of our bills online using online banking tools, mostly because of the security factor.
It’s not a bad idea to have a paper checkbook somewhere in your home for unusual situations, but if you have the ability to move to online banking, I highly recommend it for identity theft and personal security reasons. Checks are low hanging fruit for identity thieves.
Looked into getting some audiobooks from the library for a long trip but they’re all on CD and I don’t have a CD player in my car.
– Sam
There really isn’t an easy way to make this work if you have CDs and your car doesn’t have a CD player in it. Some newer cars no longer have CD players in them by default and the solutions for making it work are wonky and kind of expensive (requiring some sort of CD player and requiring your car to have an auxiliary port, or else a CD player with Bluetooth or a Bluetooth dongle).
Another option is to use software on your computer to “rip” the audiobooks, then transfer them to your phone or other device so you can listen to them in the car. This can be a bit of a hassle, but it’s free at least.
A final suggestion: see whether your library allows you to check out digital audiobooks via Overdrive. This way, you can check out audiobooks straight to your phone, then have your phone play them back either through headphones or through the audio system in your car.
Got any questions? The best way to ask is to follow me on Facebook and ask questions directly there. I’ll attempt to answer them in a future mailbag (which, by way of full disclosure, may also get re-posted on other websites that pick up my blog). However, I do receive many, many questions per week, so I may not necessarily be able to answer yours.
The post Questions About Banks, 401(k)s, Old Microwaves, Audiobooks, and More! appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
