Karen’s Opinion

I am afraid to even mention it but in a few months our car will be paid for in full! I hate to say it because that is when things start to go wrong with a car. At least, that has been our experience. The last car we had was paid off when the air conditioner quit. That was going to be a big expense and we were wanting a car with third row seating so we went car shopping.

I like to be prepared when going to the auto dealerships. By using the auto loan calculator at sunrisefinance.com we can be informed and know the amount we can afford. That always allows us to be more influential with a salesperson. I like to have the upper hand when car shopping. Now, if my husband and I could just learn mental telepathy, we could buy a car and not be irritated with each other. I never know if he is interested or not until we get home. Buying a car is stressful enough. Be prepared knowing what your payments will be when getting car loans. It is not fun to have your heart set on buying a car then finding out you cannot afford it.

Does your husband like to stop at car lots? Mine does. It drives me crazy. He usually does it when the lots are closed. That is not too bad but when he stops when the sales people are waiting, they attack like vultures. My husband likes to talk. I know he is not going to buy a car so I feel sorry for the salesperson. They don’t seem to mind but I know they are hoping their talk will turn into a sale. If the talk turns to fishing, I am mad at my husband and the salesperson. Get me outta there! I have things to do.

Have you watched any of the episodes of Coupon Moms? While I do think these ladies take their couponing to extremes, I am inspired by their quest to save money. They are probably already aware of Savings.com coupons. I am happy to have recently discovered this website. I have always been one to check out the online coupon websites so I have some knowledge as to which sites have the best coupons and link codes for savings.

Savings.com has coupons for just about everything you could imagine. I was so happy to see that they even have a coupon code to save 20% at Vera Bradley. Christmas is coming and my daughter in-law loves Vera Bradley bags.

Halloween is coming soon so if you need a costume, don’t try to be a super mom and sew a new costume. Check out Savings.com for the saving codes at BuyCostumes.com. Savings.com also has coupon codes for your everyday needs like cosmetics from Drugstore.com.

Savings.com is also geared to the local economy. I clicked on the local tab and discovered I can buy restaurant gift certificates for two very popular restaurants in my town and that the gift certificates are half the cost of what I would pay just walking into their venue. I am getting some great gift ideas!

Check out Savings.com and start saving money!

Hubby and I consider using gas money a luxury. We like to go for drives. I never looked at our love of driving as luxury but now that the cost of gas is so high, driving almost feels like a vice.

After eating Chinese food at our favorite Chinese restaurant tonight, we went for a drive to see what was going on in neighborhoods around our house. I don’t think I have ever seen so many empty houses in my life! I was however, encouraged to see that a few homes that have been empty for months were spruced up by new owners. When the price of gasoline goes down, people are more hopeful and go from renting to owning a home. A friend of ours works for a moving company in our small town and he thinks things are looking up. He had been picking up truck runs that took him across country. He prefers the small moves that allow him to see more of his family. The past few weeks he has been working closer to home and is hoping that new home ownership increases. I’m with him in thinking things are on the way up.

What do you think? Are things beginning to stabilize where you live?

Do you remember when Meryl Streep was under the impression that apples had some sort of chemical on them that were bad for our health? She is a very famous actress so, when she got on her soapbox, the apple industry suffered. I am under the impression that the same thing has happened with the egg industry. Eggs are bad for you, they are good for you. What are we to believe?

When making any decision, whether it be about the food we eat, travel destinations and the like, it is best to do our own research. Check out the websites of informed individuals and listen to what they have to say. Hopefully, they have already researched the product and came to a conclusion that we can study before deciding what is best for ourselves.

The same holds true when investing. Many of us have little money to invest so when we do, it is wise to follow the steps of the large investors. They are advised from financial advisers who are well versed in the economics of our times. Whether you wish to invest in stocks or bonds or gold production, the advice that private and large scale institutional clients use is available to the private investor as well.

This is a sponsored post in which I was compensated to write about the subject of finances.

This might sound like a crazy thing to be excited about but, I just found out that my husband and I have a preventative clause in our health insurance policy. That means that we can both have a colonoscopy! I don’t know if that is how to spell that procedure but I know that we have been concerned about having it done. We are at that age when we need to have things checked out and catch small things before they get big.

Another thing that makes me happy is the state of our IRA accounts. I have been afraid to even look at how they are doing since the stock market went into a tailspin a few years ago. Well, I was pleasantly surprised to see that they are doing better. We have been considering some mobile trading or online trading to offset some losses that have set us back quite a bit.

Getting older is for the birds! but life is as good as we make it.