Wednesday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: New ways to get more for your old car. Also in the news: How the pros ride market volatility – and why you shouldn’t, if your travel plans are up in the air should you cancel your rewards card, and how the new eviction ban may impact you.

New Ways to Get More for Your Old Car
Online buyers make offers in minutes — a safety net for car shoppers wondering what their trade-in is really worth.

How the Pros Ride Market Volatility — and Why You Shouldn’t
Professionals try to harness the spikes and slumps, but most investors should stick with diversification.

If your travel plans are up in the air should you cancel your rewards card?
Not so fast.

How the new eviction ban may impact you
A new reprieve.

Thursday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: IRS Data shows agency, filers slow down. Also in the news: How to ask your bank or lender for help, how to protect your health with a clean car, and what to do if you get a bill for your Coronavirus test.

IRS Data: Refunds Lag as Agency, Tax Filers Slow Down
You should get in line for your refund.

How to Ask Your Bank or Lender for Help
Don’t be intimidated.

Protect Your Health With a Clean Car
Protecting your health and your investment.

What to Do if You Get a Bill for Your Coronavirus Test
Navigating your way through the red tape.

Wednesday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: Don’t let your Coronavirus relief check disappear into your debts. Also in the news: How to make your car last 200,000 miles, what kind of credit card relief you can request during the pandemic, and how to check the status of your Coronavirus relief payment.

Don’t Let Your Relief Check Disappear Into Your Debts
How your relief check could be diverted.

How to Make Your Car Last 200,000 Miles
Yes, you read that correctly.

COVID-19: What Kinds of Credit Card Relief Can You Request?
Take the initiative and be prepared to spend a long time on hold.

How to Check the Status of Your Coronavirus Relief Payment
Tracking your money.

Thursday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: Plug into your car’s computer to save money and drive safer. Also in the news: How to reset retirement plans to weather a downturn, the easiest way to earn 6,000 Rapid Rewards point, and why you should pay off all of your debt before investing in stocks.

Plug Into Your Car’s Computer toonboardney, Drive Safer
Your on-board computer can tell you a lot about your driving habits.

How to Reset Retirement Plans to Weather a Downturn
Making the adjustments.

Quite Possibly the Easiest Way to Earn 6,000 Rapid Rewards Points
All it takes is a newsletter.

Pay off all your debt before investing in stocks
Credit card debt is the worst.

Thursday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: 7 tactics to help car-buying newbies bargain like a boss. Also in the news: 5 ways to save energy during the dog days of summer, what you need to know about buying a house in 2018, and how a freelancer turned dog sitting into a successful side gig.

7 Tactics to Help Car-Buying Newbies Bargain Like a Boss
Don’t be intimidated.

5 Ways to Save Energy During the Dog Days of Summer
Staying cool.

Buying a House in 2018: What You Need to Know
Things have changed a bit.

How a Freelancer Turned Dog Sitting Into a Successful Side Gig
Getting your side hustle on.

How to profit from someone else’s financial mistake

Most of us have wasted money on ill-considered purchases or stuff we really couldn’t afford. As we get more financially savvy, that happens less often. But we can still profit from other people’s bad choices.

People who prize the latest and greatest, for example, quickly need to upgrade to the next shiny thing. That leaves plenty of lightly used cars and electronics for sale at a discount.

People who can’t look beyond cosmetic damage also provide buying opportunities for those who can, since surface flaws can ding price without hurting functionality. Then there are the “d’oh” mistakes: the stuff that didn’t fit or turned out to be the wrong shade of robin’s egg blue. That stuff gets returned so it can be discounted and snapped up by frugal buyers.

In my latest for the Associated Press, three ways to profit from others’ mistakes.

Q&A: When buying a car, be strategic with your money. Here’s how

Dear Liz: My son, 27, has a 2009 car that needs a new engine and is not running. The engine would cost $6,100 to replace, which is money he doesn’t have. He owes $10,000 on his car loan at 6% interest. The car would be worth only about $4,500 if it were running.

Should he sell the car to a junkyard for $200? Should he refinance the car loan for the remaining months he’ll make payments and also try to get the interest rate reduced?

He also wants to buy a 2016 car for around $18,900. He needs the car to get to work every day. Should he buy this car and have two car loans? Or should he look for an older car for now, until he gets the “upside-down” loan paid off?

Answer: It’s unfortunate that your son’s response to overspending on one car is to overspend on a replacement.

Let’s go over some basics of smart vehicle ownership. In general, we should avoid borrowing money to pay for assets that lose value — and a car is pretty much the definition of an asset that loses value. New cars depreciate by about 20% as soon as you drive them off the lot and lose roughly half their value in the first three years. The vast majority continue losing value until they’re sold for scrap. Only a handful of classic cars ever appreciate.

That means paying cash for cars is usually the smart move. Since most people can’t swing that, at least at first, the next best policy is to make large enough down payments so the cars we buy aren’t upside down, or worth less than what we owe.

When people are upside down on vehicles, the best practice is typically to “drive out” of their loans. That means continuing to make payments until they own the cars free and clear. Ideally, they would then keep the cars until they’ve saved enough to make substantial down payments on the replacement vehicles or buy a replacement outright.

Pouring more money into this particular car probably doesn’t make much sense. Your son probably won’t be able to refinance, since he has no equity in the vehicle. He might be able to roll the negative equity into a loan on a new car, but that would leave him in an even worse financial position: more deeply upside down and probably paying a higher interest rate.

Your son should consider getting a personal loan, perhaps from a credit union, to pay off the balance. Instead of spending nearly $20,000 on a 2-year-old replacement, he should aim to spend $3,000 to $5,000 on a good, reliable older car. If he can pay cash, great. If not, he should work to get both loans paid off as quickly as possible and start saving for the next car.

Friday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: 5 ways to drive a car without owning one. Also in the news: Tax refund loans for early filers, the pros and cons of senior checking accounts, and the return of triple-digit interest rates on payday loans.

5 Ways to Drive a Car Without Owning One
Ditching the car doesn’t leave you without wheels.

Tax Refund Loans Give Cash Now to Early Filers
Interest free loans can get you your money sooner.

Checking Accounts for Seniors
The pros and cons of Senior Checking.

The Trump administration brings back triple-digit interest rates on payday loans.

Wednesday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: Americans don’t know much about taxes – or that they might get them done for free. Also in the news: 19 ways to save on a wedding, why you shouldn’t buy a salvage title car, and 8 tax tips for people with disabilities (and their caregivers).

Americans Don’t Know Much About Taxes — or That They Might Get Them Done for Free
Stop paying unnecessary tax expenses.

19 Ways to Save on a Wedding
Saving on the wedding means more money for the future.

Why You Shouldn’t (Usually) Buy a Salvage Title Car
Proceed with an abundance of caution.

8 Tax Tips for People With Disabilities (and Their Caregivers)
Maximizing your deductions and making the process easier.

The never-ending car payment

Car payments have morphed from a temporary nuisance into a permanent part of many people’s budgets. Whether that’s a bad thing depends on what you do with the rest of your money.

One-third of millennial car buyers chose a lease last year, which helped push auto lease volume to a record of 4.3 million and 31 percent of all new auto purchases, according to market research by Edmunds.com.

“There is a greater percentage of people who view car ownership as a monthly payment like their cell phone or cable or Wi-Fi,” says Jessica Caldwell, executive director of strategic analytics at Edmunds.com. “It’s just the way we live our lives.”

In my latest for the Associated Press, why millennials are looking at cars the same way they look at cell phones, and the financial implications.