Credit Education and Kids: Easy as 1, 2, 3!

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These days, parents want to give their kids the best chance at success, whether that means tutors, private school, or life coaches. Often times, however, parents don’t give their children and teenagers a comprehensive financial education or the tools and experience they will need before leaving home, and schools are sadly falling short as well in teaching basic personal finance and how credit works.

With all of this in mind, we wanted to give a few simple ways to prepare older children and teenagers for the real world and give them a head-start in building their credit score.

  1. Merit-Based Allowance – When we say “merit-based allowance,” we don’t mean that parents should pay their children for A’s and B’s on their report cards or for good behavior. Paying for grades will train children to value the grade and not value what they are actually learning, and it could encourage children to cheat. Allowances should be based on chores and responsibilities around the home, tasks that go above and beyond. This is also an opportunity to teach negotiation skills. Sit down with your child and discuss potential chores around the house (sweeping, raking leaves, washing dishes), and you can discuss with your child how much they can earn for each task. Through merit-based allowance, your child will learn to value money and understand the time and effort it takes to earn it.
  2. Credit Card – Teenagers can get a head-start building their credit score by becoming an authorized user on a parent’s credit card. As an authorized user, they can make purchases on credit card, and the account will be listed on their credit report. As long as the teenager and parent are responsible with their spending and make payments on time, the teenager can have an established credit history long before they have to apply for a credit card, auto loan, or personal loan.
  3. Secured Credit Card – If a parent feels uneasy about making their teenager an authorized user on their credit card, they can also help their teenager apply for a secured credit card through their bank. A secured credit card will only help their credit if the card will be reporting to the credit bureaus, so ask your bank before applying. Getting a secured credit card is also a great lesson in responsibility because it requires a money deposit, so your teenager can save up the money for the deposit.

Parents, we want to hear from you! What other tips do you recommend for teaching financial responsibility to your kids? Are you helping your kids and teenagers establish their credit? Leave a comment below, and let us know what you think!

Do you have poor credit or no credit? Obtaining an auto loan can be tough, but it is achievable. Contact a sales person at Bayside Chrysler Jeep Dodge and find a time to come in so we can work with you to find the proper loan. We’ll get you driving away in the new or pre-owned vehicle best suited for your lifestyle. Be sure to like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to us on YouTube to see our monthly specials.

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Auto Loan Balances on the Rise, Delinquency on the Fall, Now is the Perfect Time for an Auto Loan

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Good news in the financial world, auto loan balances are high and delinquencies are down.

That might seem like an odd thing to spell out good times for the finance world but it makes sense when you break it down. Firstly, having the outstanding balances in regards to auto loans nation wide, that’s good because it shows that people are getting loans for vehicles. Experian is reporting that the balances are at an all time high even, the highest they’ve been at in seven years.

On the delinquency side of the auto loan equation, those are down. The rate on people behind on loans for 30 days has dropped off from 2.67 percent in the third quarter of 2012 to 2.58 percent in the same quarter of this year. It might not seem like much, but keep a perspective on how bad things were for a while and you’ll see why so many are invigorated to see this trend continue.

The reason these two side by side spell out such good news for the industry as a whole means that institutions will be better about lending. “The availability of credit, combined with consumers’ continued strong performance repaying their loans, has a positive spiral effect,” Melinda Zabritski, senior director of Automotive Lending at Experian, said. “It allows lenders to slowly but surely take on additional risk while providing more access to loans and paving the way for higher auto sales.”

Now is the best time to consider coming in for an auto loan. Bad credit, no credit, no problem. We here at Bayside Chrysler Jeep Dodge will work with you to find the suitable financing for the right new or used vehicle. Give us a chance and see why our slogan is ‘We Love to Say Yes, You’re Approved!”

Be Ready For an Auto Loan to Avoid Delinquency

ID-100111229There are some things that no one ever wants to see a rise in. Experian is reporting that the rate of auto loan delinquency and repossession is going up. This is due to the first quarter seeing an increase in subprime loans.

The increase is across the board. 60 days of delinquency rose 12 percent while 30 days increased 1 percent. The numbers certainly are troubling compared to the recent reports showing those same stats slowing and lowering as the economy comes back.

This has many meanings behind it, not all of them dire. The economy has been a slow slog back to being the best for everyone. It’s come back strong enough to allow people to enter back into the subprime market. That would be an easy explanation for why delinquencies could be up. More people in the market.

What it really says to me is that people are wanting and/or needing to get a car again and may be making the leap too soon or not evaluating their finances properly before coming into the dealership. We’ve posted plenty of aids to make sure that when you get financing for a vehicle that it won’t become a burden that may lead people to missing out on payments.

A large part of buying a car is more than just finding the right vehicle. It’s also about ensuring the vehicle you need is going to work with your finances. Read up and prepare so you’re not caught off guard.

Bayside Chrysler Jeep Dodge is here to make sure you’re ready for financing for the vehicle you need.  We work every day with people that have poor credit situations and help them get the loan they need that suits their life-style.  We love to say yes! We’ll work with you to put you in the car best suited for you. Don’t forget to like and follow us on Facebook as well as Twitter.