Post # 6 How to buy a car.

I was 22 when I got my first car loan. My car payment was $160, insurance was $150(it goes down when you turn 25), my interest rate was 4.5% and my term was for 36 months. 

So the first thing I did was talk to my bank. I am in position where I can't have a cosigner on anything. So building credit has been pretty difficult. But if you have federal student loans then you have had to do the entrance loan counseling, there is a small section that recommends that you pay your interest rate while in school. Well this actually helped me build my credit. "No credit is worst than bad credit", this is what the loan officer at my bank told me, if I hadn't started paying my interest rate then I wouldn't have had any kind of credit. 

Either you will be approved or have to have some type of downpayment. 

I was approved with out a downpayment. I qualified for a $5,000 loan.

But my bank gave me a criteria, It had to be newer than 2000, have less than 100,000 miles  and cost less than $5,000. They do this so if they have to repo the vehicle then they can still make money off of it. 

So it was pretty difficult to find a decent car that met all the criteria in Topeka. I used the auto trader app and found a 2002 Ford Mustang in Kansas City at a small dealership. After the taxes and tags my loan ended up being $5,400. 

So the next time I decided to buy a car I had more a credit built and new what to expect. I looked for 4 months before I called my bank for a loan. I had a down payment of $2,000, I wanted a car with less tan 95,000 miles newer than 2009, four door, automatic and front wheel drive. I test drove over 8 different cars, from Meriden, Topeka, Kansas City and finally in Ottawa.  I didn't want to go high than $200 for my payments and I wanted to keep my car insurance below $140. Just a little tip, the lower the miles on the car the higher the insurance rate will be. I found my 2010 Dodge Caliber in Ottawa Kan. I started my search in December and didn't find it until after spring break. I was $8,000 but since I had $2,000 to put down and I took a loan for $6,500, again I took more than I needed to cover my tags and taxes. My payments now are $195.00, the interest rate is 4.9% and my insurance is $110.00 a month.

So here are the tips,

1. Know how much you can afford
2. Don't forget insurance - Call your insurance agent when you find a car they will give you a quote
3. Watch for cars- Search online, when I was looking I saw that a dealership had a car sitting for months, and they wouldn't budge on the price. Thats a bad sign, its not good for cars to sit for months.
4. Check the dealer reviews- a money hungry dealer isn't a good car dealer.
5. Ask your machinic to look at it- I test drove a Jeep Liberty, I wanted it but I called my mechanic to check it out and he found that it was in a car accident that was not report to the insurance so it didn't show up on the Car Fax.
6. Always ask for a Car Fax- its a bad sign if the dealer doesn't have a car fax.
7. Test Drive- Take it on the highway, drive it around. If you don't feel comfortable don't get it.
8. Inspect the Car yourself- I once test drove a car that had a gear shift that you push in with your thumb, the thumb piece was missing, broken glass on a tail light and the key fob was broken. The dealer refused to fix all of it so I walked away.
9. Trust your instinct- This in is the most important tips.

I hope this helps if you ever need to buy a car.

Post #5 Lets Talk About Laundry

I recently learned that my 22 year old co-worker did not know how to do her own laundry. I personally have been doing laundry since I was 12. 

Let me tell you about my laundry routine. 

In my house with five adults we have specific laundry days, mine is Tuesday.  I prefer my laundry to smell like actual laundry. So I use original Gain Laundry Detergent and Original Snuggle Fabric Softener. And for my work scrubs I add a little of Clorox Detergent Booster to the Gain. Thanks to handy dandy Pinterest I found this great laundry guide.  When in doubt about colors running then wash it in cold. I do this especially if I have lots of smaller loads to do.

Post # 4 How To Change A Tire

Here is a great video on how to change a tire.

Again I am a huge advocate for road side assistance. Ask your car insurance provider if they have have free road side assistance. I would also encourage getting AAA for any long distance road trips. You never know when you will need help. If you ever get a flat tire on any highway do not hesitate to call the Highway Patrol and request to assist you or even help divert traffic.

Call *47 to reach Highway Patrol or if your on the Kansas Turnpike call *582.

Heres more info on the Highway Patrol Motor Assist

Blog Post #3 Taking care of your tires.

In the past two weeks the weather has been on all areas of the spectrum. 75 degrees on Monday and snowing by Wednesday. This constant temperature change makes the air in our tires more dense. 

Here are some tips from The Michelin Man:

Your tires are the only point of contact that your vehicle has with the road – they need to be in good working condition at all times to ensure your safety.
To avoid any problems, follow these important care tips:

• Inspect your tire:

You may not always notice if one of your tires has been damaged. Inspect your tires regularly for wear and any damage to avoid any sudden problems. Also, have a professional inspect your tires every year.

• Check the air pressure:

Driving with incorrect tire pressures can affect a vehicle’s handling and braking, particularly in wet conditions, and can seriously compromise your safety. Driving on severely under-inflated tires can cause heat build-up and eventually a premature failure. Check your tire pressure monthly and before every long trip.

• Respect the load capacity:

Do not exceed the load capacity relative to the tire’s load index. Tires loaded beyond their maximum loads can build up excessive heat that may result in sudden tire destruction.

• Driving at high speed* can damage your tire:

At greater speeds, tires have greater a chance of being damaged by road hazards or heat build-up. High speeds can also contribute to a rapid air loss or even a sudden tire explosion, which can cause the loss of control of the vehicle.

Use your spare tire!

If you see any damage to a tire or wheel, replace it with your spare tire and have your tire checked by a professional.

I you need to put air in your tires Peerless Tires will do it for free.

Post #2 What's in your wallet?

As we get older it seems like our wallets get bigger and bigger. Here are somethings I think are absolutely necessary to keep in your wallet.

1)Insurance and medical cards for example I have: vision insurance card, dental insurance card, primary health insurance card and my flexible spending card. This may be TMI, but other girls will understand. I have the Nexplanon implant for birth control, I have a little card that states when I got it, who implanted it and which arm it is in. Because of the implant I can't have blood pressures and other things done in my arm. Say you get in a car accident and your unconscious, your wallet and phone are the first they look for information. 

2) Information containing your vehicle. I always have a copy of my insurance information in my wallet, just incase I forget to put the insurance card in my glove box then I have my old insurence card in my wallet. Plus its good to always have the number to your insurance agent readily available. Every year I pay my parents anywhere from $30-$50 to keep me on their AAA. If you don't have AAA get it. It's always nice to know if anything happens I can just call AAA, and let me tell you, I have. Lastly, I keep my mechanics business card in my wallet. You never know when you will have to have your car towed, Ive learned that its cheaper to tow it once.

3) Reward cards, there not as important but they do come in handy, whether its saving money or getting a free burrito at the Mexican Taco Shop.

4) Your library card, make sure you keep track of your library card. I had a friend whose card was stolen and the person checked books out under her card and rack up a bunch of charges.

5) Cash! In a world where everything is plastic always keep a $20 hidden in your wallet or even your car. For my car I know that for $20 I can get anywhere between half a tank to three-fourths tank of gas.

6) Credit Cards, keep track of your credit cards, it very easy to lose them. If you always put them in the same place then you have less of a chance to freak out when your are at the register and you can't find it.

7) Most importantly your identification. Not only is illegal to drive without your drivers license, but its the fast way to identify you, especially if your in a car accident.

Blog Post #1 How do I apply for a Passport?

How do I apply for a passport?

For many Washburn students, we are told at the beginning of every semester, we need to study abroad before we graduate. Whether it’s with the mass media department to Paris for spring break or with the Spanish teacher to a Central America country, you need a passport. Even to drive to Canada or Mexico you need at least a passport card.

Here are a list of Study Abroad opportunities with Washburn.

U.S. Passport and International Travel

Process to obtaining passport or passport card, very simple and straightforward. If you’ve filled out a job application or a college application you should be able to fill out this application. You’ll have to know the basic things such as, name, address, Social Security number, your parent’s information and someone as an emergency contact.

Now it’s very important that you don’t sign the application. You have to sign it in person when you submit the application.

Here’s a little tip when picking where to submit your application. You have to make an appointment and the more busier post offices tend to not have many openings. So, when I applied for my pass port card I called around, I found that the post office on north Lyman road had the most openings. And for an extra fee of about $15 you can take your picture there. The downtown office didn’t offer that.

Here is what you need to bring with you to your appointment.

1)Passport photo. This has to a pass port approved photo. Most Walgreen photo centers can do this, so can Wolfes camera store downtown.

2) You must have a check or money order. Money orders are very easy to obtain from your back, but some banks my charge for this. And it must be made out to the “U.S. Department of State”.

Depending on what you are needing the cost can be anywhere from $75-200. I all depends on how soon you need it and if you are purchasing both the card and book. 

3) Proof of U.S. Citizenship such as Birth Certificate or if you were not born in the U.S. a Certificate of Naturalization, Consular Report of Birth Abroad, Citizenship Certificate or a previous U.S. passport. I am very protective over my birth certificate, so if you’re like me be prepared to depart with it for 4-6 weeks. I actually made a copy of mine just in case something happened.

4) You need a valid photo ID or Driver’s License, to fly anywhere you need one of these. So, if you don’t have one just visit your local DMV. If you don’t have either, this tells you what you can use instead. https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports/information/identification.html

The appointments are normally last 15-20 mins. Comment with any questions you have

Introduction

Hello fellow adults

Do you ever feel like you should know how to do a certain thing? For example how do you apply for a new Social Security Card? How do you change your oil? How do you bake a cake? This blog should answer all the basic "adulting" questions. I bet you're thinking, "why is does this chick think she's qualified for this". Well I am 25 almost 26, I've been working since I was 15 and all those questions in the beginning of the paragraph, well I know how to do them all plus some. Ive lived on my own, purchased and sold 3 cars and driven across the country at least 2 times. I honestly think there are a lot of things out there that we all should know how to do and I hope to show you all how to.