Yup. I was thinking about possibly refinancing my Jeep, but after some thought (as well as the fact that the economy is in the pits), I decided against it. After all, who’s going to give me a loan when there is all of this turmoil surrounding things?

If you are planning on buying a new car, you may want to re-think your options. Sure, it’s nice to have something “brand new” and experience the euphoric feeling that no one (well, almost no one) has driven your car around before. However, let’s pause for a reality check. Ask yourself:

• What do my finances look like?
• Can I afford a down-payment?
• Will I be able to make the monthly payments?
• What kind of driving will I be doing with this vehicle?

Out of all of those questions, I probably knew the answer to one of them. I knew that I was going to put a lot of miles on my vehicle because I am from out-of-state and typically drive home to see my family fairly regularly- which racks up the miles real quick.

Many people make the first-time-buyer’s mistake of not thinking things through. For example, most of us didn’t see the economic crisis coming and probably purchased vehicles that were beyond our means. I probably shouldn’t have been surprised the first time I went to inquire about my refinancing options and was almost laughed out of the bank. Know your net worth ahead of time. How much debt do you have to your name? In order to avoid putting any more wear and tear on my Jeep, I may just rent a car this Christmas and drive up to New York instead.

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