With all this talk about the upcoming new 2020 and 2021 vehicles, you’re going to want to make sure there are no hiccups when it arrives. Here are a few tips to help fans prepare financially for their dream car.

1. Prepare your Credit. Reserving a vehicle doesn’t mean you’re automatically approved. While you’re awaiting your dream car, keep your credit in good standing by making sure you’re paying your mortgage, current car notes, and credit cards on time. This will not only help you get qualified, but hopefully qualify you for a lower interest rate which can greatly reduce payments. (For those with no credit, I’ll share tips to help you in another post, but you can apply for a Capital one credit card here* or https://capital.one/3qaonM9 to jumpstart your credit. (*I may receive a referral fee if approved)
2. Paperwork. For two or three months in advance, you’ll need to start keeping up with your bank statements (self-employed) or last 30 days of check stubs (employed) as proof of income. You’ll also need at least 2 of 3 documents showing proof of residence which can be a utility bill, phone bill, and/or bank statements.
3. Down Payment. If you plan to put money down, start saving in advance so your down payment (if needed) won’t interfere with the money you’ll need for your bills that month. FYI: Money down depends on credit.
4. References. Decide on references as some banks ask for 3 references.
5. Invest. While you wait for your dream car, why not invest in the brand by buying its stock too? Hopefully if you do it early enough, you’ll be able to earn some profit from the stock to pay (or help pay) for your down payment (Happy Face). If the company pays out dividends, that’s a double win for you. For new investors, I advise you to use Robinhood. Robinhood is a free trading app that lets you (the investor) trade stocks without paying commissions that most companies charge. With my link, https://join.robinhood.com/karenc1714 you and I can both earn a free, yes, free stock such as Ford, Apple, or Facebook. Just enter your name and bank info to get started (no money will be deducted from your account to get started). You can sell your free stock the next day (if you want) and get the money. I was referred and sold my free stock for a little over $5 only to find that days later the same stock doubled (sad face). If you think you can’t afford to buy stocks, think again, Robinhood allows you to buy portions of a stock (fractional shares). You simply insert the dollar amount of $1 or more to purchase a fraction of a share, but I’ll go into all of that in another post. For now, just join and check out the site https://join.robinhood.com/karenc1714