Saturday, June 13, 2015
Real Money 4 Tips to Help Get You Out of Debt
May 13, 2014 5:02pm
ABC News’ Linzie Janis and Eric Noll report:
Ambre and Eddie Maze of Nashville, Tennessee, are drowning in debt and say they’re so worried about their financial situation that Eddie, a lawyer, took a second job as a taxi driver to keep up with the bills.
“We just seem to always be getting in a pinch,†said Eddie, 42.
Between them, they make an impressive $150,000 a year, but they owe a little more than $120,000 in bills. Ambre, 41, works as a physician’s assistant.
Related: Tips to avoid paying high bank and credit card fees.
The Mazes owe $112,000 in student loans, $8,000 in car payments, $2,000 on their credit cards, and $500 in medical bills, on top of their home mortgage.
“When we got married, we actually came into the marriage with debt,†Eddie told ABC News. “We were doing well, making a dent, but then we had kids!â€
ABC News teamed up with powerhouse finance guru Dave Ramsey to help the Mazes and others learn how to overcome mountains of debt.
Read the following tips:
Tip 1: Get your finances in order using a new, free service called Check and stop the bleeding. According to www.manilla.com, Americans rack up more than $22 billion a year in late fees and penalties.
The Check app tracks bills to determine their due dates and allows users to schedule automatic payments, avoiding late fees.
Check also watches credit cards, bank accounts, investments and bills all at once so users know exactly how much spending money they have each month.
Tip 2:Â Stop borrowing by cutting those credit cards.
Ramsey suggested that those in debt perform what he dubs a “plas-ectomy†â€" essentially chopping up their credit cards so they can’t, and won’t, get into more debt. According to www.creditcards.com, Americans each have an average of two credit cards.
Tip 3: Make a written family budget â€" one in three Americans does this.
Ramsey â€" who preaches a no-nonsense approach to sold-out arenas, his 1 million Facebook and Twitter fans and more than 8 million radio show listeners â€" said a solid family budget could work to help families get out of debt.
“When you agree on your budget, you pinky swear and spit shake, this is a contract between the two of you,†Ramsey told ABC News.
Ramsey also suggested reevaluating these common spending areas for the family budget:
- food
- cell phone plans
- car, home, life insurance
- extra activities likes sports, dance classes, vacations and movies
For those in debt, Ramsey recommended streamlining the budget to get rid of any extraneous expenses. He said that seeing in black and white helped identify trouble spots. In the Mazes’ case, they found by tweaking their cell phone plan and cutting down on restaurants and after school classes could save them $2,100 a year.
Tip 4 (and the Magic Rule): Pay off debt using what Ramsey calls “the snowball method.â€
“We’re going to list our debts smallest to largest, pay minimum payments on everything but the little one. Attack that little one with a vengeance,†Ramsey said. “You knock that little one out. When that little one is gone, it gives you some energy because you go, for the first time ever, ‘I’m happening to my money. All the stuff’s not happening to me.’â€
If paying off the smallest debt before the most expensive debt sounds unorthodox, that’s because it is.
“It’s counter-intuitive for those of us who are math nerds,†Ramsey said. “I say pay off the smallest first because this is so behavior oriented. … You got to have a light at the end of the tunnel that’s not an oncoming train.â€
If the Mazes stick to the plan, Ramsey said they could pay off their $120,000 of debt in 36 months.
“Over the years I’ve learned it’s more about hope and believing you’re going to win so you keep in the game than it is about actual mathematics,†said Ramsey. “You probably won’t see the inside of a restaurant for a while unless you’re working there. You’re probably not going on vacation for a while. You have to clean this mess up, because if you don’t bust into this with tremendous passion, it doesn’t crack open. There’s no middle ground.â€
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Dodge lets us drive 100 years worth of history w videos
Dodge is 100 years old this year. So, as happened on Fords recent centennial, the 50-year birthday of the Porsche 911, and others, the company has an excuse to trot out the highlights of its history next to its upcoming model lineup, and declare that "these are the fruits of the Dodge Boys tree whose roots have grown strong." Or something like that. Never so hampered by marketing skepticism that Ill pass up the opportunity to burn someone elses rubber, I was happy to drive out to Meadow Brook Hall in Rochester Hills, MI â€" former grand estate of the Dodge family â€" to hear the spiel.A raft of important production models from the last hundred years were available for me to either drive or ride in.
Chrysler Group Historian Brandt Rosenbusch, the lucky so-and-so that manages the corporate museum, brought out an insanely great selection of motoring history for myself and my colleagues to take in, photograph, and drive. Greeting us in the swanky circle drive in front of the Dodge manse was a smattering of Dodge concept cars from the last twenty years or so, Viper, Sidewinder and Demon concepts included. Continuing out the gates, however, were a raft of important production models from the last hundred years, all available for me to either drive or (in some delicate instances) ride in. My mission, beyond keeping the stupid grin off my face long enough to look like a serious journalist, was to suss out any link between the past and the future of Dodge.
Spoiler: I found it. And I only broke one car in the process.
Sergio Marchione and team laid out for us, in no uncertain terms, last May, that Dodge will wear the performance car mantle for the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles mothership. Dodge President and CEO Tim Kuniskis backed that up for us, calling Dodge the companys "mainstream performance brand" with the newly welcomed back SRT serving as the "ultimate performance halo brand."The patch-laying members of the family tree were heavily represented.
Rosenbusch clearly received that memo when helping to assemble our test cars for the day, as the patch-laying members of the family tree were heavily represented. While the list included blue-collar stuff at the bookends of the timeframe â€" Dodge brought along a 1915 touring car and a 1917 sedan, as well as a 1984 Caravan and a 1995 Neon Ââ€" in the main this was a group of performance cars from the 1920s up through the 2008 Challenger SRT8.
Outside of the outstanding class of muscle cars on offer (Ill get to those in a moment), there could still be found some antecedents to what Dodge is trying to achieve with its newly announced five-year makeover.
Dart is clearly a modern-day iteration of what Dodge/Plymouth had hoped to realize with the Neon â€" a compact whose styling and sprightly demeanor differentiated it from the Honda Civic paradigm. Thats work thatll need some strong followup when the next Dart arrives in 2016, at least if the model hopes to replicate the Neons modest market penetration, to say nothing of building the companys reputation for building compact cars that are less than shoddy.
Perhaps more interesting still is the line that can be followed from cars like the 1986 Shelby GLHS, 1985 Shelby Charger and 1984 Dodge Daytona, to the expected 2016 Dart SRT. For all of their (many) rough edges, the companys offerings in the compact performance space have typically been exceptional on the bang-for-buck scale; heres me crossing my fingers that the Dart SRT plays on that heritage. Well, except Id still pay a slightly higher relative MSRP for slightly more build quality and finish.Dodge offerings in the compact performance space have typically been exceptional on the bang-for-buck scale.
I suppose I could attempt to draw a connection between Durango and the 1941 Command Car, but, nah... Both are four-wheel-drive (mostly), but one is unquestionably epic while the other is pretty cool for its model class. Ill let you sort it out.
Of course, where the company lineage can truly be seen from old to upcoming is in the Dodge-badged, V8-engined sedans and coupes. Theres a pretty straightforward reason for this. Around the mid-2000s Chrysler and Dodge realized they could capture lightning in a bottle by building rear-wheel-drive cars that recapitulated some of their best moments of the sixties and seventies, and selling them to the nostalgia-driven Baby Boomers. The right-wheel-drive platform was available from then-parent Daimler, and the cupboard was full of Muscle Car icons â€" and the iconic Hemi engine name â€" with which to reimagine.
Fast forward a decade, and the strongest, most compelling Dodge products are those that draw from that fountain of youth: Charger, Challenger and Viper (a sports car born in the 1990s but with a 1960s spirit, for certain). All of the bold styling, huge power, and startling performance of cars like the Challenger SRT 392 or the Viper TA, owe a debt of gratitude to company traditions established in those golden years. Hell, a Dodge Challenger is about the only current car Id consider buying in purple, which is a testament to the staying power of the muscle cars image if ever Ive heard one.A Dodge Challenger is about the only current car Id consider buying in purple, a testament to the staying power of that muscle cars image.
Whats amazing to me, is that cars like those Dodge is proposing in 2015 and beyond (looking squarely at you, Hellcat) could very well transition the neo-muscle cars from Baby Boomer retirement toys, to the playthings of Gen Xers (and Yers) like myself. Its interesting to think that under Fiat ownership Dodge stands a better chance of becoming the American performance car brand. What a world.
In any event, it sure was a fun history lesson Dodge prepared for the 100-year bash. Just for kicks, Ive thrown together some driving/riding notes on all the cars I was in at Meadow Brook. Scroll down to have a look.
Driving Notes
1929 Dodge Roadster
I sat in the 1915 car, but the 1929 Roadster was the oldest car I got to drive. Double-clutching the syncro-less manual transmission takes some getting used to â€" our drive loop at Meadow Brook was only about a mile long and I touched reverse on all of the four gearshifts I made. My driving instructor told me the trans is basically unbreakable though, and he laughed off my worry.
I also got my very first ever rumble seat ride in the 29, which was a total hoot. At my above average height itd be hard to share that backseat with anyone (I had to sit sideways) but it was still a great place to sit and cruise.
When I asked Rosenbusch which car of the lot I should absolutely not miss, he pointed to this beautiful roadster, and I can see why. I only wish I had a day with it rather than a few minutes.
1939 Dodge Deluxe Town Coupe
I got to ride in the backseat of the 39 Coupe, which is not only roomier than it appears, but has more space than the rear seating of most fullsize luxury cars today. The downside: the rear bench felt a lot like the couch that you move out onto the porch of your first house in college, because its too beer stained to be the basement couch any more â€" I imagine there are springs there somewhere, but my ass sank about 10 inches when I sat down. Still, I felt like a low-level Chicago gangster back there.
I also happen to find the styling of this coupe really attractive, though Ill admit to being quite partial to dark green paint on vintage cars.
1956 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer
This dreamboat was overheating a bit by the time I queued up to drive it, so I was forced to accept another ride rather than a stint behind the wheel. Not a big loss, and the Dodge Custom was obviously made for cushy cruising, something that it excelled at in my small sample. I ran into Todd Lassa, Executive Editor of Automobile magazine, right after hed driven it, and he said the Custom would be his pick for a car to take for the weekend. Hed get no argument from me.
Look at this interior. In a group of cars that showed more cheap, thin, brittle plastics, sticky vinyl and surrealistic fake wood than one person might see in a lifetime, the Custom Royal Lancer was a palace of a thing. The triple tone seat fabric felt as good as it looked, while the chrome, Bakelite and painted metal dashboard was really a work of art. Im talking to my wife about redecorating our living room with this interior as our guide, wish me luck.
1969 Dodge Daytona
The Daytona may not have been quite as enjoyable to drive as the Challenger T/A (below), but it sure does make you feel like a badass behind the wheel. The 426 Hemi V8 sounds like sex behind the roller rink when you tap the throttle just a hair past idle, and pulls with modern-engine seriousness if youre brave enough to dig in.
I still cant believe the proportions of this NASCAR for the street though. Honestly, the with overhangs on either end that go on for acres, and that patently ridiculous/unbelievably awesome rear wing, this has got to be one of the most wildly styled production cars ever. I like to imagine the Daytona designers, hanging out in a wind tunnel back in the late Sixties, with sore hands from high-fiving each other so much.
1970 Dodge Challenger T/A
As a child of the 1980s and a fan of Japanese hatchbacks when I was coming up, I never have had much experience driving vintage muscle cars. This Challenger T/A was one of the first of the big coupes I got into at Meadow Brook, and it might have been my favorite after all was said and done.
With the 340 Six Pack engine originally rated by Dodge at 290 hp (and rumored to be making closer to 320 hp), there was no lack of power when I dialed in a little bit of throttle. Just one hard-on-the-throtle start (dont forget that I was basically driving at a country club) showed how easy it was to break the rear tires free. Overall the T/A just felt tight and right, within the obvious parameters of this era of vague steering and tremendous pedal travel.
1984 Dodge Daytona
The red velour interior of the 1984 Daytona contained the exact spirit and smell of my Grandmas living room, circa 1981. I really only have sense memories dating back that far, but the lurid shade of red and nostalgic off-gassings are unmistakable.
Terrible car to drive though. Compared with the 1985 Shelby Charger (which I liked a lot despite its cheesy eighties looks) I got in next, the front-drive Daytona felt really slow and creaky. The 2.5-liter "Turbo Z" motor didnt even feel up to its reported output of 142 hp. Faster than Grandmas living room, but only just.
1984 Dodge Caravan
I dont know it was sad news that Dodge wont be making minivans any more, but it was certainly news. This gen-one Caravan invented a segment in the industry, and they were thick on the ground for decades where I grew up in Michigan (probably wherever you grew up, too).
Honestly, with a few exceptions, the Caravan at this event had one of the most well put together interiors, too. This was a no-frills van, even the cup holders were still just minute indentations on a flat part of the dashboard at this point, but everything seemed of nicer quality than in those 1970s cars.
1986 Shelby GLHS
Okay, so this is the one I broke. Unfortunately for a lot of my fellow journalists, I broke it early in the morning, too.
The GLHS, so wacky in both its origins and its mix of Omni roots and Shelby street cred,is a car Ive wanted to sample forever. An alleged 175 hp and 175 lb-ft of torque stuffed into one of the dodgiest-build-quality hatchbacks of the era â€" yes please. Knowing all that, and not wanting to be a complete heel, I did tell myself that I was going to take it easy on the Goes Like Hell Smore, despite really wanting the full effect of the turbod hatch.
So, I pulled out of the parking area, gave the Shelby a boot or two of throttle just to feel the turbo pull (and it does pull pretty hard, guys), but generally didnt let my inner hoon take over. And yet... shifting from first into second gear at approximately 25 miles per hour, I had the probably-not-uncommon-for-an-Omni-owner experience of the gearlever going totally to rubber under my hand. Second gear was nowhere to be found, nor first, third or any of the ratios at all. I assumed there was some sort of linkage mishap, but never did get a firm answer on what went wrong.
After coasting to a stop, I did get a chance to take a few extra pictures of the GLHS for posterity, so it almost felt like a net win. Seriously though, fragile shifter or no, Id own one of these.
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Tips to keep the Cool Temperature of the Car Cabin
To maintain comfort while traveling in the summer, there are some things to watch out for your stay enjoyable driving experience.
Here are tips for car cabin temperature to stay cool:
1. Parking in the shade
In this way certainly makes the car out of harms heat radiation and ultraviolet light attack. Avoid parking in direct sunlight. It can also reduce air conditioning use is high spin when the car is first turned on.
2. Go a little glass
This helps keep the air flow inside the car without having to open up when they wanted to get into a car that was just sunburned. Opening the little glass means no storing heat in the cabin.
3. The use of window film
Window film can adjust the intensity of heat and ultraviolet rays from the interior of your car. Choose a good brand that provides protection from the suns heat. And notice the dark window film.
4. Turn on air conditioning to maximum
This method is used when the driver does not park in the shade. As I turn on the AC, open also to replace the windshield heat to the cooler air.
5. Protect your glass
Buy a windshield visor to minimize excess heat that goes into the dashboard and front seats. Shades of dark cabin, also can absorb more heat. Use a brightly colored cloth to protect the dashboard and steering wheel.
6. Electrostatic Paper
This is a thin sheet of paper attached to the glass and repel solar heat and ultraviolet radiation without interfering with the visibility of the glass. Electrostatic paper does not close the window but it makes a difference perspective.
7. Windshield protective roll paper
Paper rolls or folded paper usually used to block the heat from the front. This tool is effective in reducing the heat that comes into the cabin when parked directly opposite the sun.
8. Use a quality leather upholstery
Gloves or low-quality leather upholstery is unable to absorb the suns heat quickly. Temporal seats with synthetic materials will absorb more heat so that the cabin remains cool.
9. Do not leave items in the car
The heat from the sun will affect the taste of food and the safety of other electronic goods. Be sure to not let the Compact Disc (CD) and toys in the car with a long term parking.
10. Check the coolant
When the car hit by direct heat, then the engine will heat faster. Add coolant when the coolant level shows a lack of coolant.
Monday, April 27, 2015
2014 Bugatti Veyron GS Vitesse One of One
Bugatti revives the brand’s traditional colours, black and yellow
Newly developed design for the grille
Bugatti logo as tribute to the brand
The classic black-and-yellow colour scheme continues in the interior
Bugatti uses laser perforation technique for the first time
Seemingly limitless choice of ways to customise
