If you’re a first-time car buyer, in between jobs, or just don’t have a lot of money to go around, budgeting for a vehicle can be a challenge. Like every other phase of your shopping and ownership journey, Packey Webb Ford wants to make things easier for you.
Budgeting for a car should be an opportunity to look at your finances in general and make sure you’re using your money wisely. The most common rule for budgeting is the 50-30-20 rule. Take the money you make in a month. Of that, 50% should go to needs and essentials (including a car payment), 30% should go to non-essentials like travel and entertainment, and 20% should go to saving and paying off debt.
Within this framework, experts recommend not paying more than 10% of your net income on a new vehicle.
That percentage of your income isn’t just going to be a monthly car payment. Vehicles need regular upkeep, so quarterly and seasonal maintenance costs should also be a factor. You’ll of course also need to take into consideration insurance premiums as well as fuel costs.
While this can all add up quite quickly, it’s better to realize the total cost of vehicle ownership before you sign an agreement rather than after. With a full picture in mind, you can come to Packey Webb Ford with a realistic idea of what you can spend.
Budgeting and finance may not be the most fun thing, but it’s important to the car-buying process. Packey Webb Ford and our expert finance team want to make that easier for you, and that’s why we provide a helpful suite of tools on our website.
You can use our payment calculator to figure out how much you’ll pay per month for a vehicle depending on the term and interest rate you’re looking for. You can also pre-apply for financing and value your trade-in, giving you a better sense of your buying power. Or just give us a call and our finance team will help answer all your questions.
With all this out of the way, you can look forward to the fun part: Visiting Packey Webb Ford and test-driving an incredible new or pre-owned Ford vehicle.
