Tell my audience about yourselves. What made you want to start your website mypersonalfinancejourney.com?

After finishing my undergraduate degree, I became very interested in learning about business, personal finance, and investing, in particular. This interest lead me to start reading quite a few books on these various topics. In 2010, I had started forming some opinions and experiences of my own about personal finance. At the same time, I was also thinking about starting a home business to see if I could make a little extra money on the side from my day job. While reading a book about home businesses, the idea of starting a blog was presented. And, I figured what better way for me have a business while sharing and learning about personal finance than by starting blog! Thus, MyPersonalFinanceJourney.com was born, and is now over 3 years old! Time sure does fly!

When a person walks into a car dealership what are some credit questions you recommend that consumer ask the salesman or finance manager?

There a couple of key things that come to mind. First, I would encourage people to inquire about any fees that are associated with originating the loan. Second, I would urge people to inquire about the interest rate being charged on the loan, and then compare it to the interest rates being charged by banks. In my experience, the interest rates from a dealer are going to be much higher (sometimes 3x in the case of my fiancé getting a loan from Bank of America @ 3% in lieu of CarMax @ 10%). Third, I would urge people to ask if there is a difference in price for the car based on paying in cash vs. taking out a loan. Often I hear that dealers can offer 0% APR financing because if someone takes out this type of loan, the car costs more than if financing was secured from another source or paid for with cash.

How long does the credit restoration process take?

The books that I have read says that it generally takes around 7 years.

If a person can’t purchase a vehicle in cash, what’s the ideal down payment you recommend they have? Does a larger down payment mean a shorter loan and APR?

Unfortunately, the answer to both of these questions is that “it depends on the specific situation.” If a car loan has a very high APR, then I would say it is best to have the largest down payment a person can afford. If it is 0% or very low, I would say that it would be better to put the lowest down payment you can get away with. Since cars are a depreciating asset anyway, you won’t have the concern that comes with home buying where 20% down payments are needed to prevent becoming “backwards” on your home loan.

In your a first time car buyer and you’ve never shopped for insurance before, what are some tips to get the lowest payment possible? What are some questions you should ask your insurance agent?

This is a great question! There are several tips that can be useful when it comes to buying car insurance.

1) Ask your insurance agent for a list of car insurance rates based on car models. What you’ll find is that based on the type of car, you will be charged more or less in insurance each year.
2) Ask your insurance agent about “good driver,” and “low mileage driving” insurance rate discounts, as they apply to your specific situation.
3) Seek out a mutual insurance company vs. a traditional for-profit insurance company. A list of mutual insurance companies can be found here. The difference is that in a mutual company, the policyholders own the company, whereas in a for-profit company, stock shareholders receive the profits.

Besides mypersonalfinancejourney.com what are some of websites/blogs you would recommend our visitors visit while trying to improve their credit?

Some of the best resources I have found online are Bogleheads.org, FreeMoneyFinance.com, and ObliviousInvestor.com.

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This is our eighth interview in our “1000 Interview Challenge” If your interested in an interview, please contact me.

This interview was conducted by Shane McC. Shane currently is attending RISD studying computer programming. He enjoys traveling and plays hockey. He played for the Boston Junior Bruins of the EJHL during the 01-02 season. You can follow him on Google+