Personal Finance Essay

1. Are you considered a default risk? How would a lender evaluate you based on â€Å"the five C’s† of character capital, collateral, and conditions? How could you plan to make yourself more attractive to a lender in the future? I do not believe I would be considered a Default Risk because I have a good credit score and I try to pay off what I spend on my credit cards that same month or fairly quickly so I don’t have to pay high interest rates. Based on the five C’s†¦ Character-I would be considered as a good character due to employment, residential, and repayment history. Capacity- I try not to carry high balances on my credit cards, therefore, my debt obligation is fairly low. Capital-Capital would be considered mediocre due to my asset and collateral base. Collateral- I would no have much collateral because most of my assets are in my spouses name. Conditions-I may be considered a risk under conditions considering I work for the auto industry. To make myself more attractive to a lender, I would probably use my credit cards more often and build up my credit history to make it stronger. I would also add my name to my spouses mortgage because he owned the home before he met me. I would also increase my income by working full-time opposed to part-time that way I could show that I would be able to afford to have a higher balance on my credit card. 2. Identify the last two items (consumer goods and durable goods) you purchased. Alternatively, select any two items you purchased during the last two months. Choose diverse items and analyze each item interms of the following factors: a. Why did you buy that item? How did you decide what to get? I recently bought an Ipad and a new pair (good) of running shoes. I bought the Ipad basically for a portable electronic reading device and something I bring with to keep up with my school work and it will also assist me with my job at work. I also decided to buy a really good pair of running shoes for walking & jogging. I usually purchase shoes that cost around $40-$50 but have never been happy with them. Where did you get your information about the item? I did a lot of research online and I also asked some of my peers who have these items their opinions and I also read reviews. Where did you go to buy the item? I bought my Ipad at the Apple store and I bought my shoes online. In what kind of market did you make your purchase? The market seems to be picking up so I would say it is a striving market. Where did the money come from for your purchase? I used money that was given to me as a gift from my parents to buy the Ipad and the shoes came from money I earned at work. How much did you pay for the item, and how did you pay for it? The Ipad was approximately $400.00 and the shoes were approximately $150.00 h. How would you rate your satisfaction with your purchase? I am very happy with both of my purchases. I am glad I did the research before I bought them and sometimes it’s better to get the more expensive item because I do believe you get what you pay for. i. If or when you purchase that type of item again, what might you do differently? The only thing I would do differently is be a little more patient and wait for the items to go on sale or find a coupon to use. 3. For a car you would like to drive, calculate and compare what it would cost you to buy it and to lease it. Use the Lease versus Buy Calculator athttp://www.leaseguide.com/leasevsbuy.htm. What would be the advantages of owning the car? What would be the advantages of leasing it? For your lifestyle, needs, and uses of a vehicle, should you buy or lease? 2014 Ford Explorer to lease it for 24 month, 12,000 miles per year with an A-Plan discount and $2500 down payment the payment would be $335 per month. To Purchase the vehicle on a 60 month loan with $2500 down would be $589 per month. The advantages of buying a vehicle is that it is a major investment, better finance rates, you do not have worry about miles, you can sell it to recover some equity or trade it in to purchase something new, you can keep it as long as you would like. It is your vehicle once it is paid off. The advantages of leasing a vehicle would be a low monthly payment, no down payment, getting a new car more often, fewer maintenances concerns, not having to worry about selling the vehicle, and GAP coverage is usually included if the vehicle is totaled. In our family we do both we have one vehicle we purchased and one we lease. I do not drive a lot of miles and I work at a dealership so I like to get a new vehicle every 2 years. I also like not having to worry about the vehicle breaking down etc†¦ We also own a vehicle so we do not have to worry about going over mileage if we take road trips, we have something that is ours to use as equity and we have a very good interest rate. 4. You are considering purchasing an existing single-family house for $200,000 with a 20 percent down payment and a thirty-year fixed-rate mortgage at 5.5 percent. a. What would be your monthly mortgage payment? The payment would be $908.46 per month. b. If you decided to buy two points for a rate of 5 percent, how much would you save in monthly payments? Would it  be worth it to buy the points? Why, or why not? The payment would be $888.75 and yes it would be worth it because you are saving $22.71 per month and that would add up over a 30-year period to $8175.60. c. When should you consider an adjustable-rate mortgage? If you are only planning on having a mortgage for a short time it would be wise to consider an adjustable-rate mortgage because the rate stays the same for 5 years then it could change afterwards either or the better or the rates could go up significantly.