One  example of an annuity is your mortgage; you make a regular payment for a  fixed number of years at a fixed rate.   When it comes to mortgages,  one of the reasons why so many people got in financial trouble when the  housing market collapsed was because they had over-levered themselves.   There were several reasons for that and rolling credit card and car debt  into their mortgages was one of the most common missteps.

For example, most people mistakenly think that if they owe $10,000 on  a credit card at 20% and roll that into a new 30 year mortgage at 4.5%,  they are saving money because they are saving over 15% a year in  interest.   That is only true if it takes 29 ½ years to pay off that  credit card.  Let’s say they pay the credit card over a period of 5  years at 20%, they will end up paying 158% of the original total  ($15,896); however, if they add the balance to their mortgage at 4.5%,  they will end up paying 182% of the original amount ($18,241).

Explore one of the many common misconceptions about how debt works  either for an individual personally or in business and describe ways  that it could be avoided.  You can discuss any aspect of leverage  including:  how people use debt, the tax deductions for debt, the loan  process, application of debt, 0 % financing, etc.

Post by classmate

I  decided to dive a little deeper into the 0% auto financing.  The last  module we had some good discussions about the hidden fees so I wanted to  dig a little deeper into this aspect of financing.  As I look through  multiple car manufacturers to see what they have listed in reference to  the 0% catch.  One of the first thing I noticed was that all of the  deals were specific to new vehicles and some of them were geared at  specific trim levels of those vehicles.  Ford specifically stated that  you must put down $3,700 and you must qualify for Ford Credit  Financing (Ford, 2021).  After looking through all of the F-150 offers  the down payment requirement continued to rise depending on the trip  level.  These limits are there to help limit those individuals that can  actually qualify for such a low interest rate.  Previously while I was  looking at these trucks I also noticed that they were offering a 0% for  48 months.  I have noticed that depending on the supply and demand or  the stock level of the trucks will help determine what the dealerships  will offer in reference to low interest rates.  New vehicles also start  arriving at the dealerships this time of the year so some dealerships  are looking to off load their vehicles to make room for new stock.  As I  look through some other lending websites they discussed some of the  hidden costs or catches to 0% financing.  Lending tree talks about how  very few individuals will actually qualify as you need the best credit  score to get approved for this rate.  They continue to talk about the  bait and switch since the 0% got the customer in the door.  Once they  get on site they will either not qualify or the qualified vehicles won’t  be on site.  Dealerships will add additional fees or they will sell you  the extended warranty, GAP, or maintenance schedules.  These items make  the dealership as much money if not more that the profit on the  vehicles (Jones & Williams, 2021).  In the end I believe everyone  needs to be educated on what to look for in these loan options.  Make  sure you take the time to do your research so you are not surprised when  the vehicle you want isn’t on the lot when you get there.  The other  thing you need to do if you are looking at a loan is to get pre-approved  and run multiple different sets of numbers so you are able to make an  educated decision on what you are getting yourself into. 

Ford. (2021). 2021 F-150 Pricing and Incentives. Retrieved from Ford: https://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/pricing-and-incentives

Jones, J., & Williams, A. (2021, June 30). 0% APR Car Deals in 2021: Wat’s the Catch? Retrieved from lending tree: https://www.lendingtree.com/auto/0-apr-car-deals/