FINANCIAL HOUSEKEEPING: Get smart before buying a car
With a car being one of the biggest purchases most consumers make, knowing the ins and outs of auto financing can provide a big edge for being a smart shopper.
Americans Well-Informed on Automobile Retailing Economics is a group dedicated to helping consumers get a little bit smarter about the way they purchase and finance cars, and the group has a website that will help consumers bone up on the right way to shop for a car before they ever head to the showroom.
The group’s site – www.auto financing101.org – is a good jumping-off point for anyone buying a first car or for someone who has not purchased or leased a car recently.
SHORT COURSE: Registering assets
There are several ways you can register your ownership of a security or property. The most common:
Sole ownership is self-explanatory. When the owner dies, assets are distributed in accordance with his or her will (or divided according to state succession laws if the owner dies without a will).
Joint tenants with rights of survivorship allows one or more people – related or not – to share ownership; when one dies, the shares pass directly to the survivor. Tenants in common share ownership but by a specified amount (not necessarily a 50-50 split). When one partner dies, the money goes to his or her estate, not the survivor, and is passed along according to instructions in the will.
