Saving is a great habit to get into for any number of valid reasons but when you consider the regular financial strain of making those monthly car payments, wouldn’t it feel good to go car hunting with cash that you have saved up?

There are plenty of tempting used cars available if you are in the market for a new set of wheels and with a few tips and tricks up your sleeve to help you finance the purchase without the need to take out a loan, you could be driving away a debt-free deal.

The chance to start again

Taking out car finance can become a bit of a habitual cycle as it is all too easy to take your old car to the dealer and get a trade-in, which you then use to fund the down payment on your next car deal on finance.

Consider for a brief moment what life would be like without a regular monthly car payment and if you have got to the end of deal and paid off your loan before, you will know how good that feels.

Some people end up spending as much as 15% of their monthly income on car payments and although there is the temptation of a new car to persuade you to sign up to a three year deal, the chance to start again and not have to worry about any monthly finance costs, is something well worth considering.

Trick yourself

One way of getting some good money together in a reasonably short space of time would be to keep your old car for a bit longer but “pretend” you are still making the car payments.

You have been used to seeing that monthly amount disappear out of your bank account so it won’t feel so painful to keep paying it out even after the finance deal has ended and you are paid up.

Simply pay the same monthly amount into a savings account and before you know it, you will have accumulated a nice sum of money that could buy you a decent used car without having to worry about paying for it.

Change your spending habits

Even small changes to your regular spending habits can make a big difference over a relatively small space of time, so take a look at how you could divert some funds towards your next car instead of buying that latte.

The mistake that so many of us make is to look for really big savings when we are trying to save money and spend less each week or month, but the real trick to success is to find lots of small savings that will then add up to a big number when you put them together and see the results.

Try the 30-day rule

In case you haven’t heard of this concept, the 30-day rule is an excellent exercise in self-restraint that really works in helping you to avoid over-spending and to free up money for more important things, like paying for a reliable car.

It is just one of the fundamental rules of successfully managing your personal finances and it involves tackling the urge for instant gratification.

It is a simple philosophy that works on the basis that if you see something that you think you really want to buy, hold back the purchase for 30 days and then see if you still feel the same way about parting with your cash for the item in question.

The 30-day rule is a surefire way of helping you to avoid spending unnecessary amounts of money and if you can manage to put away the money you would have spent, it will soon add up.

If you still want the item in question after 30 days then it’s ok to buy it of course, if you have the money, but there will plenty of times where you will be pleased you held back on that purchase.

Use a shopping list

Supermarkets are tempting places to visit and so many of us end up putting stuff in our trolley that we never intended to buy when we walked in there.

It is way too easy to waste money on extra items that we don’t always need and when you consider how much we spend on groceries each month anyway, some savings could soon add up to some welcome extra dollars in your bank.

The way to save money on shopping is to write a list of what you need before you go and then stick to it, which means resisting those tempting offers.

Spending and saving are both habitual activities for most of us, so by crunching the numbers and using some savings strategies, you could soon accumulate enough cash to help you buy a big-ticket item like your next car, without the need for finance.

Erik Hervas is a Marketing expert at Seminuevos.com, a company that publishes car listings in Mexico. We provide a friendly platform to help users sell their cars. And we bring buyers by promoting the listings through many channels. Erik has worked for many companies in marketing and he is currently seeking to succeed with Seminuevos.com. He graduated as Food Engineer in 2004 but after owning his business he decided to pursue a career in the Marketing field. He currently reside in Ecuador with his wife and two children.

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