The Bottom Line
Small business is important to Central Oregon, and to Mid Oregon. Find tips and resources for business, and information about Mid Oregon’s commercial services and business members.
How to Strike a Deal on a Used Car
You’ve found the car of your dreams, and it’s time to strike the deal. Dealers and some private sellers have a lot of experience negotiating, but you may not. Prepare yourself, and learn how to strike a deal on a used car!
Before you negotiate:
1. Determine what a fair price for the vehicle might be: Look at used-car pricing guides such as CUDL Autosmart, Edmunds.com, Kelley Blue Book (kbb.com), and NADA (National Automobile Dealers Association) Appraisal Guides (nadaguides.com).
2. Have sufficient cash or make financing arrangements with your credit union ahead of time.
3. Calculate how much you can afford based on your budget. Decide to walk out if the seller exceeds your limit.
4. Have an expert check out the car, even if you have to pay for an inspection. Organize your notes from:
* The expert
* Your test-drive
* The car’s history and maintenance.
5. Ask an experienced car owner to go with you. Agree that if this person says you should leave, you leave.
What else?
* Only agree to negotiate with a person with whom you feel comfortable;
* Look at it as a business transaction;
* Be prepared to spend at least an hour negotiating.
Don’t meet with the seller if you’re tired or hungry; that will only make it easier for the seller to get more money from you. Your endurance and a willingness to walk away from the deal are essential to getting the best price.
Are you ready? Let the negotiations begin!
Two New Exhibits At February Free Family Saturday!
Two new exhibits will be available at the next, and last, Mid Oregon Credit Union sponsored February Free Family Saturday at the High Desert Museum. Taking place Saturday, February 25, the museum will be open to the public for FREE, from 10 am to 4 pm. Transportation from offsite to and from the museum will be available to help alleviate possible crowded parking situations.
Read more about the details of February Free Family Saturday at the High Desert Museum.
New Exhibit: WWII: The High Desert Home Front
World War II: The High Desert Home Front reveals the wartime activities that took place in the High Desert, including some of the most celebrated and tragic chapters in our country’s history. Explore the significant role the High Desert region played during the war and its enduring impact on the region as the museum commemorates the 75th anniversary of the United States’ entry into World War II. Learn about what took place here at home, including military training, nuclear testing, Japanese internment, balloon bombs and the Bracero Program.
Legendary Landscapes
View breathtaking images of High Desert landscapes and learn about the fascinating stories behind how these places got their names in this community-curated exhibition. Legendary Landscapes opens February 18, 2017, and the museum hopes that Legendary Landscapes will inspire visitors to explore more of the region and delve deeper into its natural and cultural history.
Join us at the February Free Family Saturday at the High Desert Museum on February 25th, and invite your friends, co-workers and neighbors.
The Conversation Couples Should Have on Valentine’s Day
The All-Important Gift of Communication about Financial Values
It’s time to celebrate relationships, love and commitment—and it won’t be cheap. U.S. consumers plan to spend more than $18 billion this Valentine’s Day, with the average person spending around $136 according to the National Retail Federation. What often is overlooked when couples take time out to appreciate each other is dedicating a moment to discuss money and financial values, a conversation couples should have.
Starting the Conversation Couples Should Have on Valentine’s Day
“Money is a potential conflict point in a relationship, but it also can be something that draws a couple closer,” says Ted Beck, president and CEO of the National Endowment for Financial Education® (NEFE®). “Couples should talk openly, and often, about money and should understand their partners’ financial values.”
Starting the conversation is easy with NEFE’s research-based, non-commercial consumer quizzes. The Life Values Quiz is a 20-question assessment that helps people identify their values and understand how those values affect the financial decisions they make. This is especially useful for couples, helping them identify how their money values are alike or different, and spotlight the areas they need to work on together.
“You can’t change inherent values, but if you know what they are, you’ll be better equipped to negotiate future financial decisions and understand where you can and can’t compromise,” says Beck.
Online Resources to Help
If you’re young or just starting to emerge from your parents’ support, start with the Financial Identity Quiz. It’s a first look at where you’re headed on the path to financial independence, how dependent you are on your parents’ teachings, and whether you’re taking initiative to develop your own financial management style or are just focused on other things at the moment.
“Whether earning money or spending it, your financial decisions affect your relationship, and you will be the beneficiary—or victim—of your mate’s financial behavior,” warns Beck. “So it’s better to confront and understand your financial compatibility sooner rather than later.”
In relationships without frequent communication and transparency, financial infidelity is a serious problem. Two in five people who combine finances with their partner or spouse admit to committing financial deceptions—hiding or lying about purchases, bills, debts, how much they earn, bank accounts and cash, according to a NEFE survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults.
“Invite your partner to join you in taking the Life Values Quiz and the Financial Identity Quiz and have some fun with the discovery process. There are no wrong answers, just different approaches,” says Beck.
For more tips on working together as a couple to handle finances and starting that awkward conversation about money, visit www.smartaboutmoney.org.
About the Life Values Quiz
Understanding your financial values and how they differ from those of your partner is one key to success in managing money together as a couple. NEFE’s Life Values Quiz helps people identify the values that drive their financial decisions. To learn more and to take the quiz, visit www.smartaboutmoney.org/Tools/LifeValues-Quiz.
About the Financial Identity Quiz
As we make the transition from our teenage years into adulthood, we begin to define who we are in relation to our friends, relatives and cultural influences. The goal of this quiz is to help you understand the process through which you come to your financial identity, as well as how your identity shifts and changes over time. To learn more and to take the quiz, visit www.smartaboutmoney.org/Tools/Financial-Identity.
About NEFE’s Financial Infidelity Survey
The NEFE financial infidelity survey is conducted every two years and examines overall trust issues within couples who are combining or have combined their finances in a current or past relationship. It describes the types of financial deceptions that often are committed—from hiding money, purchases and bank accounts to lying about the amount of debt owed or money earned. To read more about the survey, click here.
About the National Endowment for Financial Education
NEFE is a nonprofit foundation that inspires empowered financial decision making for individuals and families through every stage of life. For more information, visit www.nefe.org.