Fix old car or buy a new one?

By Dave Ramsey

Dear Dave,

I just finished paying off my car, a 2000 sedan at $250 a month, and now I’m having problems with it. A computer chip shorted out last week, and now I’m having transmission problems. My friends have looked the car over and tell me it’s falling apart. They say I should buy another one. Should I just fix the one I have instead?

Kathy

Dear Kathy,

First, instead of just friends I’d have a real mechanic take a look at this vehicle. Your friends probably aren’t trained mechanics and are encouraging you to do something silly like THEY might do – running out to buy a new car just because the radio knob falls off in the old one.

This car has still got several good years left in it. If your options are go into debt or fix this car repeatedly – fix it repeatedly! You just freed up a big chunk of cash when you finally finished paying for the car. If you allocate even half that amount each month toward maintenance and upkeep, that’s $1,500 a year and more than enough to keep a good car up and running.

Fix the car, Kathy. Don’t go back into debt!

Dave

Does it matter who keeps the checkbook?

Dear Dave,

When you’re married, does it matter who keeps the checkbook and pays the bills? I’ve heard some people say those things are the man’s job, and I was wondering what you think.

Daniel

Dear Daniel,

It doesn’t matter one bit. Whoever is good at it and is the most organized of the two should handle those duties.

In each family, there’s a nerd and a free spirit. The nerd is the one that’s organized and very good at keeping everything in place. The free spirit is not a detail-oriented person. This doesn’t mean they’re not concerned or that they’re irresponsible, but they just aren’t as administratively gifted, and they don’t get a rush when the checkbook balances out.

Now, that doesn’t mean that whoever keeps the checkbook should make all the financial decisions, either. Those decisions, like all others in a marriage, should be made together with input from both the husband and the wife. When you do a budget, you should both sit down together and come to an agreement on where the money’s going each month.

If you do this, Daniel, you’ll not only have better communication in the marriage, you’ll also experience increased unity in your daily lives.

Dave

Giving outside of regular tithes

Dear Dave,

I started an Internet business a while back, and we’re doing really well. We’ve always tithed 10 percent to the church, but I was wondering if there are any guidelines for giving to the church and other places above and beyond the 10 percent.

David

Dear David,

If I were you, I’d set up a budget based on the base salary you receive from the company. Then, take everything else that you make above that and divide it up to where you can do some extra tithing, extra giving to other good causes, extra investing and extra spending.

If your company is doing that well, then you’ve been working really hard to make it a success. Reward yourself with a little extra blow money and have some fun. But make sure you budget this extra income just like you would your regular salary. If you don’t, it’ll be easy to get selfish and spend it all on personal lifestyle items.

Dave

Dave Ramsey

Dave Ramsey is a seven-time No. 1 national bestselling author, personal finance expert, and host of "The Dave Ramsey Show," heard by more than 16 million listeners each week. He has appeared on "Good Morning America," "CBS This Morning," the "Today" show, Fox News, CNN, Fox Business and many more. Since 1992, Dave has helped people regain control of their money, build wealth and enhance their lives. He also serves as CEO for Ramsey Solutions. Read more of Dave Ramsey's articles here.