Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/538747
Thereisnothingquite so expensive as a brand- new car that comes com- plete with 60 big monthly payments. Every day, it seems, I hear from readers who are sad- dled with those kinds of jumbo monthly car pay- ments. They may look good driving around in their fancy financed vehicles, but those monthly pay- ments are nearly killing them. They feel stuck because as long as they're com- mitted to a couple of $650 monthly payments, they believe they are hopelessly stuck. There are times, rare though they be, when buy- ing new might be advis- able. But generally speaking, the cheapest way to own a car is to buy a late model, used, domestic car with cash. How can you possibly do that when you don't have a lot of cash to get started? Great question. The answer is found in these two simple rules: Rule No. 1: Pay Cash. Rule No. 2: Always Make Payments. I'll bet you're confused. On the one hand, in Rule No. 1 I'm telling you to al- ways pay cash for your cars. And in Rule No. 2 I am telling you to always make payments. Both principles are true. Here's the deal: You must adopt the attitude that as long as you intend to own a car you must an- ticipate the cost by mak- ing monthly payments to yourself. Unlike a home that appreciates, cars de- preciate, so you must al- ways anticipate a car's re- placement. Anticipate your automobile needs by mak- ing car payments to your- self. This way, you will al- ways be earning interest, not paying it. You make payments even when your car is fully paid for and even when you are fully satisfied with the car you are driving at the time. Why? Cars depreciate and wear out. Never for- get that. You must always be anticipating your next car. Anyone can do my plan to become a cash buyer, but you have to work up to it. And you must be willing to endure a cer- tain amount of sacrifice in the beginning to achieve a greater reward later. This is where I tell you that you must let go of your pride. You must stop worrying about what any- one will think about what you drive. Start with a clunker — the very best clunker you can buy with the cash you have. Let's say that all the cash you have is $1,200. This will not get you a pretty set of wheels, but if it runs, hey, that's trans- portation. Now, let's say that be- fore reading this, you be- lieved you could cover $200 monthly payments on a new car. Great. Start making those payments to yourself now. This month. Yep, $200 every month into your car account. And for as long as you intend to own a car. At the end of one year, sell that clunker for, let's say, $900. Add that to the $2,400 you've saved (can you believe it? You have $2,400 in your car account af- ter only one year) and go out and find the best $3,300 clunker you can find ($900 plus $2,400 equals $3,300). For cash. Keep making those $200 payments to yourself. At the end of that year, sell the better clunker for, say, $3,000 and add that to the $2,400 in the bank. Now go buy the best $5,400 car (you've just graduated from clunker status to fairly decent automobile) you can find. Keep doing this every year until you have enough cash to buy a brand-new car with all cash. It will happen if you are dili- gently following Rules No. 1 and No. 2. But wait, you say. Isn't that a poor use of money, to buy a brand new car that will so quickly de- preciate? It sure is — and you never would've asked that question until you had $25,000 cash in your hand. I'm going to pre- dict that when that day comes, you won't want to spend that much of your own cash on a new car that will be worth about $20,000 the minute you drive it home. So I suggest that you take your cash and buy the best late model, domes- tic (cheaper to repair and maintain than any foreign beauty) used car you can find. Keep making those payments to yourself, and you will be an all-cash car buyer for the rest of your life. Congratulations. Would you like to send a tip to Mary? You can email her at mary@ everydaycheapskate. com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, 12340 Seal Beach Blvd., Ste. B-416, Seal Beach, CA 90740. EVERYDAYCHEAPSKATE Thecheapest way to own a car Mary Hunt The Rooster Tails Fish- ing Club is proud to host Capt. Joe Aksamit, owner of Joefish Guide Service, as the guest speaker at the July 17 breakfast meeting. Joe will be sharing his troll- ing techniques for salmon on the Delta's lower San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers. Many salmon an- glers don't realize that the lower Sacramento is fished much different than the upper stretches of the river. Joe will describe special lure set-ups and a strategy for targeting early season salmon entering the tidal waters of the Delta. The breakfast meeting will be held at the Auburn Elks Lodge, 195 Pine St. at Lincoln Way, Auburn. The doors open at 7 a.m. with a $13 buffet breakfast served at 8 a.m. Joe's presentation begins at 9 a.m. sharp with his strategy for catching early season Delta salmon. The breakfast meeting is open to the general public, no reservations are neces- sary to attend. Interested men and women anglers are encouraged to arrive early to secure a good seat. Pacific salmon belong to a group called anadromous fish that hatch and live the first part of their lives in fresh water, then migrate to the ocean to spend their adult lives, which may be as short as 6 months or as long as 7 years. When they reach sexual maturity, they return to the freshwater river of their origin to lay their eggs. The Sacramento River is well-known for its salmon runs, migrating from the Pacific Ocean to their up- stream spawning grounds near Redding. There are several distinct salmon runs at different times of year, only the fall and late fall runs are open to fish- ing. The Sacramento River is the largest river in Cal- ifornia. Stretching over 400 miles from the east- ern slopes of the Klamath Mountains to Suisun Bay, it drains an area of about 27,000 square miles, in- cluding many major fish- ing tributaries such as the Feather River, American River and the Yuba River. Water levels in the Sac- ramento River can make a difference in fishing suc- cess. While the Sacra- mento River is not as sen- sitive as its tributaries to flow fluctuations owing to its size, when the flows are low or dropping the fish can hole up and not travel. When the water levels are increasing or high, the fish move freely and fresh salmon move up the river quickly. This year's salmon sea- son opener down-stream from Red Bluff is on July 16. However more than 620,000 king salmon are expected to migrate from the ocean this summer must pass through the California Delta. Despite a worst-case scenario of a temporary shut-down to river fishing by Depart- ment of Fish and Wildlife due to exceeding warm de-oxygenated water, the season opener should be strong. Rooster Tails Fishing Club provides a balanced mix of fishing techniques presented by fishing ex- perts targeting a variety of fish species on multiple types of waters. For more information contact Jim, Club Chairman, at 530 887- 0479 or info@roostertails- fishingclub.org. Salmon season on the Sacramento opens July 16 COURTESYPHOTO From le are Rooster Tail members Art Stonebraker, Jim Petruk, Todd DeKellis and Mel Ewing with more than a hundred pounds of Sacramento River salmon. FISHING REDDING This June and July, more than 50 com- munity members from the North State, consisting mostly of students and educators from Shasta College, University Pre- paratory High School and Shasta High School, are traveling to Honduras to assist with biodiversity research in both cloud forest and coral reef eco- systems. This opportunity has been organized through Shasta College and Oper- ation Wallacea, an organi- zation that runs a series of biological and conser- vation management re- search programs in re- mote locations across the world. This Shasta College course, the Natural His- tory of the Neotropics, which includes four weeks of online learning with the two-week lab expe- rience in Honduras is a four-credit, fully trans- ferable course that both high school and college students can take to cover a portion of their General Education requirements in the sciences. "Students will be ac- tively involved in collect- ing data that will be pub- lished in peer-reviewed journals and will help to preserve and conserve spe- cies in these biodiverse ecosystems," said instruc- tor Dr. Susannah Johnson- Fulton. Students will gain first-hand experience in research subjects that span animal behavior, forest ecology, terrestrial invertebrates, fisheries, amphibian and reptile ecology, general marine ecology including reef systems, spatial ecology using GIS, environmen- tal science and conser- vation management. "This experience will also greatly strengthen our students' resumes, giving them a huge step- up in any career and/ or education path they choose," Johnson-Fulton said. This science-based, study abroad course is the first of many that Shasta College plans to offer, with future courses going to different loca- tions, such as Indone- sia, Madagascar, Greece, China, Peru, Dominica, Cuba and the Galapagos. For more informa- tion on how you can be involved in next year's program as a partici- pant or as a donor to help support students, email Johnson-Fulton at sfulton@shastacol- lege.edu or Randy Reed at rreed@shastacollege. edu. Students worked hard at a number of fundrais- ing efforts and applied for scholarships. Special rec- ognition and thanks go to The McConnell Founda- tion and the Shasta College Foundation for the sub- stantial number of schol- arships awarded to these students. Many of these students have been active members of Shasta College Global Expeditions Club, a new campus club that focuses on community outreach, fundraising and organiz- ing hiking and backpack- ing trips to help prepare students for their future expeditions. Watch for updates, pho- tos and videos of what these local students are experiencing in the rain- forests and coastal reefs of Honduras on www. shastacollege.edu/hondu- ras2015. SHASTA COLLEGE Students, educators travel to Honduras for course PLEASE RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER. Friday,July10 th RedBluffCommunity Center 1500 South Jackson St. Doorsopen@5:00pm Early Birds- 6pm Buy-In $10 • Early Birds $5 Must be 18 yrs to play GIRLS WITH GUNS & TEHAMA FAMILY FITNESS CENTER presents SMOKIN'HOTTHROWDOWN Women's Fitness Competition July 18th, 2015 • 12:30 PM • TFFC • RED BLUFF, CA Age Groups: 19 and Under • 20-39 • Over 40 NOVICE and ELITE divisions in each age group • GREAT EVENT FOR THE FIRST TIME COMPETITOR - NOT QUITE AN RX EVENT • 5 SECRET EVENTS *ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST BE ABLE TO PERFORM THE FOLLOWING* BOX JUMPS • RUN 2 MILES • HANG CLEAN & JERK DEAD LIFT • BURPEES • WALL WALKS • KETTLEBELL SNATCH TOE TO BAR • THRUSTERS • WALL BALL DOUBLE UNDERS (ELITE) • PULL UPS (ELITE) REGISTER BY 06.30.15: $25 • LATE REGISTRATION: $35 FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL: TROY: (530) 528-8656 2498 SOUTH MAIN STREET • RED BLUFF, CA Regular Haircut $ 2 00 off KWIK KUTS FamilyHairSalon 1064 South Main St., Red Bluff • 529-3540 ANY RETAIL PRODUCT 20 % off withanychemicalserviceof $50 ormore Notgoodwithotheroffers Expires 8/05/15 With coupon Reg. $13.95 Join Us For Saturday Summer Fun Days FREE Forchildrenwhohavecompletedthe 1st grade up thru the 7th grade. July 18 th "Fabulous Fabric Day" 9:30 am 'til NOON Saint Paul Lutheran Church Phone # 527-3414 455 Jefferson (the corner of Jefferson and Elm) *MUST pre-register I WEEK before event by calling Connie Maxey at 527-4810 LIFESTYLES » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, July 8, 2015 MORE ATFACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A5