The Future Looks Busy!

Bill Long · July 18, 2023

 Well, it’s about time! The Consumer Price Index and Producer Price Index recently hit their lowest levels in a few years. Could these last few years of price increases finally be over? Could inflation be slowing down? Well, I say it’s just in time. I was reading that the Fed will probably raise rates again at its next meeting, which means that interest rates for all things will go up. So, apparently, they are not truly convinced that the economy is back on track enough to start reducing the cost of borrowing and easing the pressure that most Americans are feeling in their finances. At least not yet.

In previous posts I mentioned that I create a monthly budget and track it. I was looking at it the other day and noticing how much more I have been spending on everyday things. This made me think about budgeting and the purpose of it, especially in the summer. Everyone wants to get out and do things, take vacations, and drive more. Families with kids will be spending more money on everything. With the kids home from school, food costs and utilities will be much higher. It makes the process of creating and following a monthly budget even more important. Be sure to keep all of this in mind as you think about your finances in the next few months.

How does this all relate to what we do? If you are planning on purchasing a vehicle any time soon, being on top of your budget is extremely important. Make sure you have room for your car payment, fuel, maintenance and insurance costs—plus something left for emergencies. On the Road Lending looks at each potential client’s bank statement to gauge cash flow and make sure that the car they want is affordable. We ask questions about bank statements and make notes on things we see that may help with budgeting. We generally ask for a minimum of 5% of the sales price of the car as a down payment. As a rule, the more you put down, the lower the interest rate. 

We recently received over $6 million in funding to make new loans. We are also finalizing our new lending platform. With these new resources in place, we are excited about helping more families access transportation. In addition to making loans in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Texas, we started making loans in North Carolina and have plans for lending in five or six other states by year end. The future is looking busy at On the Road Lending! If you need our help with an affordable loan for a reliable car, please visit our website at https://ontheroadlending.org/