Will You Change Your Oil As Often As Recommended? My Weekend Roundup

Awesome Articles From Last Week

Gen X Finance gives us this advice: Don’t Be Fooled Into Thinking an Oil Change Every 3,000 Miles Is Necessary. Looks like this post was polarizing enough to spark a lot of interest, so check out the comments as well! He states that the oil change costs do add up as evidenced here:

So let’s take a look at an example to see what this can really cost. Let’s say you own a vehicle and drive it 150,000 miles for the time you own it. And let’s also assume you go to a place that charges $25 per oil change. Here are the total costs over the 150,000 mile period:

Every 3,000 miles: $1,250
Every 5,000 miles: $750
Every 8,000 miles: $468.75

We typically get our oil changed between 3,000 and 5,000 miles and we’ll probably keep doing it that way to keep with the recommended maintenance schedule. It’s worth it to us to spend that money to ensure a well-running vehicle.

Money, Matter and More Musings went on vacation and came back with Interesting Money Photos From New York City! Makes me want to go out on a break myself, but our schedule’s tight with little ones to handle.

Lazy Man and Money wonders this: Retire on 80% of Your Income? I’m hoping we’d be able to someday. Maybe sooner than we think. But at this stage in our lives, it isn’t realistically possible.

The Sun’s Financial Diary has his First Trading Experience with Zecco, and offers some constructive criticism for the company. Zecco, are you listening?

Binary Dollar reminds us to Pay More Than The Minimum on our credit cards and loan statements. Paying only the minimum will keep you in debt for way too long, as it did a friend of mine who eventually ended up in debt counseling to help structure her loans. If you can, paying more will help chip away at the burden at a more favorable clip.

More on the subject of debt with Money Smart Life, who writes about How To Talk Your Way Into Debt, where he tells the story of an unfortunate guy he met at the UPS store.

Five Cent Nickel shares more insights on net worth with Cash Out Roth IRA to Pay Off House? Even if it’s doable, should you do it? But if you didn’t have an IRA to source, you’d need to look for assistance elsewhere. Why not look into this idea from Free Money Finance: Need Help with a Mortgage Loan? Try the Bank of Mom and Dad.

Consumerism Commentary ruminates the question Should You Pay Your Mortgage With a Credit Card? Intriguing, to say the least — if my credit card issuer makes it easy for me to do this, then it’s something I’d try, but I’d schedule auto payments for my credit card, in full (!), just to make sure I don’t incur interest and penalties on a forgotten or late bill!

Blueprint For Financial Prosperity asks How Big Is Your 401K Balance? If you want to know how a lot of people responded, then check it out! He lists everyone who’s confessed.

Mighty Bargain Hunter gives us some Commentary On What Minimum Wage Would Buy. His discussion was triggered by Money Musing’s post, 1973 vs 2007: What Minimum Wage Would Buy. It appears that minimum wage today will buy you more than in 1973, affording more people better access to more stuff. Should we stop yelping about higher prices for movie tickets?

The Simple Dollar shares this cool story: The Simple Dollar Convinces Someone To Quit Their Job. Reading this reminds me of why it’s fulfilling to be a finance blogger. I’m aiming to help someone else out via the stories I tell, or at the very least provide some cheer. Still, it’s always better if someone comes away changing their lives for the good based on something they’ve learned.

Copyright © 2007 The Digerati Life. All Rights Reserved.