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Well in typical transatlantic fashion I am now five time zones west from my former home in the UK and wide awake at 4 AM.

I’ve got stuff to do right away, first thing will be to finish the last leg of my trip, so today I fly from Baltimore to Raleigh.

The landing at Washington Dulles yesterday was interesting. The Airbus 330 was wallowing like a fat pig with bad knees on the approach. The sound of barfing was not welcomed but it sounded like at least four people fell under the low, slow and hot maneuvering on our long and circuitous approach. When the dad to my left pulled out the barf bag for his 4 3/4 year old son, I thought for sure if that kid pukes, I’m going to queue in that line.

Upon arriving in Raleigh this afternoon I have to meet the fence guy for an estimate today. The fence needs to get up ASAP because my dogs are flying in next week on Virgin. Virgin does an absolutely amazing job of caring for your pets when flying. Pets, what am I saying, those dogs are as much members of our family as anyone else.

Also on the list is buying some wheels. It’s a minivan for sure but I am stunned by the apparent lack of fuel mileage that vehicles get back here in the U.S. Fuel in the U.K. might have been $8 per gallon but my cars got 45-50 MPG. And they weren’t small cars.

I’ve now read all the reviews, and done my homework on which minivans to look at and I’ve narrowed it down to four. As part of that research I also did what every potential car buyer should do, I checked my credit score online a few minutes ago so I know what my credit score looks like, and it looks marvelous.

Being proactive and checking your credit score before a big purchase can save you money and potentially some embarrassment. I can only imagine walking into a car dealership and then wondering what my credit will look like when they run the credit application. Just picture the finance manager coming back and telling you that you don’t qualify for the lowest rates because your credit score is low. (Turning red from embarrassment)

Well by getting my credit score from all three credit bureaus I now know that if a finance manager told me that, he or she would be full of shit.

By knowing my credit score I can negotiate from a position of strength. I also know that I qualify for the no or lowest interest rate deals available. I don’t have to be grateful that I’m going to get financing, the dealership is going to be grateful they’ve got a well qualified and willing buyer walking through the doors.

The minivan shopping should begin tomorrow and I’ll let you know how it goes. The rounds look like Honda, Toyota, Dodge and Chrysler. It should be interesting to see which dealership is going to play nice and which will try to play games. If a salesperson tries the four square close on me, I’m leaving. That is of course unless he’s offering a hell of a deal. If that’s the case then I’ll stay, let my rage pass over the closing ploy, and take the deal. If it comes down to a choice between my ego and a great price, I’ll let my ego get bruised. There is no need to pay more than I need to for pride. I fell for that a long, long time ago.

Once I narrow down the vehicle, I’ll get the dealers invoice and use that as a starting point in negotiations. While there is a cost to get that and a cost to get my credit score, it’s well worth having the knowledge. Knowledge is power and with that and my wildly erect credit score I’m taking no prisoners on this purchase.

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Steve

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