1 · Run the numbers

The salesperson talks in months. Fill these in to see the total over the life of the loan — and the interest hiding inside the monthly.

2 · Two more numbers that decide it

The sticker isn't the cost of the car. These two often change the answer.

3 · The 20/3/8 check

The Money Guy Show's 20/3/8 rule is the cleanest pre-buy check there is. Tick each box that passes. When all three pass, a car stays out of the way of everything else.

• Put at least 20% down.

  A real down payment keeps you from owing more than the car is worth the day you drive it off the lot.

• Finance for no more than 3 years.

  A 72-month loan makes the monthly look small by stretching the interest out for years. Three years is the ceiling.

• Keep the payment at or below 8% of gross monthly income.

  That's pay before taxes. Above 8%, the car is quietly eating money the rest of the plan needs.

If a box won't tick, the rule isn't a moral judgment — it's a flag that this car is more than the budget can carry.

4 · If the ink's already dry: three doors still open

A signed loan is a sunk cost — the past isn't up for debate. But three concrete moves change where it goes from here, and at least one is almost always worth doing.

1. Refinance. A credit union can often beat a dealer's rate after a few on-time payments. The lowest-friction move, and usually available.
2. Pay extra against the balance. Early payments are mostly interest, so anything extra against the principal early shrinks the total a lot.
3. Sell. If the payment is genuinely stretching, a private sale at full market beats waiting for the loan to bury you — even if you write a check for the gap.

6 · What to say

Math doesn't change minds — relationships do. When the moment is right, these three sentences open the door without knocking it down.

1 · Turn the wage into a year

An hourly number is hard to compare. Turn it into a yearly wage first — that's the figure the benefits get added to.

2 · Score the benefits

Tick what the job actually includes. Where you can, jot what each is worth — roughly what you'd pay for it yourself. Two offers at the same wage can be very different jobs.

• Health insurance

  the employer pays most of the premium — money you'd otherwise spend yourself

  Worth roughly$/ yr

• Retirement match

  extra pay added to a 401(k) when you contribute — only if you put in enough to capture it

  Worth roughly$/ yr

• Paid time off

  days you don't work but still get paid for

  Worth roughly$/ yr

• Sick leave

  paid days when you're ill, separate from vacation

  Worth roughly$/ yr

• Full-time hours (35+/week)

  the line most benefits live above — below it, employers rarely offer them

  Worth roughly$/ yr

3 · What it's really worth

Add the wage and the benefits together. This — not the hourly rate — is what you're really being offered.

5 · Three questions before you sign

You can ask all three in a two-minute call or email. The answers turn the unknowns on your scorecard into real numbers.

1 · Which kind of gig?

"Gig work" hides the question that decides everything else: who the tax form says you are. Tick the one that fits — when in doubt, ask the payer which form you'll get.

• 1099 contractor

  ride-share, delivery, freelancing — nothing withheld; taxes and retirement are yours to set up

• W-2 agency employee

  catering, banquet, staffing — taxes withheld, but benefits usually still don't come with it

• Paid in cash

  babysitting, odd jobs — still taxable; keep a log, because only documented earnings can fund a Roth

The rest of this sheet assumes the 1099 or cash case — that's where the surprises live.

2 · Four jobs an employer would do — now yours

Check each one off as you set it up. They didn't vanish with the employer; they became yours to assemble.

• Buy your own health coverage

  use the ACA marketplace (healthcare.gov or your state's exchange) — subsidies scale to income, and a lean gig year often means a cheap plan. Don't go uninsured to save the premium.

• Set aside your own taxes

  nobody withholds. Park about a third of every payment the day it lands, and pay the IRS in four quarterly estimates — skip them and penalties stack up.

• Build a bigger cash buffer

  no paid time off means a sick week is a week of lost pay. Aim closer to six months than three.

• Open your own retirement account

  no match to capture, but no vesting clock either — a Roth IRA is yours the day you open it.

• Open a separate savings account just for taxes.

  A second account the set-aside can't be spent from by mistake — the single highest-leverage thing you can do this month.

3 · Quarterly taxes & records

Self-employed taxes aren't paid once a year — the IRS expects four estimatedpayments. Tick each off when it's sent. (Dates shift a day or two for weekends.)

• Q1 · due around April 15earnings from January–March
• Q2 · due around June 15April–May
• Q3 · due around September 15June–August
• Q4 · due around January 15September–December

• Keep a mileage & expense log.

  Miles driven, supplies, fees, phone — every documented business cost lowers what you owe. A note in your phone the day it happens is enough.