As we emerge from the year of a week that was last week, we take an opportunity to focus on our “silver linings.” The things we do and feel great about as we celebrate winners in our community! Things that make the lives of others better. What we see that makes us happy and hopeful.
Join, and please share your silver linings with us.
Episode Recap
The Jets officially have a losing season, and Adam Gase is winning if the goal is high draft picks. While the Jets are not a feel-good moment this season, today’s episode includes the gang speaking about what’s making them happy during this challenging year.
Auto-Repair Financing + The Problem with Title Loans
Steve shared a story of a customer who is a disabled veteran. The gentlemen brought a pickup truck to Friendly Auto in need of a new engine, but the man couldn’t afford to fix it. While Steve recommended junking the truck and getting a new one, the veteran couldn’t afford it because he had a title loan on the car.
What is a title loan? It’s usually an interest-only loan. Many don’t have end dates, meaning you pay interest every month and never pay off the principal until you can afford to pay the principal in full at once.
In this case, the gentleman had a title loan for $1000. Despite the relatively low principal, he’d been paying $140 a month for almost four years, paying over $5000 on the loan and still no closer to paying it off because the full principal remained.
So what do you do if you need auto repairs and can’t afford it, but want to avoid a title loan? Speak to your mechanic — many of them have financing options that are better than title loans. An option is interest-free financing. Now, this is not a perfect solution and still comes with risk as each provider has very specific criteria to get financing, and sometimes those rules shift while you’re paying.
The key to a successful experience with interest-free financing is paying it back within the interest-free window, because once that interest-free window closes, the interest rate explodes. Many mechanics, like Steve and Friendly Auto, will be transparent about the terms of the agreement, but not all will, so shop carefully.
COVID-19 Testing from Sun Valley Health
This weekend, Friendly Auto is hosting a COVID-19 testing site in its parking lot, so the gang brought in Jeff from Sun Valley Health to speak to some of the details of how the testing works.
Two types of tests are offered — antibody tests and active culture tests.
The antibody test is a fingerprick test that tells you if you’ve previously been infected with the virus, and you can get results in 5-10 minutes. This test will help tell you if you’ve had COVID-19 even if you didn’t experience symptoms. The problem with the test is that your body only produces antibodies for a limited amount of time. If you take the test a week after you’re infected, it will certainly show on the test, but if it’s been several months, it may not be as accurate.
The active culture test is a nasal swab or throat swab that shows if you have the virus right now, with results in approximately 48 hours.
If you have insurance, these tests are covered if you have Arizona Medicaid or Medicare Part B. or no insurance. If you have no insurance, you can also get a test for free as medical providers have federal funds that they can use to cover the cost. If you have a different insurance program through your employer, the cost is $99 for a nasal swab/throat swab test or $65 if you just want the antibody test.
What happens if they get positive results? Talk to your doctor. Depending on how bad your symptoms are, they’ll have recommendations on what to do.
The Gang’s Feel Good Moments
Everyone is having a tough time in 2020, so Felecia wanted to use the end of the show to discuss the things that are making the gang feel good, ranging from great food to success at work.
For Felecia and Steve, the feel-good moment was a fantastic meal from Bee’s Fiesta Kitchen. While they are excited about when they can return to eating in the restaurant, Steve enjoyed seeing the staff when he went into the restaurant to pick up their order. If you can, please pick up orders yourself and order directly from the restaurant so they can avoid the fees charged by delivery services.
PK’s feel-good moment of the week actually came when she lost a customer. She was hired by a couple to help them negotiate their divorce, but when PK met them she advised them to try separation rather than divorce, which meant they didn’t need her services. For the first time in her career, the customer apologized for staying together because he knew that she lost business from them. But for East Valley Mediators, the family comes first, and this was a positive result.
Matt’s feel-good moment came from watching his wife, Bree, run a fantastic business with her business partner, Ashley. It’s a unique pairing, as Ashley is the stepmom of Matt’s oldest son. They’ve built a fabulous blended family and a great coffee company that taught Steve what cold brew is.
For Ryan, his feel-good moment was helping a gentleman refinance an investment property. With Ryan’s help, the man can save $700/month on his monthly payments and increase the total payment by only $40.
As a final plea in the episode, Felecia wants all our listeners to support local businesses. These people are your neighbors, so we should do what we can to buy local.
Wrap Up
Until next time, Stay Healthy and Drive Friendly, Arizona!
