Before heading out to make a car purchase, you need to look realistically at your finances. If you have no credit history, that doesn't mean you're bad at paying off debtsit just means you haven't had reason to, and creditors like to see evidence that you can pay your loans. The bigger the cash down payment, the better, because it cuts down on the total financing amount and may improve your chances of getting accepted for a loan. Look at your checking account and do some budgeting. How much extra income can you take out of checking right now without negatively affecting your bills? Look at your savings account. What money is expendable? If you don't have much available for a down payment, consider starting a strict savings plan and going car shopping again once you have more money. Lenders are more willing to take you without credit when you can pay at least 20% for the down payment. Also consider how much you will need to set aside monthly for car insurance, gas, and maintenance. It is helpful to know how lenders are going to see you before you start applying for car loans, especially without a credit history. This may seem counterintuitive if you don't have a credit history, but you may be surprised to find things on your record. Pull your credit history from all three of the credit bureausTransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. You can find your credit reports in several ways. On the bureau websites, they charge about $40 for a one-time check of all three reports and your credit score, but a law called the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires that the bureaus give you a free report once every 12 months. You can also inquire about a free credit report from your bank. Mistakes on your credit history can affect your interest rate and whether or not you get accepted for a loan, and you can dispute these mistakes. You should submit your disputes in writing to the credit bureaus. Opening a credit account as soon as you decide you want to take out a car loan will help your credit score if you have no history. For example, a secured credit card is useful because it doesn't require a credit history to apply for. Bring documentation of this credit card to lenders when applying for a car loan. You can purchase credit insurance specifically for covering your loan in a loss of income situation. Credit insurance covers your payments, either partially or in full, in the event that you are unable to pay your loan. This can help protect your credit score against events beyond your control. Credit life insurance, disability insurance, and property insurance are all options available to consumers. A lender may feel more comfortable extending you a loan if they know you are willing to cover it in an emergency. Consider the monthly cost of these types of insurance. It can be expensive. At the end of the car buying experience, you will be asked if you want to tack on extra expenses like extended warranties and payment protection plans. Make sure you know how much these kinds of extras cost, how much help they are, and if you can afford them. Extended car warranties can ensure you don't have to pay for big repairs. The flip-side of this is an extra expense, sometimes over $1,000. And keep in mind that if you are buying a relatively new or used car, you probably won't even need the warranty since they often only cover major repairs like engine or transmission failure.New cars, as well as some used cars, have warranties that protect the vehicle for years, so extended warranties rarely make financial sense. Payment protection plans are similar to credit insurance, only they are provided by the dealers themselves. The deal is that if you can't make your payments, the dealer offers to cover you for a few months. However, payment protection plans are highly restrictive and the dealer only becomes liable if the purchaser dies, gets seriously ill, or becomes unemployed. Most financial professionals discourage the purchase of payment plans since they are expensive and rarely pay off. Once you've reviewed your finances and seen your credit score, think about what lenders are looking for and consider if you have it. Lenders look favorably on people with a mid-range credit score (620-680), higher income, and having been with the same employer for a few years. If this doesn't describe you (and it likely doesn't if you have no credit history) that's not a deal breaker. There are other ways to get a loan without a credit history. If you don't have these things, you may want to find a co-signer who does to help prove that you are good for the loan. However, by co-signing on the loan, your co-signer is now legally liable for any payments you fail to make, which can have negative consequences for their credit score or financial health. Make sure both you and your co-signer know the associated risks before signing.
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One-sentence summary -- Take stock of what you can afford. Pull your credit scores. Open a credit account. Investigate credit insurance. Determine if you can afford extras. See if you have what lenders want.

The first move that you make can have a big impact on whether or not you will win the game. While you may not be able to make a good opening move in every game you play, it helps to know what to do when the dice roll is in your favor. The two best opening moves you can make are to create a prime or to move one of your pieces from the 24th point to the 13th point, also known as the "lover's leap." To create a prime, you either need a 3-1, a 4-2, or a 6-1 dice roll. The 3-1 dice roll is best because them you can create an anchor on your 5th point, thereby creating a prime with the 6th point. This puts you at an advantage because your opponent will have two fewer possibilities of passing your bar. To do the lover's leap, you need a 6-5 dice roll. Use these moves to bring your 24th point checker out to the 13th point. This move exposes your other checker to being hit, but it gives you a great advantage towards home with the other one. You can raise the stakes in a game of backgammon by using the doubling cube, but keep in mind that your opponent can also refuse your offer and end the game. In this situation, your opponent would lose. However, your opponent may end up losing fewer points than if you had not proposed a double. Therefore, it is best to propose a double when you are not too far ahead or too far behind of your opponent. That will increase the chances that your opponent will accept the offer to double. To reduce your chances of getting stuck in your opponent's home board, you should try to get your pieces as far away from the 24th space as soon as possible. For example, if you roll a 6-5, use both numbers to move one of your checkers from the 24th point to the 13th point. Then, do the same with your other checker on the 24th space the next time you roll a 6-5. You can keep your opponent from getting to his or her home board by creating anchors near the higher points on your opponent's board. This will prevent your opponent from getting checkers from the 24th point to the home board. It will also make it harder for your opponent to reenter checkers that have been hit and sent to the bar. You can create multiple anchors next to each other to form primes. The ideal prime is called a six-prime, 6 points next to each other that all have 2 or more checkers on each point. Creating a six-prime will make it impossible for your opponent to move towards his or her home board. The goal of a blitz is to hit as many of your opponent's blots as possible while also advancing your checkers forward. Blitzing increases the odds that you will win a gammon or a backgammon and your opponent will lose more points. To blitz, begin by hitting any and all blots that your opponent leaves open during the first few turns. Try to get as many of your opponent's checkers on the bar as possible and advance while your opponent is stuck trying to reenter the board. Try to create some anchors near your home board to slow your opponent down even more.
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One-sentence summary --
Use your opening move to your advantage. Double strategically. Get your checkers out of your opponent's home board. Hold your opponent with anchors at the bar and 20 point positions. Try using a blitz strategy.