Dear Dave,
In an attempt to improve my bad credit I recently bought a new car, which I financed at 17.9 percent for 72 months. If I make the minimum payment of $468 a month, I’ll end up paying about $13,000 in interest alone.

Is there a formula I can use to avoid paying all this interest?
Marcus

Dear Marcus,
There sure is. Sell the stinking car!

Your credit rating and interest rate are lousy because you haven’t paid your bills. And you haven’t paid your bills because you’ve been buying a bunch of crap you couldn’t afford — like this new car at $468 a month.

Listen, you could have more than $5,500 in just 12 months if you just saved up all those car payments. That would get you a good little used vehicle that wouldn’t be an anchor around your neck for the next six years.

Stop believing the lie, Marcus. Going into debt doesn’t improve your life.
—Dave

Dave Ramsey is America’s trusted voice on money and business. He has authored five New York Times best-selling books: Financial Peace, More Than Enough, The Total Money Makeover, EntreLeadership and Smart Money Smart Kids. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 8 million listeners each week on more than 500 radio stations. Follow Dave on Twitter at @DaveRamsey and on the web at daveramsey.com.