The Financial Decisions That Define Your Future with Jeremie L'Heureux

Welcome to episode 232 of the Business Development Podcast.

And today I'm joined by Jeremy LaRue, founder and CEO of LaRue Auto Group.

From humble beginnings in the trades to building a company that helps people make smarter vehicle and financial decisions, Jeremy's mission is simple.

To create real, lasting impact in people's lives.

Stick with us.

You don't want to miss this episode.

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Let's do it.

Welcome to the Business Development Podcast.

And now your expert host, Kelly Kennedy.

Hello.

Welcome to episode 232 of the Business Development Podcast.

And on today's expert guest interview, I bring you Jeremy LaRue, founder and CEO, CEO of LaRue Auto Group.

He is on a remarkable journey from humble tradesman beginnings to becoming an industry giant in the automotive and financial sectors.

With a steadfast commitment to helping people navigate their vehicle and financial needs, Jeremy leverages his hands on experience and deep knowledge of industry to craft personalized solutions that integrate auto services into comprehensive financial plans.

His approach is educational and empathetic, empowering clients to free up cash flow, eliminate debt and set up successful retirement strategies, all while prioritizing their unique needs and budget constraints.

Driven by strong faith and family values, Jeremy's passion extends beyond business.

It's a lifelong dream to make a positive impact on people's lives.

He.

He embodies the principles of hard work and humility, values that were instilled into him growing up in a small town.

His commitment to affecting change and fostering growth is evident in his desire to collaborate with like minded individuals who possess demonstrated sales and leadership capabilities.

With an unwavering focus on helping others, Jeremy LaRue is not just transforming the way that people think about auto and financial services.

He's redefining the very fabric of industries one personalized plan at a time.

Jeremy, it's an honor to have you on the show.

Hey Kelly, thank you so much for having me.

It's.

It's pretty cool, dude.

Like, we have a mutual friend.

Ben Spangle.

Yeah, we do.

Who.

Who kind of made this introduction possible.

It was so funny.

It wasn't long, actually.

After I interviewed Ben, he's like, you know what, Kelly?

I got someone you need to meet.

And I bet you can guess who that.

Who that was.

Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah, it was the same thing, you know, when, you know, Ben and I became closer this year, he was like, yeah, Kelly is somebody you definitely need to connect with, and you guys need to have a chat.

Yeah.

And it's super cool, actually, because, dude, I grew up in the auto industry.

Like, as a kid, I worked on a car lot from, like, 16 to, like, I don't know, 19.

Like, I.

I understood that world inside and out.

When I first got into sales, my goal was just to work on the lot.

Right.

Like, I just wanted to be a car salesman, you know, more so just because I understood the people.

I knew the industry.

I knew the cars inside and out.

I grew, you know, to maybe not like it as much when I got into it eventually and kind of learned the ins and outs.

And, you know, back in 2008, it was a different time.

It was a different world.

The world has changed a lot since that time, but it wasn't.

It still wasn't the greatest at that.

And I kind of got to the point, too, where obviously, the combined horrible economic situation that 2008 was mixed in with, you know, I don't know if this is, for me, led me down a different path, but, you know, I still have a passion for that industry.

I still have a passion for those people.

I, you know, I feel like I wouldn't be who I am today without my experience in the auto industry.

Wow, that's amazing, Kelly.

I didn't know that you had that background.

And.

Yeah, that's an interesting time to be in the automotive industry.

Back in 2008, it was.

And you know what?

Like, for the bad rep that a lot of car salesmen get, I'll tell you guys, they're good people.

They really are.

You know, at the end of the day, I worked with these people.

I had a great time with these people, you know.

You know, whatever your feelings are about it, I.

You have to remember that all these people, they're working hard to bring food.

Food to their family at the end of the day, and they really do care that a lot of the time, especially back then, they were just working in a system that you work with the system that's provided to you, and that was the system that was provided to them at that time.

Yeah, I couldn't agree with you more, Kelly.

Like you said, like, you know, most people, I'm not saying all people, but most people who work in the auto nich they do care and they are genuine good people and just oftentimes they're just uneducated or they don't quite understand that, hey, when I put this vehicle loan in place for somebody, what the ramifications is going to be imposed on that customer or client short term and long term.

Right.

So it's not that they don't care, it's just they, they're just a little uneducated.

That's all.

Right.

And I would say that, that you could flip the opposite argument and say that, you know what, but people should also be responsible for their own financial future and make good decisions.

Me and you both know I've been in that world and seen people make some pretty horrible decisions regarding their auto, their auto finance or whatever else.

Right.

But I don't know.

You're right.

It's like I feel like there is a duty on both sides to come to that conclusion and say, what can I actually afford?

And you know what?

That's the difference is that we all want what we want.

Right.

And unfortunately, sometimes when you're in there buying that brand new vehicle, you want more than you can afford.

Absolutely, absolutely.

Your eyes start shining bright and you're like, yes, this is going to look great on a Sunday afternoon drive and not really thinking things rationally.

Right.

So I do agree, like there has to be accountability and responsibility taken on both sides of the coin for sure.

Yeah, yeah.

And I really do think, like in 2008 that really was the problem.

The problem at that time was obviously people wanted way more than they can afford.

And especially with the economic collapse that was happening all around them, you know, that was the hard part about that time is that people were either coming in and they were getting loans that they couldn't afford or they just couldn't get the loan at all.

That was exactly what was happening in 2008.

They were either getting the loan they couldn't afford or they weren't able to get a loan at all because the banks were tightening their grips on what they were willing to loan on.

And so, man, like it created frankly, a disaster for the auto industry at that time.

Yeah, I agree with you.

And it's funny you mentioned that, Kelly, because that's kind of happening a little bit right now.

We're seeing a little bit of a resurgence of that where there's some lenders on the automotive side of Things that have been lending to people that they shouldn't have been lent to.

Right.

They shouldn't have been receiving those loans.

And now these vehicles are going and they're being repossessed, and people aren't able to make their payments.

So we're kind of seeing a little bit of a resurgence of, you know, what happened in 2008.

So it's a really interesting time right now, and I'm excited for us to, you know, to dive in a little bit deeper on that today.

Totally.

Me too.

Me too.

I'm actually really excited to have this conversation because I haven't had this conversation in 230 episodes.

So I'm very excited to have this conversation with you, Jeremy.

But, yeah, and, you know, like, we can even scale this so much larger.

Right.

Like, obviously we're talking about probably the second biggest purchase most people make, which is a vehicle, but the first biggest most people make is a home or a property.

And the exact same rules that apply to a car apply to a house.

And so, you know, in Canada, we're seeing people buying houses at record high rates at.

And the interest rate was just increased.

And that's something that I definitely want to chat with you about.

But you can end up in the exact same thing where you bought a home more than you could afford.

You bought it at a very low interest rate, say 2%, one and a half percent, and now you're paying 4, 4% on that loan when you refinance and boom, you can't afford it.

And it's scary, man.

It's like, it's a scary situation to be in when there's factors like that that are really out of an individual's control.

Completely agree with you, Kelly.

You know, it's, you know, talking with consumers and clients, and they're like, hey, you know, is this the right time for me to actually buy a vehicle because of where interest rates are, you know, how the markets are doing and that kind of thing.

And really what I would suggest in that scenario is, first of all, do you need a vehicle?

Because everybody needs a vehicle.

But do you need that vehicle right now?

Right.

And if that's the case, then absolutely, yes.

But I would also venture to say that buying a vehicle pre owned would make more sense than buying a vehicle new, because we all know as soon as we drive that new vehicle off the lot, we're losing 10, $12,000 right away.

Right.

And so right now, where interest rates are typically in the automotive industry, prime interest rates range between 7 and 12%.

Right.

And so, you know, we're still able to get very competitive interest rates on a pre owned vehicle as well as a new vehicle.

Right.

So in this market it would definitely make sense to look at pre owned because your loan to values are also better in that scenario where you're not losing nearly as much value on your vehicle.

Buying pre owned versus buying new.

Yes, I would agree completely.

And I can't remember where I saw the statistic but like, and don't quote me on it because it's probably not perfect, but I saw something the other day that said that around 80% of millionaires drive a used car.

Yes, yes, that is, that is correct.

They typically make pretty great decisions with their money and they've realized that buying a new car is not worth it.

You know, proof is in the pudding.

Right.

Like Ed Mylett, who we both know and follow Big guy in the personal coaching and development space worth probably half a billion dollars of net worth.

The first time that he's ever bought a new vehicle is when he was 50 years old and he's 51 years old.

And so that kind of goes to show that it makes more sense typically to buy a pre owned vehicle.

Absolutely, absolutely.

Well, before we get into, you know, our conversation regarding finance and how to make good decisions, who is Jeremy Larue?

Dude, how did you end up on this path?

It's a pretty cool and crazy kind of journey, you know, just like any entrepreneur, right.

It's an entrepreneur roller coaster.

And, and you know, when, when you wake up, you know, and when you're a kid.

I never imagined that I would be doing what I was doing today, but I always knew I wanted to get into business.

Right.

So I grew up in Williams Lake, bc.

That's my hometown.

And my dad, he works in the forestry industry and that's what led us out to bc.

It just made more sense for our family at the time.

And so I grew up half my life in British Columbia.

It was just a picture perfect childhood really, Kelly, you know, like going camping and traveling every single weekend.

My dad, you know, I'm very grateful for my mom and my dad.

They sacrificed a lot so that they could be present parents and really help mold and shape us as kids to allow us to have really a great chance at life and success.

And then we moved back to Alberta in 2006 because all of our family is from Alberta.

And my great, great grandfather, he actually established the town of Plamondon, small town about two and a half hours northeast of Edmonton.

And that's where I kind of grew up so very, you know, small town.

So if you look at the industries there, you know, it's oil field farming and a little bit of forestry.

Right.

And so coming out of high school, you know, the trades just kind of made sense.

Right.

My older brother is a millwright and, you know, I had a liking into heavy duty mechanics.

You know, you could make some good money, six figures coming out of high school and, you know, it's just a great opportunity.

So got into the trades and then I got to the point where I liked it, but I didn't love it.

And I really felt like I was wasting my time and my potential.

Not knocking tradespeople, they're very hardworking people and I have a tremendous amount of respect for them, but I just knew that for me, it just wasn't a good fit and I needed to make a change.

And so through a series of events, I got introduced to the financial services industry for.

Through a great friend of mine and my older brother.

And we grew up with this guy, you know, around most half of our life we've known him and we saw he was doing some really great things, you know, helping a lot of people, making a big difference and also creating, you know, just a better life for himself and his family.

Yeah.

And so we got into, you know, the.

I got into the financial services industry back in 2018, and, you know, that was a very, very cool and interesting experience because as you know, kelly, starting your own business, right, the mirror is put up right to your face and it exposes every single part of every little insecurity that you have.

Right.

Every little bit about you that you're not comfortable with comes out in that moment.

And so he got into the financial industry and I really did enjoy it.

Right.

I have a deep passion always for helping people and making a difference for people.

But then there was kind of a transitional period of my life.

This was back during COVID in 2020.

And I always wanted to help people who couldn't help themselves due to a situation or circumstance that they were in.

And so I wanted to be a police officer.

That's kind of a calling that I had in the back of my head ever since I was a young kid.

And so I said, I'm going for this.

Right.

And so I went in and I did the, you know, went in and applied with the edmonton police service, went through their recruiting program during COVID and it was insane, Kelly.

There were over 2,000 applicants.

Wow.

And only 30 people were selected.

Holy cow.

Wow.

So you can imagine it was A very competitive process.

Yeah, I bet.

And I've learned.

I learned so many things throughout that process, and I'm very grateful for that.

And at the end of that process, I wasn't selected.

I was told to come back in two years, which happens very often.

And it really just reaffirmed to me that I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be in my life and in business and in entrepreneurship.

And that's kind of the foundational steps of my entrepreneurial journey, which then led me into the automotive industry.

Right.

And so it was right around October of 2020.

At that time, I had spent most of my time involved in the emitipoli's recruiting process.

And so by that time I had a lot of my associates within my financial firm that weren't there anymore, naturally.

And Covid was also a factor in that.

And I was looking for something kind of transitional at the time that I could make some money and still stay in business kind of part time and keep building it from there.

And I'm sure you've had certain instances in your business, in your life where you have to do what you have to do to keep that dream and that spark alive.

And there's sacrifices involved in that.

You have Daymond John, who had to, you know, be a server at a restaurant many times over before FUBU became fubu that we know today.

Right.

So it's something I just want to quickly touch on is if you have to go back to a part time job and you have your business on the side, that's okay.

Right.

Don't feel bad about that.

Right.

As long as you never give up on yourself and what you believe in and the direction that you're moving forward and the life that you want to create for yourself.

So.

So going back to that, I had reached out to a colleague of mine.

He was starting a company that was helping people with vehicles and making sure that they were put in the proper vehicle solution.

And so I saw that as an opportunity, looking at the different services that were able to be provided in the financial sector.

We covered all of the basis except for vehicles.

Right.

And so I saw that as a big opportunity where I was like, okay, this could make a lot of sense because I have a deep passion for vehicles and a deep passion for helping people with their finances.

And so I started growing the company with this person and, you know, things went amazing and it got to the point where I was bringing in so much business that I'm like, well, I can do this on my own.

And so that's how, you know, the birth of LaRue Auto Group started.

Wow.

Wow.

You know what, dude?

I actually, me and you and Ben share an interesting view, I think, and I really do believe that you end up where you're supposed to be in a given moment.

I actually believe in that with you as well.

Call it divine intervention, call it the universe, call it whatever you want.

I just, I've had so many experiences, amazing experiences happen in the podcast journey, in my journey with capital.

Opportunities that really just seem to come out of nowhere.

So many to the point, Jeremy, where I say you can make as many 5 year, 3 year, 2 year plans as you want.

What's coming is coming.

What's important is that when the opportunity comes to your door and that door opens, you walk through it, you say yes.

Right?

So much of business is unpredictable and people hate to hear that.

People hate to hear that you can't plan the whole thing, that you can't.

That, you know, if you have X, Y and Z, you're not necessarily going to get X, Y and Z.

You might get, you know, jkl.

It just is what it is.

But so much of business is being open to whatever is going to come your way and being willing to say yes when that opportunity comes to your door.

And, you know, the longer that I'm in this journey, the podcast journey, the journey with capital, and the more entrepreneurs I speak with and the unpredictable turns their journeys have taken, the more I just believe that it's not necessarily about having the best plan.

It's about being able to say yes to the best opportunity when it comes.

I completely agree with you, Kelly.

A lot of, like you said, entrepreneurship is being open to opportunities.

Right.

And within entrepreneurship, it's all about relationships, right?

Relationships is the currency, right.

You're the average of the five people that you associate yourself with the most.

Right.

John Maxwell says that all the time.

And relationships is what leads to everything else within entrepreneurship.

Right.

So I completely, 100% agree with you there.

Totally, totally.

Well, you know, lead us into, you know, LaRue Auto Group.

Like, obviously you chatted a little bit about the why you got into auto finance.

And it's an interesting spin because most places are just auto finance, but you're also like, hey, we're going to take, you know, a wider approach to this.

Walk me through that.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

So it's really kind of a unique set of product line that, you know, is in my core belief is needed now more than ever, especially, you know, with the, the topic that, you know, the conversation We've had off camera, you know, people are hurting out there financially.

Right.

People are making, you know, six figures and they're still feeling.

It's crazy.

Yeah, Right.

And so, you know what it is, is that.

So I have my company that contracts through a couple different dealership groups and so on in terms of, like, the vehicle, the Power Sports Marine rv sales and finance.

I have access to all of that inventory, myself and my sales team.

And we can provide that service, making sure we're putting people into a vehicle solution that makes sense for them short and long term.

But more uniquely than that is we can actually consolidate high interest, unsecured debt, or any kind of debt for that matter, into your vehicle loan.

So, for example, if you're paying off a credit card at 20 or 21%, which is the standard rate usually, and you can pay it off at 8 or 9%, that's amazing.

Right.

And we're further able to accelerate paying that debt off.

And as you know, I'm sure, Kelly, most people don't have an actual game plan for paying their debts off.

Right.

They're making a payment here, they're making a payment there.

Right.

They're only making minimum payments.

So this actually puts a proper game plan in place and a definitive timeline as to when they're going to be able to pay that debt off.

It's so funny that you bring that up because me and, you know, me and Shelby were just having that conversation the other day.

We're like, you know, like, combined, we do, we do pretty okay.

Like, I think me and you were talking and we were saying, like, the average Canadian is only making about $70,000, or the Canadian household is around 70, $75,000.

I was like, well, me and Shelby were like, we do better than that.

But still, being able to really get ahead has been challenging.

And, you know, I know that this isn't just a Canadian problem.

This is.

This is a Western world problem.

I think on a certain level where we're just, you know, the cost of things, inflation is going through the roof.

I think people are probably holding more, more, like you said, unsecured debt than ever than ever, just to keep going, because that's what ends up happening.

People don't limit their lifestyle.

They just charge more to the card.

That's what happens.

So even though you look around you and it looks like everything is just trucking along the way, it should be, I'm pretty confident that people's credit card debts, things like that, lines of credit are going up and up and up and up.

And without a good plan on how you're going to handle that, at some point you got to pay the piper.

I agree with you completely, Kelly.

You know, you look at, you know, our western culture, it's all about consumerism.

Consumerism, consumerism.

Right.

And so people are extending themselves far beyond their means.

And that's something in the automotive industry that has been prevalent for how long?

The auto industry has been in place.

Right.

For hundreds and hundreds of years.

And so.

But unfortunately, you know, what people and dealerships and dealer groups fail to realize is they're actually working themselves out of a market.

Yeah.

Because when you have somebody that comes in and buys a vehicle and then you're calling them up, you're calling Joe up two years from then and saying, hey, Joe, let's get you traded out of that vehicle into your next vehicle.

You know your payment's only going to go up by 50 bucks a month, right?

Well, that 50 bucks a month represents a significant amount of total debt and negative equity that's being rolled over.

And then, so then Joe is being put into a position where he's continuously snowballing his debt into other vehicles.

And then there's going to be a point where Joe's not going to be able to get another vehicle because he's stuck with that vehicle because the value is far less than what Joe owes on that vehicle.

Oh, goodness.

Yeah.

I'm happy you touched on this because I think this is something that, that I learned when in the auto industry that I, you know, frankly, I haven't really heard come up since that time.

And it's the idea of negative equity.

Most people don't understand that concept.

Jeremy, can you introduce our listeners to what is negative equity and why is it bad over time?

Yeah, absolutely.

So basically what negative equity is is that.

So let's say you go in and you're wanting to trade your vehicle in and at the time you owe $30,000 and the vehicle is only worth $20,000.

Well, that means that there's $10,000 of negative equity that would then get added onto your next vehicle loan.

Right.

Because the lender obviously needs to get paid out in full.

Yes.

So there would be an additional $10,000 on top of that other auto loan.

So that's what negative equity is, Kelly.

Yeah, no, and it's.

And it compounds like Jeremy was saying.

So like if you get yourself into this idea that you're going to swap out to three years and every loan you're taking on is a seven year loan, well, you're maybe getting through half of what you've, what you need to pay on that vehicle by the time you're swapping it out.

And almost guaranteed by then the vehicle has depreciated below the amount owing.

And so every time you do this, you're adding 5,000, 10,000, 15,000 to the bill and eventually you're financing a vehicle for way more than it's worth and you're going to end up upside down.

Absolutely, yeah.

In addition to what you just mentioned, you know, for example, that two to three year window when you're financing a vehicle, typically most of your monthly payment is going to be going towards the interest of that loan, not the principal.

Right.

So if someone is, you know, rolling their vehicle over two or three years, they're actually not hardly ever actually paying down the principal of the loan because majority of the payment is going towards the interest.

So they're not even making any kind of progress whatsoever and they're just really getting themselves into a dire situation.

Oh, man.

And me and you, I'm sure both know a lot of people who are like, oh yeah, I just trade in my vehicle for the new one every couple of years.

It's like, oh my gosh, I hear that.

And I'm just like, no, like, you know, I paid off.

I bought a Mustang in 2025.

I always wanted a Mustang.

I honest to God, I still miss my Mustang.

I had to.

I had traded it in and got a, got a Big Boy truck when I, when I started my company because I needed a company vehicle.

But I kept that vehicle for 10 years, Jeremy.

I paid it right off because to me, that is the best way to handle a vehicle.

It really is to own it before you're going to do anything with it.

Trade it in, trade it up.

Is that what you recommend or is there a better way to do it?

I completely agree with you on that, Kelly.

You know, it's, I'm probably one of the only people in the automotive industry that's going to tell you to keep your vehicle for the long term and pay it off.

Right.

And so that's certainly an effective way to be able to get into a positive equity position with your vehicle is keep it as long as you possibly can, take great care of it, put extended warranty on it so that you have peace of mind, so that if the vehicle breaks down mechanically, that you have those products in place, making sure that it's the right product, that it's designed properly for, you know, your specific situation.

But yeah, pay off your vehicle.

Completely.

So that you're never caught in a position where you're, you know, what the situation we just talked about.

Yes, yes.

And you know, I kind of want to get into it with you as well.

Is that age old question, should you buy or should you lease?

Right.

And I know that it's going to be different for different people, but I think right now we're talking to a lot of companies.

Right.

And as companies grow, you know, they can quickly, especially in Alberta, they can quickly realize, oh crap, we need more company vehicles.

Right.

In your experience when you're working with companies, do you recommend that they buy their vehicles outright and own them or that they ultimately just lease them at, you know, three, four years at a time?

That's a great question, Kelly.

You know, obviously when you're leasing or you're financing a vehicle, you're building credit.

So that's a very good and positive situation.

So if we're talking company specific, I typically recommend that if you're doing a lease that you're doing the full lease term and not doing a shorter lease term, like a two or a three year lease.

Because what's going to happen at the end of that lease term is there's going to be a balloon payment that either you have to pay that amount out of pocket or you have to roll that over into another lease.

Right.

And so if you're going to a lease, making sure that it's the first full lease term and that there is no balloon payment at the end of the lease, because then you're going to be end up paying way more than what you initially thought.

Sure, the payment is going to look better and it's going to be lower, but hey, that's because there's that nasty balloon payment at the end of the lease term that you're going to have to deal with at that time.

Yeah, yeah.

And it's so funny because it's like, you know, it's bad when we're literally leasing our cell phones.

I find it so funny when you go into like Bell now or whatever and you're getting your next phone and they're like, hey, do you want to like hand this thing back at the end?

And while that sounds really great, Shelby ended up doing that last time and she went to hand her phone back and they're like, oh no, it had this crack and this and we need all this fixed before it's coming back.

So by the way, you're actually going to pay US$350 and you're going to give us this phone back and I'm like that's not a good deal.

No, no.

And you know, it's funny that you mentioned that Kelly, because like if we're talking leasing for individ, like there's a lot of people that ask me, hey Jeremy, you know, does it make more sense for me to lease my vehicle or finance my vehicle?

And my question or my answer to that all the time is I typically don't recommend individuals to lease their vehicle because of those restrictions.

Right.

There's kilometer restrictions damage.

Right.

And like you said, oh, there's a crack on the phone.

Oh, there's a scratch in the door, there's a dent in the door.

Right.

That you don't have any control over but you're going to be in the end responsible for.

Right.

So unless somebody is a business owner, they're typically cash flowing quarter million plus where they can put the vehicle leased through the company, write off the depreciation during the lease and then buy that vehicle outright at the end of that lease term.

For an individual, I don't recommend typically leasing.

Again, yes, the payment's going to be a little bit better, but then you're going to have that amount at the end of the lease and you're going to have more restrictions placed on what you can actually do with the vehicle during that period of time.

Yeah, yeah.

And you know, I mean I'm a firm believer that owning assets is the solution.

Physical things that you can actually touch and in a way, you know, anything that you rent like that, you know, at the end of the day it's not real.

Right.

At least at the end of your auto finance term, you're going to have a tangible valuable asset, whatever that value is at that time at least it will be something you own and, and can and can reap the reward of the value in one way or another.

As long as you keep it and you pay it off.

Absolutely.

So you know, talk to me.

We're in one of the most challenging financial situations that Canada I'm sure has ever been in, ever.

Like there's no question the repercussions of the current, of the current financial situation that is Canada, probably the United States in the exact same boat.

We're going through record inflation, interest rates are going up.

You know, we talked about this before.

I think there's going to be people that are not going to be able to afford their homes.

I really do.

I think that we're heading there.

I don't know when we're heading there, but I genuinely get this like bad feeling that like people never planned for a 5, 6, 7, 8% refinance on their mortgage.

And that's astronomical.

Astronomical.

It's astronomical.

There are going to be people who are just like, I can't, I can't do this.

And it's scary.

It's really scary.

It really is, Kelly.

You know, like with, with the automotive industry right now, interest rates, like I said, are between 7 and 11%.

Wow.

Right.

On a, on a prime rate.

Yes.

There are, you know, dealerships, if they have their own in house financing rates can be lower.

But that's specific to that, you know, that dealer group or that brand of vehicle.

Right.

The good news is, is that you can actually refinance your loan down the road to get a lower rate.

So that's what I always talk about with my clients.

It's like, okay, yes, you're, you know, right now you're at 9% or 8%, but we can look at refinancing this down the road for you.

So you're not locked into that interest rate for the whole course of the finance term.

Right.

So that's amazing.

I guess there are a lot of loans though that are structured to.

Not necessarily.

I know car loans are a little different.

You're typically allowed to pay them out, but you know, there are a lot of loans that say, nope, you're only allowed to do that maybe once a year or once in a certain period of time.

Right.

So it really does, it does matter on the structure of the loan, correct?

It absolutely does matter.

Yeah.

Most conditional sales contracts, which is an open ended loan, there are no penalties to pay that loan out sooner.

And then any amount of money that gets applied to that loan, let's say your payment per month is $650 and then you put an additional $200 payment.

The $650 has taken care of the interest and some of the payment and then that additional $200 that you make goes directly towards the principal.

Right.

So you could further accelerate paying your loan out.

Now, a lease, there's typically penalties to break a lease early.

Right.

And so that's another caveat to the lease versus the finance discussion and debate.

Right.

There's typically penalties, whereas with the loan, it's open ended, no penalties to pay the loan out sooner.

Wow.

So it really is looking, you know, if you're not a business, there's like zero percent question, you probably should not be leasing your vehicle.

I highly, highly, highly don't recommend it.

I do not endorse it.

I also do not recommend leasing your cell phones.

No, no, no, no.

Don't do that.

Just the other side of this.

It is worth the extra 30 bucks to own your phone at the end and not have to pay for it.

I just.

I.

I find it so funny.

I just.

To me, it seems ridiculous.

Like, you know, ob you.

We're both in our.

I would imagine you're in your 30s.

Is that fair?

Almost 30.

Yeah.

Almost 30.

Oh, well, congratulations.

Thank you.

I'm 30.

I'm coming on 36 here in December, so.

And I remember, you know, getting my very first flip phone that had a camera on it, right?

Like, that was the hot thing, I think, in, like, 20.

I want to say, like, 2008.

No, 2000, like six.

2006, man.

Like Motorola Razorback.

Yeah, I know.

Motorola Razor.

Yeah.

But the very first flip phone, right, that had a camera, it was like this, like, LG thing.

And I remember getting it and going to the cell phone store with my mom and it being like, 250 bucks.

I think my mom being like, I'm not paying 250 bucks for that phone.

So I had to cough up the difference.

Right?

But it's just bonkers now that, like, phones are, like, three grand and people are leasing them.

I just don't understand that.

You know, in all fairness, phones have come a long way since the LG flip phones, but.

Yes, yes, they have.

You know, so walk me through.

Walk me through.

You know, a standard customer, obviously you have people coming into you.

They're probably.

They probably have a mortgage.

They're probably looking for a, you know, a family van or something along those lines.

But they're struggling financially, Jeremy.

Right.

Like, I don't care.

I don't care who you are.

You are probably struggling financially unless you were incredibly well off, you know, pre Covid.

Right.

If you're.

If you're an average person living, you know, maybe a little bit paycheck to paycheck, but you got, say, like, 5, 10 grand saved up in the bank.

You're still.

You're still struggling.

You're.

Okay.

Maybe you're not worried about your finances, but taking on additional debt can be a hard pill to swallow, right?

Absolutely.

Walk me through.

You know, what are you seeing coming through your door?

Yeah, really the big thing that we're seeing right now.

So 80 over 80% of Albertans specifically, are in a negative equity position on their vehicle between seven and $10,000 plus on two or more vehicles.

Right?

So that's what we're seeing right now is a lot of people are in a negative equity position and they're really struggling to be able to maintain their payments.

And so really what our process is at LaRue Auto Group is educating and providing full transparency through informed decision making and walking them through and say, hey, this is what your budget looks like.

This is your income, these are your expenses.

And really formulating and putting them into a vehicle solution that actually makes sense for them short and long term.

And by the way, it's okay to get a stepping stone vehicle.

Yes, right.

It's okay.

Especially let's say you're a younger person, you know, you're just kind of getting into the workforce and you're building your career in your life.

You know, maybe don't go out and buy the $100,000 1 ton Denali diesel, right?

Maybe just maybe start with, you know, a four door sedan or a midsize SUV that is a lot more suitable to where you are at in your situation and in that point in your life.

Yes, yes, I agree completely.

And I, like, honestly, I think back to my time selling cars and back then I worked at a Dodge dealer and obviously everyone wanted the like the fancy top of the line Jeeps, right?

That was the thing everyone wanted.

But like, even then those things were like 80 grand and we're talking like 2008, right?

Yeah.

Unreal.

And it's like, do you, do you really want, you know, a 9, a 900 to $1,000 bill payment a month before insurance on this bloody thing?

Like, oof.

And let's get real.

Alberta, Alberta is a different beast completely.

People working in oil and gas back then, it was like, yeah, no worries.

Like that's like, I don't know, 20% of my income.

It was a different time, so understand that.

But still, like now, you know, even, even me, even as well off as me and Shelby are managing to get by.

I would not, I would not take on $1,000 a month car payment ever.

Ever.

No, I just, the frugal side of me is just like, I don't care how well I do, I don't ever want to pay that.

You know, I saw on Instagram the other day, a guy, you know, he was showing off his, his Rolls Royce Wraith and he was being interviewed and the interview asked him, hey, how much are you making in income per year?

And he's like, yeah, 300 grand.

And his payment on this Rolls Royce was three grand.

And I'm thinking to myself, I'm like, you know, you're making about, you know, 25 between 25 and 30 grand a month and 3,000 of that is going towards a vehicle.

Like, that's insane to me.

Yeah, absolutely insane.

It really.

And so really what we're striving towards and what we're educating people on is if we can get our vehicle expenses around 10%.

Yes.

And that includes, you know, your payment, gas, insurance.

Right.

That's the ideal.

Now, I know we're really far away from that in Alberta.

Yeah.

But that's what we're really striving towards.

And you know, that's really what LaRue Auto Group again, is just really empowering people to make the most educated decisions through education and transparency.

And that's the thing I absolutely love about talking with you about this because as much as, you know, like, let's get real, like, car dealers are fine.

They're absolutely fine.

When you go into a car dealership, they're not thinking about your full financial picture.

What they're thinking about is, can this person afford this vehicle?

That is what your salesperson is thinking.

Can they afford this vehicle?

And all the way down the line, that's what the people are thinking because they are not.

They're not paid to look after your financial health.

They are paid to sell vehicles.

And you know what?

That's fine.

That's absolutely fine.

They're a business.

They're a for profit business.

If you go into a Best Buy, they're not thinking about your financial health either.

So think about that.

Okay.

But you're absolutely right.

The thing I really love about what you're doing, Jeremy, is it's heartfelt.

It's really, it's a business, a passion business about putting people in a better financial situation while also helping them accomplish, you know, their vehicle needs, their auto finance needs.

Dude, that's.

You should be very proud of the work you're doing.

Well, thank you so much, Kelly.

I really appreciate those words.

And like I said, I just, I have a deep passion for helping people with their finances.

And don't get me wrong, there's a lot of people in the automotive industry that I know personally that are absolutely amazing people and they're huge advocates for change and they want to do better.

And they are improving their systems and their processes and are training their sales teams to do better and to actually properly assess the needs of the customer.

Right.

And it's kind of going back to the conversation before where it's like, people don't know what they don't know.

Right.

If they don't know and they're uneducated Right.

They're not going to be able to provide that higher quality of service.

And that's really kind of setting the higher standard in the automotive industry with what we're doing is making sure that we're looking at the entire picture and not just one little window of it.

Absolutely.

And I want to talk to our listeners right now.

If you weren't financially educated, you are not alone and you are not lesser for that.

Okay?

Understand I was not financially educated.

Jeremy wasn't financially educated until he got older.

Like, unfortunately, we live in a country where financial literacy is not taught and I think it's absolutely crap.

And to all of my, like, education people listening, if you want to make an impact in your kids lives, in the lives of the future Canadians, Americans around the world, make sure that financial literacy education gets into the schools because that's where it needed to start.

We should have been being taught how to be truly financially looked after in junior high, high school and post secondary.

And unfortunately, for whatever reason, it's not something that you, you really learn until you're an adult and usually the hard way.

I'm really, I'm so glad you mentioned that, Kelly, because I was there, you know, like again, you know, making a good amount of money coming right out of high school, you know, not that much financial proficiency at that time.

Yeah.

And I went out and I bought myself, you know, a big jacked up truck.

And you know, it came to the point where I wasn't in the trades anymore and I needed to get rid of that truck.

And lo and behold, I rolled over about $12,000 worth of negative equity into a sports car.

So I made a better decision the second time around where I got into a vehicle that actually made sense for what I was doing in my life in that period of time.

But yeah, I rolled over $12,000 and I didn't even know it.

My gosh, guys.

And I'm talking to my audience right now, this is something I haven't actually brought up ever on the show, Jeremy.

When I was about 23, so about a year out of college, I got myself so upside down in credit card debt trying to maintain life.

Dude, I had about a $9,000 credit card bill.

My, like just keeping up with my payments on that was like 300 bucks just to literally put a tiny, tiny dent in it.

And my gosh, I got really lucky that year.

I ended up starting working for an oil and gas company and I got a really nice bonus, Jeremy.

And I'm not sure that I would have easily gotten out of that debt, I got lucky.

I got lucky and I, I was smart.

And when I got my bonus, I paid off the entire credit card and I told myself, I will never ever do that again.

And to this day, man, I don't usually retain a credit card.

I don't, I don't keep a balance on my credit cards.

I pay them off, like.

But it was.

I had to get myself in some serious, serious hot water.

And luckily the opportunity came to get me out of it and I was smart enough to take it and not just buy something stupid like most 23 year olds would maybe try and do.

Go to Mexico or something, Right?

Yeah, exactly.

But yeah, yeah, I, I'm, I'm very thankful to my younger self for making a smart decision in that moment and not just, not just being like, oh, great, we got, you know, 20 grand, we're going to go blow this somewhere.

Yeah, free money, let's go.

Yeah, man.

But, you know, to those of you who are in that situation now, I feel for you.

I feel for you.

I know, I know how like, haunting debt can be.

Debt.

Debt is the worst thing.

It really is.

And it's something that, whether it's the middle of the night or the middle of the day, you can feel that weight.

Yeah.

You know, just to kind of be a sounding board on that too, you know, it's tough, right?

And people that are in debt, you know, they feel like there are no options for them.

But the good news is is there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Right?

There are solutions that like we're talking about today, you know, furthermore, like, I'll give you guys a little story.

I had a client of mine who was referred over to me.

He was working for a larger oil field company at the time, this was back in 2022.

And the company offered to pay for up to $1,000 of payment on the truck.

So what this guy did is he went, of course, and he got himself a $1,400 a month truck payment.

Right.

Well, what happened is the company had some financial difficulties when the oil field crashed and that kind of thing.

And he lost his job and now he's stuck with that $1,400 a month truck payment.

Just for the payment itself.

Brutal.

And his income went from eight grand net to four grand net.

And so half of his income was going towards the truck.

So the payment and the insurance and so, you know, his vehicle at that time was worth 50,000 and he owed 100,000 on the truck.

Oh my God.

So in that situation, you're like, okay, well, obviously this poor person is not going to be able to get out of this situation.

So what we can actually do is we can surrender the vehicle into a consumer proposal that's offered by a trustee or a debt consolidation firm and wrap up other debts along with it, and then we can get them.

We work with preferred lenders that work with clients that are in a consumer proposal or that are getting into a consumer proposal, and we can get them approved for very competitive rates on another vehicle so that they can have a clean slate and a fresh start so that they can get back on track and also work on building their credit up.

Right.

And you hear that word consumer proposal, and people are like, oh, my gosh, my credit's gonna be ruined for several years.

Yes, your credit is going to take a little bit of a hit.

However, in recent times, in the last seven years plus, your credit is not going to be taking a hit for as long as you think it is.

Right.

Most consumer proposals are between two, three and five years.

And as long as you have maintained all of your payments, two years after you finished your final proposal payment, you can qualify for prime rates again.

Right.

So the process is a lot shorter to rebuild than what it was in the past.

And so I just want to put that out there to all the listeners on the BDP that, you know, if you feel like you're stuck, it's okay.

We have solutions in place that can help you get back on track.

Can you run me through?

Is there a difference in repercussions from, say, declaring bankruptcy or entering into a consumer proposal?

Great question.

So a consumer proposal is under the Bankruptcy act, and so a consumer proposal, there are a couple different tiers of consumer proposals, but it's not the same as filing for a full bankruptcy.

Right.

It's a little bit easier on your credit.

Now, I'm not a trustee, so I'm not a full expert on the inner workings of what a bankruptcy is, but I do know consumer proposals well, and I do know that it is not the same thing as a bankruptcy.

I mean, it doesn't affect your credit in the same way, and you can rebuild your credit faster under a consumer proposal.

Now, there are situations where a consumer proposal just doesn't make sense and you have to file for bankruptcy.

Yeah, Right.

But most cases you can go into a consumer proposal over a bankruptcy.

Okay.

And it makes more sense.

No, that's awesome.

That's awesome.

I know that, like, for me, it's always been like, aren't they very close yeah, because.

Because you hear about it either way.

Right.

But yeah, no, that makes sense.

And obviously if you can do something that's going to have a lesser long term repercussion, that is going to be your best option.

Absolutely.

And you can build credit as you're going through that process.

Sure, sure.

But of course, the best possible option is to not end up in that situation to begin with.

And so, you know, if we have people right now who are listening, Jeremy, and maybe they're like, you know what?

Like, I'm not really sure how we're doing financially.

And I think that's a lot of people.

I think so many people are like, I can't pay my bills.

No one's coming, coming breathing down my throat.

But you know what?

Yeah.

I am carrying a balance on my line of credit.

My credit cards are starting to get a little high.

What do you recommend?

Is it a good time to come and visit someone like you to say, you know what, like, I need to look at this and see how I can do better?

Absolutely, yeah.

You know, you know, a lot of people, they just kind of put their head in the sand and they hope that the problem goes away.

Yeah.

And that's just not a solution.

Right.

Because that debt is going to keep piling up and keep piling up and if you just keep kicking the can down the road, that's just not going to lead to anything good for yourself long term.

Right.

And so, yes, absolutely, come talk to us.

We have a completely free consultation call that we do with you.

We look and assess what your situation is and then we prescribe a solution based on that.

So we have a completely free consultation call that you can do with myself and my team and we're happy to help and be of support.

That's amazing, Jeremy.

You know, in a time where having good credit is frankly more important than ever, like, let's get real.

Like, we live in a time now where having good credit isn't just nice to have, it's a need to have.

What kind of advice would you give to people about improving their current credit scores?

Getting them up to, you know, you know, say a 7 or 800 at this time?

Yeah, great question, Kelly.

You know, it really starts with where my credit score is.

Right.

Most people, you ask them, hey, what's your credit score?

They don't know.

Right.

They're not sure or they think their credit is bad because they missed one cell phone bill payment.

But the thing is, what people need to understand is that even though, let's say you Have a cell phone payment on a monthly basis and you miss the payment date, are you going to pay a late fee for that payment?

Sure, you might.

But as long as you make that payment within that next 30 day window, it's not going to report negatively to your credit report, right?

So first off, the first step is knowing where your credit is so you can actually get an Equifax, I believe it's an $8 a month subscription and you can actually see what lenders will see, what creditors will see, right.

When you go to borrow money, you're going to be able to see pretty much what they're going to see, right?

And so the first step is to identify and know that the second step is making sure that your credit utilization is typically under 35%.

So what I mean by that is the total amount of credit that you have extended to you versus the amount of credit that you're utilizing, right?

Is typically around that 35% is the sweet spot.

Because what does that mean?

That means that you're being responsible with the credit that's being extended to you, but you're not overbearing the amount of credit you're using and you're making all of your payments on time, right?

So actually that credit utilization accounts for 35% of your overall credit score, right?

The other thing too is making sure that you're making your payments on time, right?

One thing that I want to touch on which most people are kind of unaware of is when you use your credit card, you don't want to pay off your credit card that instant, right?

You do want to let it sit on there a little bit so that the credit card company registers that you're actually using the credit, right?

Because they want you to use credit, right?

That's the whole purpose.

But they also want you to be responsible with the credit that's being given to you, right?

So I had a, you know, a friend of mine where their credit score was, was not great because, and she was like, jeremy, I pay my credit cards off as soon as I use them.

Why is my credit score so bad?

And I'm like, that's why.

Because they're, the credit card company doesn't even know you're using the credit because you're paying it off right away and you're not letting them register.

Hey, I'm using the credit, I'm being responsible for the credit.

So that's something that I would recommend is, is let it sit for a week, week and a half and then pay it off in full.

And Then move forward.

Wow.

Wow, man.

That's like.

You wouldn't think that.

Right?

You would think that if you're paying it off immediately, they'd look at it and be like, oh, this person's really great.

But you're right.

It's like they don't get to see the benefit if you don't hold it on there for at least a little bit.

So they're not going to look at that in, you know, they're.

They're going to look at that negatively as well.

Exactly.

Yeah.

It's almost like reverse psychology.

Right.

And people don't think that.

Right.

Totally, totally.

Okay.

And the last thing I wanted to chat with you about today was if you are going to go and take out a loan, what are the things that you should consider to make sure that you get the best loan available for you?

You know, it's all about who you work with.

Right.

And who you're dealing with.

Now, when you're talking about loan, are you talking specific to a vehicle loan?

Sure.

Yeah.

Let's.

Let's call it a vehicle loan or a toy loan.

Let's.

We're in Alberta.

Right.

Someone's buying a boat right now.

Yeah, a boat.

A quad, A side by side, an rv.

Right now in this moment.

It's happening.

Someone's buying a boat at 21%.

Right now.

It's happening right now.

Yeah.

It's really.

It comes down to making sure that you're doing your proper own needs analysis and assessment, knowing, hey, you know, this is my budget and really sticking to it no matter what happens when you walk through those doors, really sticking to your guns and just making sure that this is my payment allowable per month and this is the kind of situation that I'm sticking with.

Right.

And then communicating that to the sales and finance person immediately so that they are able to find a vehicle that will actually fit within the parameters of what you're looking for.

And then also looking at what kind of vehicle do you need for your life.

Right.

Let's say that you do a lot of camping, you're doing off road things.

Right.

Maybe a larger SUV or a truck.

Makes more sense if you're hauling an RV or a fifth wheel or a trailer.

Right.

Really assessing that and looking at what kind of vehicle would actually make sense for you.

And also being realistic with, hey, if you're going for a, you know, looking for a brand new truck right now, not walking into the dealership thinking you're going to be at A$300 a month payment.

Yeah.

Because that's just not realistic.

Right.

And, you know, I have a lot of people that call me and they say, yeah, I would like, you know, a $200 a month car payment.

And it's just not.

It's just 10 years ago, sure, sure, we could do it.

But just, you know, we have to be realistic with where the market is and, you know, what the market is doing.

And we're doing our best to be able to, again, fit and match that vehicle solution that makes more sense for you.

So just to kind of recap and summarize is knowing what your budget is, knowing what kind of vehicle you're looking for, communicating that information upfront right away so that you can manage the expectations of the salesperson and the finance person and the sales manager, and they can do the same on their end, and you guys can work together to achieve and find a vehicle that will work for you guys.

That's amazing, dude.

And, you know, one of the things that I kind of wanted to chat with you about, since we've been talking so much about dealerships, yet a lot of people buy privately and finance privately.

Do you maybe recommend that as an option versus going to a dealer?

That's a great question, Kelly.

It really depends on what kind of vehicle that is, what the background of the seller is.

Right.

Did they take proper care of their vehicle?

Do they have all of their maintenance records kept?

Because I actually bought a vehicle privately when I was 19, and it's funny, because it was the wintertime, and me and my dad, we went in, we had coveralls on, we went underneath the vehicle, and.

And we looked, you know, we did a proper assessment.

And we're both mechanically inclined, so it's not like we didn't know what we were looking for.

And even then, I had issues with the front end where I had to replace both front CV axles within three months of buying that truck.

Wow.

So it really does come down to a gamble, right?

I'm not saying that you shouldn't do it.

Right.

Know your seller.

Right.

That's really what it comes down to.

Make sure that if that's what you're doing, that you get the vehicle mechanically assessed and do a proper mechanical inspection on the vehicle before you sign for that vehicle, before you purchase the vehicle.

And that's why I'm a huge advocate of going to, you know, a dealership, somebody that, you know, somebody that you trust and somebody that you know has the best intentions and the best outcome for you.

Because all vehicles sold at dealerships need to be AMVIC certified.

Right.

They need to be mechanically assessed to make sure that they're mechanically sound at time of purchase.

They do 120 point mechanical inspection on the vehicle.

And so I'm always a huge advocate of that because you never know what you're getting when you're buying a vehicle privately.

So I'm not saying don't do it, I'm just saying do your homework.

No, that's great advice.

That's absolutely great advice at this point too.

Like I said, the last few vehicles I bought have been used from a dealership and you've turned out amazing.

They've been great vehicles and I would highly, highly recommend it.

Yeah.

You know, Jeremy, we're going to close up here, but before we do, run us through one more time.

What are the services of LaRue Auto Group?

Who are your ideal customers and what's the best way for them to get a hold of you?

Absolutely.

And so the main services that I offer are vehicle, power, sports, marine and RV sales and finance in addition to the refinances to consolidate high interest unsecured debt or any kind of debts for that matter.

Right.

So those are the main products and services.

And how you can reach us is we have our Instagram, we have our Facebook pages, LaRue Auto Group, you can follow us on all our social media platforms.

I'm on LinkedIn as Jeremy Larew.

And then reach out to us@larueautomail.com for any inquiries.

I just want to mention too, Kelly, we're looking to expand our sales and finance team.

We're moving into another location in Spruce Grove.

We have a beautiful business building.

I'm partnered on that with Sami Zar who is the owner of Insta Auto Solutions.

And we're looking for great people that want to make a difference, that want to make sure that people are being properly taken care of in the auto industry and that they want to see a change in the automotive industry and working with like minded people.

So if there's anybody out there in the listenership or anybody that you know that's looking for an opportunity to make positive change, reach out to us.

Amazing.

Amazing.

Thank you, Jeremy.

I really appreciate it and keep up the great work out there.

Thank you so much, Kelly.

It's been an honor and thanks for your time.

Until next time, this has been episode 232 of the Business development podcast and we will catch you on the flip side.

This has been the business development podcast with Kelly Kennedy.

Kelly has 15 years in sales and business development experience within the Alberta oil and gas industry and founded his own business development firm in 2020.

His passion and his specialization is in customer relationship generation and business development.

The show is brought to you by Capital Business Development, your business development specialists.

For more, we invite you to the website at www.capitalbd.ca.

see you next time on the the Business Development Podcast.