If only you could use the principles of a balance transfer credit card and move your remaining balance from one vehicle to the next. That’s right - you can! This tongue-in-cheek statement reflects the state of many vehicle loans today. It is called being ‘upside-down’ on your loan. You have transferred the remaining loan balance from one vehicle to another and now owe more money on your existing car that it will ever be worth. Sometimes it can be as much as two to three times the value.

You have to stop the cycle and take control of this beast that is helping to wreck your finances. Here are some tips that you must adhere to going forward in order to keep your car from becoming one big liability on your financial statement.

Keep your car longer. Now that you are in this predicament on your vehicle that is aging and building up miles, you have a choice: keep the vehicle and drive it until the wheels fall off and you pay off the loan, or sell it for market value to a new owner and get the bank to transfer the balance to an unsecured loan in order to pay it off. The realization that at some point you have to stop this cycle should shake you awake to the financial mess that this causes.

Buy used not new. The next vehicle that you buy should be used, not brand new. The reason is because you take a huge hit on depreciation (the value goes down) as soon as you drive the new vehicle off of the lot. Why not let someone else take that hit. Buy used from now on and save yourself some money.

Drive over the loan period. The days of trading in your car every three years are gone. Now you need to plan on driving the vehicle past the end of your loan period. You will be glad for the day to come in which you no longer have any car payments. It is a great feeling.

Finance smartly. There is a guideline that says that you should put 20% down on your next vehicle purchase, finance for four years only, and keep your payment at 10% of your income. If you cannot do this, then buy a different vehicle that is lower in price.

Compute your payment. Financial advisers recommend that you double the price of the car, and then divide by 48 months to get a feel for the real monthly cost of a car. If this does not provide a slap of reality, then check your pulse.

You have to somehow remove the emotional part of the purchase and view how the car payments will fit into your budget (or not). If you are successful in doing this, then it will make a difference in what you buy and how much you pay. And that is the ultimate goal in helping you fit a car into your credit picture, not the other way around.

CreditCardFlyers.com is the place to go online to apply for a credit card with 0 balance transfer offers to help you avoid interest. You can compare balance transfers from multiple credit card issuers and calculate your credit card savings when you transfer higher interest balances to your new cards.