Saving Money

By Author: Marcus Stalder
Total Articles: 491
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The majority of politicians have a split personality. One minute, the deficit is the end of the world as we know it. The next, there's no reason to panic. Except, when you look round the neighborhood and see the number of homes going through foreclosure, all those people you know who are unemployed and businesses closing down, you realize the country has not yet recovered from the recession. With every dollar counting to put food on the table and keep a roof over your head, the challenge is to keep all the essentials in place within breaking the budget. In this, remember you always get what you pay for, so buying something cheap is often not giving you good value for your money. It's always better to find goods or services of reasonable quality at a price you can afford.

So, from the earliest years, we're taught to shop around. Family and friends laugh at us if we accept the first price offered in the first shop we walk into. Everyone knows you have to go into at least three shops to get an idea of how much goods of this type actually cost. Only then can we see what represents good value for money. Would you start walking ...
... round car lots and showrooms without having an idea of the current prices? Would you simply agree to pay the asking price? Almost everyone is prepared to ask for a discount. Haggling may not be everyone's strength but, in these tough economic times, we should all make the effort. It's the same with insurance to go with the vehicle.

Your journey starts with the make and model. You should always find out how much it's going to cost to insure. There's no sense in chasing a dream car if you can't afford to insure it. Then think carefully about the extent of the cover. All banks and finance companies that give you an auto loan require you to buy both collision and comprehensive cover. It's their way of protecting the security of the loan. But if you pay cash or get an overdraft or loan that's not tied to the vehicle, you could take the risk and only buy liability insurance. This is a lot cheaper in the at-fault states. In the no-fault states, the savings will be smaller but real if the value of your vehicle is low. Work on the basis that, if you have an accident and the value of the vehicle is low, it's always going to be better value to throw the wreckage away and buy something else cheap to replace it. There's no sense in paying more than you need. Indeed, you can build this in by agreeing to the maximum deductible (usually $1,000). Not only does this give you a discount on your auto insurance, it also ensures your vehicle will most likely be totaled in any accident. As you probably know, the labor costs for repairing vehicles are high these days and, when you add in the spares, you don't get much for your money.

Saving money on your auto insurance is all about making the right decisions and having the right attitude. Gather information by shopping around and have the courage to haggle with the insurance companies to get the maximum discounts.