So, a moment of thought/frustration on insurance.
Hubby and I have auto insurance (for 3 cars, one of which is hubby's first car (a Beretta, my Cavalier, and a Cobalt), house insurance, personal liability, personal property (our wedding rings), and flood insurance.
Back home we paid around 2300/year for all of this except the flood insurance (which is about 400).
We recently switched insurance agents (same company) and got all of our policies adjusted. The agent told us the personal liability would probably be around 350-400 dollars...OK we can deal with that. We get the bill....700 dollars!!!
Then we sat down and totaled up our insurance cost for one year...over 5000 dollars!!!
5 Grand for something we hope to never use?! Ugh, but I'm afraid it is something that we feel is important. Yeah, you may never use it but it only takes one time, then you'd wish you had it.
What gets me even more so is that it seems if you ever need to make a claim (and Lord forbid you need to make 2 claims in a 10 year period) that 1) your rates hike up or 2) they drop you!
It's a vicious cycle. But what can you can do?...Pay it.
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Hubby & I ran some errands today. We decided we needed a new pan (one I tend to use daily). Our current one is Teflon coated and the coating starting coming off! Ew, can not be good for your health. So we went out and bought a stainless steal pan (23 dollars)...I'm sure I'll use it forever and then some. I won't be buying anymore Teflon coated pots or pans.
I also treated myself to a chopper for the kitchen, I had a coupon for Bed Bath and Beyond so it was only 8 dollars. I cut up onions and freeze them...it was a decently agitating experience to stand in the kitchen cutting up a whole bag of onions to freeze (my eyes were rather red and watery).
I went to Wal-mart to grab a few household items...they had Fabreeze noticeables on sale for 5.97 and I just so happened to have a 5 dollar off coupon :-) & I had a BOGO free coupon for Febreeze fabric refreshers. We ran into Office Max, because I had a $10 off $10 purchase and could use some Post It notes..So all in all I saved 22 bucks today. I'm always up for a good deal.
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So, has anyone started holiday shopping? Or do you shop all year around?
I tend to do my shopping in October. I have a serious problem with holiday shoppers. Just the public in general while shopping (is it so hard to say excuse me? Id be happy to move for you), but it seems like the holiday season shopping is just awful sometimes.
Anyways, Hubby and I save up a holiday fund all year and luckily we don't have a bunch of people to buy for. Just our parents (we're only children), a few friends, and each other. I'm going to stick to the holiday budget this year! I tend to spend way too much on gifts every year. Maybe I'll make some gifts? I'm mostly looking most forward to family coming to visit, so I'm not going to be overly concerned with gift buying...it shouldn't be all about gifts anyway. right?
Insurance: The service you buy, hope to never use.
September 13th, 2008 at 07:42 pm
September 13th, 2008 at 08:13 pm 1221336790
September 13th, 2008 at 08:14 pm 1221336844
September 13th, 2008 at 09:23 pm 1221341033
September 14th, 2008 at 04:56 am 1221368176
It all adds up!
What a perfect title to your blog though - certainly hope we never have to use it.
Besides the flood insurance issues (& fact is we got a steal the last few years because we knew this was a more flood prone area). Besides that, my personal issue is with auto insurance. We hit 25 just before moving here and it went down considerably. Then we moved and it DOUBLED. I understand why - the drivers are just terrible here. There is all this talk of throwing zip code ratings out the window - could help us substantially. But I do understand why I should pay more. I mean the odds are definitely MUCH HIGHER we would get in an accident here, than elsewhere.
On the flip side, all of our other insurances (particularly home insurance) are cheaper here. So I guess it evens out.
Xmas - I usually start shopping October, but frankly don't plan to buy much. Dh already got the kids' present really. Not sure what else we will really buy.
September 14th, 2008 at 01:26 pm 1221398760
Most car insurers offer safe driving course. Mine, MetLife, sells you a video and workbook; you watch the video, take the multiple choice test online, and once you pass, you get 10% off your car insurance for 3 consecutive years. After that, you can take the test again and continue getting the discounted rate.
Depending on the insurer, you can get discounts on your car insurance if you: 1. have a security/alarm system; 2. have anti-lock brakes, 3. have airbags.
If the cars are older, you can drop the collision and save money there.
And of course if you can avoid having accidents or getting speeding tickets, you save there.
I have a 9 yr old car and pay $360 a year so definitely worth it to look into.
September 15th, 2008 at 12:27 am 1221438425
Anyways, we haven't really started Christmas shopping yet. This year will be the first that BF & I do our shopping/gifts totally together, so I actually look forward to it. I even like trying to fight the crowds to get a deal (call me crazy)!
Unlike everybody else I guess, we DO have alot of people to buy for. We both have big (close) families, so we kind of have to buy gifts for brothers/sisters/bro-in-laws/parents/grandparents/aunts/uncles/cousins/nieces. It's a long list, but some of them we only buy small things for.
November 8th, 2008 at 05:33 am 1226122382