Search Results for: budget

5 Things to Consider When Shopping Around for Car Insurance

March 20, 2021 By Justin Weinger Leave a Comment

You’re ready to get car insurance but don’t want to pay more than you need to. To get a good deal, you need to know a few things. The more you know, the better your arrangement is going to be. The following are five things you need to consider as you shop for car insurance.

The Claim Frequency

Some insurance companies look back three years to see if you’ve had a claim. Other companies look back five years. If you haven’t had an accident, this shouldn’t worry you too much. If you’ve had an accident in the last four or five years, you might find this information quite helpful. If you don’t want your insurance company to go back that far, then opt for one that looks back three years, and you should end up with a better deal than you would have otherwise. As a side note, if you’ve never had an accident, then ask about a safe driver discount. Some companies offer them.

Have a List

You should consider writing a list of questions as you shop for your auto insurance policy. You need to ask questions like do you need insurance on a car that doesn’t run or if the coverage will cover you in certain lines of work. Most policies will not cover you if you’re a delivery person or use your car for freelancing jobs. You’ll need to get additional coverage to take care of yourself during those times. If a vehicle doesn’t run, it needs to be insured unless the car isn’t registered. Include any other questions you can think of on this list.

Look for Discounts

It’s essential to find out about potential driver discounts offered by auto insurance companies. Each insurance company offers specific discounts to their drivers, so find out what those are. Some of them offer discounts to warehouse shopping clubs, while others offer discounts to folks who’ve taken defensive driving classes. Some insurance companies offer discounts if you don’t drive your car as much. Each of these discounts could make it easier to pay for your policy. Find out what deals are offered by many companies until you find one that gives you the most.

Ask About Optimal Coverage

Insurance companies offer optimal coverage options, and you need to know what those are. Some offer things like roadside assistance, but you can add additional coverage to your policy, like having rental reimbursement. You know how much a car rental can cost. Imagine using a rented car for days. It could end up costing you a lot more than you want to pay. If you get this coverage, you won’t have to worry about it. Remember to find out how these additional coverages are going to affect the entire price tag.

Consider Deductibles

Deductibles are important. If you’re willing to accept a high deductible, then you might be able to lower the amount of money you have to pay each month to be covered. If you can’t pay a high monthly installment, you could raise your deductible. It’s crucial to find out more about this before you make a decision. Work your budget out and find out how much you can handle a month. If you are going to have a high deductible, make sure you have this cash saved somewhere, just in case you ever need it.

These five things should help you get pretty good car insurance. Don’t rush this journey. Talk to as many companies as possible so that you get the best deal you can.

What to Do If You Lose Your Job

March 18, 2021 By Justin Weinger Leave a Comment

People may feel a little sad after losing a job. It feels like there’s nothing you can do, but there are some steps you need to take. The following are a few things to do if you lost your job.

Address Healthcare

Unlike most countries, America doesn’t guarantee healthcare to its citizens. Because of that, most people depend on their employer for health insurance. If you lose your job, you lose access to this coverage. Your first step should be to get healthcare quotes online. Even if you feel okay right now, healthcare emergencies come out of nowhere, so you need to prepare.

Unemployment Benefits

If you qualify for unemployment benefits, be sure to read every question on the application. Go over it as many times as you need to to ensure you don’t make a mistake. A mistake can cause delays, and you can’t afford that right now. Try to apply for this as soon as possible because it can take some time to get approved, even if you do everything right. Be sure to answer questions promptly if you’re asked to avoid delays.

Reduce Bills

Those bills are going to keep coming, and you need to do something about them. Some bills you can eliminate, like entertainment bills or subscription services. It’s easy to separate which expenses you need versus what you want. If an item doesn’t keep you alive, then you can eliminate it. The bills you can’t get rid of could be reduced. Call credit card companies and anyone else you need to call to see if you can get your bills reduced. You’ll have to be honest and tell them you lost your job.

Rework the Budget

The reality is you won’t have the same amount of money coming in, so you need to make some changes. After you reduce your bills, create a new budget. You need to include the new healthcare expense in this budget. If you can, leave enough to go into your savings since you may need it. Get stingy with your spending. One way to this would be to avoid eating out for a while and opt for home-cooked meals instead.

Start to Apply

You must start applying for jobs. If it’s been a while since you updated your resume, work on reflecting on your most recent accomplishments. Be sure to clean up your social media accounts because some jobs pay attention to that kind of stuff. Type in your name in a search engine to see what shows up. If there’s anything that doesn’t make you look good, then work on cleaning up your online presence as you begin to apply for a new job.

Gig Economy

The gig economy is here. Since you lost your job, you can join this new world. You don’t know how long it’ll take to find a job, but at least this way, you’ll be earning some cash here and there. There’s a lot you can do, from renting a room to visitors to picking up and delivering food to people in your community. The good thing about these gigs is you can stop the moment a company hires you.

Hopefully, you take these steps as soon as you can. Try to be patient as you look for a job because it can take a while sometimes, but don’t give up.

8 Free and Cheap Things to Help You Save Money on Your Wedding

March 6, 2021 By Justin Weinger Leave a Comment

They say nothing is free, but I know from living on a broke budget that there are many free things in this world if you just take the time to find them. Thankfully, this even applies to weddings and it’s easier than ever to plan a wedding on a budget. These are some of the best ways to cut corners and get something for free to help you save big money on your wedding day.

Electronic Invites

It might sound crazy, but wedding e-vites are starting to trend. With a growing awareness of the impact of paper on the environment and people who simply want to save buck, they provide the perfect solution. It’s important to follow-up with your friends and family though just to be certain their invite didn’t end up in their junk email folder.

Wedding Websites

Tell everyone about your story in a fun and creative way. Free wedding websites help you connect all of the most important information to your guests. When you create a wedding website, you get to choose the theme, add images, put in the event time and location, and so much more. The designs are chic, stylish, and help you communicate everything you need in a free and modern way.

Free-ish Officiant

Don’t want to fork out money for someone to officiate the wedding? Did you know you can get ordained online for free or cheap? Some states require an ordained wedding officiant to handle the ceremony. But the cool thing is that there are ways to become official for good or just for the day. Choose someone you love and respect to get the credentials if they don’t have them already. It’s likely they’d be honored to participate in your day in such an important way.

Pot-Luck Style Dinner

It might be a terrible idea, but what a fun way to include everyone in the wedding. Some people love pot-luck style family gatherings so for them, this could be a great way to save cash on the big day. It’s important to note that if you do this, you risk people being offended or frustrated that you’re not providing a meal. So maybe you provide the main dish, and they bring all the delicious sides.

Church or Community Center

Some churches rent out their event halls for low cost or a donation to the ministry. The same goes for local community centers. They provide affordable alternatives to hotels and other large wedding venues. These types of locations are perfect for smaller gatherings.

Get Married at a Park

If you don’t care about fancy decorations, a wedding ceremony at a local park could be the perfect solution. Some of them allow weddings as long as it’s standing only. Additionally, in Colorado, you can get married in the Garden of the Gods for free. You just need to make a reservation in advance and follow their rules. Look at your local parks and see if any of them offer something similar.

Borrow your wedding gown

What if instead of paying $5-$10K on a dress you’ll wear only once, you simply borrowed from a family member or friend? Since most people will never wear theirs again, they might be excited to see their wedding clothes get a second act. Be prepared to offer to pay for cleaning services and understand that you may not be able to make any alterations if you don’t love something about the dress.

Free online wedding planners

There are countless companies who offer wedding checklists to help you plan a fantastic wedding. Once you get it done, you can put in the details and check it off the list. These are helpful because if you hired a wedding planner, you could expect to pay up to 20% of the total cost of your wedding on them.

What not to get for free

While free is good, it’s also important to think through the parts of your wedding day that probably should go to a professional. While you may think that random camera phone photos of the day will suffice, hiring a professional photographer and/or videographer is something you should definitely plan in the budget. Unless you have a friend, who is a pro and will do it for free, it’s best to hire it out.

One way to save however, is to only hire them for the most important parts. If you get them for at least the ceremony and formal photos, you’ll have some key memories captured professionally. You can let your buddies take endless camera phone pictures of the reception and dancing and upload those for you later.