This is one of those areas where you have to weigh the risks with your driving habits and other personal choices regarding your insurance needs. The first thing you should consider is how saving money on insurance might cause you other hassles, headaches or fears. If you are just trying to drop your coverage to save money, you might want to consider some specific steps to minimize your risk and maximize the benefit of doing this.
I can give you a real world example of this as I just did this myself. And, actually, I got more coverage on our vehicles and saved more money on our auto insurance. How did I do this? Did I get cheaper car insurance? No, in fact, like I mentioned, my benefits increased. We’ll get to that in a moment.
This particular lizard has nothing to do with me saving money on auto insurance.
The main point of this article on our Save Money Topics site is to let you know that there are ways to do this effectively and that embrace the right way to do it. Sure, you could save money by cutting out all of your insurance. But the problem is, one, this would be illegal and two, you would be at great risk. Insurance is just one of those things we all hate to pay for until we need it – then it all pays off.
So, what is an effective way to embrace the philosophy of saving money we advocate here all while dropping your insurance costs? There are a few ways actually. We will discuss a couple of them here and give you the example of what I recently did that I alluded to in the beginning of this article. Just like in other examples of how to save money on groceries, there can be several ways to go about it. You don’t simply need to starve yourself or go completely without to save some costs.
One way to shave off some premium is to reduce your coverage limits. Please understand, I am not in the insurance business and have no license to sell it or anything else. I’m also not trying to tell you what to do. However, the point has been made elsewhere that we are talking about a depreciating asset – your vehicle. At some point, the amount of coverage you have in terms of what your insurance company will pay you to repair or replace your vehicle is in excess of what you need. So, in this case, you might be able to save a few bucks doing that. Sometimes, this isn’t even a big savings.
Another choice is to do what I did. For one, I contacted an old friend who I knew in the business. I had a question for him about another insurance matter and asked him if he wouldn’t mind checking to see if he could get me some better rates and coverage, etc. He was more than happy to check around. He is a broker, so is not limited to the products than one particular company sells. When he got back with me, he showed me that he could increase my coverage limits by almost double, added full glass coverage, roadside assistance and car rental reimbursement AND it saved me around $50 USD per month, that was for both of our vehicles. Not a huge savings, I agree. But, what was more impressive was that I got more coverage and higher limits for less! Oh, and I forgot to mention that since my homeowner’s insurance was through him as well, there was an additional 10-15% reduction in insurance premium there as well.
Overall, I couldn’t be happier with the outcome. It is still with a major insurance company – no fly by night cheap stuff by some company you’ve never heard of. This one you’ve heard of. So, the next time you are thinking about saving money on insurance products for your home or auto, give these methods a shot.
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The whole purpose of saving money is so that you can get to a place where you can enjoy your life more, right? Well, yes and no as far as I’m concerned. While it may be true that one aspect of having an accumulated amount of money in your account is for security, another aspect is a reflection of what you have contributed energetically through your work and service. It has been said that our money is a reflection of our energy. The more energy we put into something, the more money comes that way. In this regard, money is more of a symbol than it is funny green paper rectangles with pictures of our old Presidents on them. You could look at investing in a similar way. Taking a measured approach like using a drip investment will yield you the lifestyle you are seeking, but with balance in your life.
There is just something more to money than meets the eye. Some people wish to save money so that they can have something later in life. The only problem with this approach is that ‘tomorrow’ sometimes doesn’t come. Life is too unpredictable and things always seem to get in the way of our plans. After all, if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans, right?
We all want more money because we think that if we had more of it, life would be easier. The problem is, like we mentioned, if you don’t change your thinking or habits, all the money in the world could be deposited into your account and you’d be left with none in no time. It is like the stories you hear of the lottery winners who end up losing it all or the star athletes and entertainers who go bankrupt too soon after their exit from their professions. The reason is that their consciousness around money did not change. You could look at it like debt. The more of it you find yourself in, the less ground you seem to gain in terms of gaining money. You simply spend all you make on old debt. This can not only put you into an uncomfortable situation in life, but it may cause you to get into credit problems if you begin missing payments. If you are unfortunate enough to have already damaged your it, you’ll want to make sure you repair bad credit fast before moving onto the next phase of your wealth building. I can’t really take credit for this basic advice, Dave Ramsey is really where I’ve heard this time and again.
How To Save Money the Sustainable Way
Now that we’ve talked about the idea of the consciousness around money, let’s talk about how to save money in a way that is both sustainable and beneficial to you in the short and long-term. In this way, saving money can become both a part of your lifestyle and also a long-term plan for retirement. As you’ll find out from our site about money saving tips, we have some of the common ideas and then some other not so common ideas with a twist. Usually, what we discuss here is actually what we’ve done or has been time-tested by other people trying to get a handle on their finances as well.
When times are flush, it is easy to get caught up in the fever of spending. You just keep thinking that it will never end and that you don’t need to adjust your habits. Then, the inevitable cyclic slowdown happens and you are caught wondering how you are going to get your financial life under control.
Don’t beat yourself up, it happens to most everyone at some point or another. It is almost a right of passage here in the United States. It is partly what was responsible for the financial times we found ourselves in and will continue to struggle with for years to come if we don’t change our habits. But, alas, people don’t like to change, especially when it comes to our relationship with money.
So, what is this talk about a sustainable way to save money reliably and consistently? It comes down to how you see your place in the global world economy and life on the planet. How is that for specific? Let’s get into some of the details of this concept. Think about saving money in ways that relate to your normal daily activities. We’ve all heard the typical cut out the coffee run types of concepts behind saving a few dollars here and there. Truthfully, this can really add up over time and there is an article on our site about this called “Save Money – Cut the Caffeine”. In fact, whole books have been written about this topic and similar ideas alone.
The whole notion is that little amounts compounded daily add up to a whole lot over time. By cutting out some of the little things we fit into our normal routine that could be considered luxuries, we can not only save some green but can be green in the process. This is, essentially, the main theme of not only this site, but the way to truly save money that has longevity built into the plan.
Think about it this way; you save your hard earned dollars at the same time you contribute in some way to saving the planet. For one specific action you can take in line with this principle is to dedicate that you will ‘carpool’ or drive with someone else to run errands for every mile that you drive for those extra spending items. How does this save you money? Well, first of all, you will want to go less places for the simple inconvenience of it all. Sad, but true. Someday we will value the trip as part of the experience, but until then, it is a good motivator. Now, if you could save money on your trip, that is another story. Well, actually, carpooling does that too. Secondly, you will be contributing to saving the environment a little each time by using less fuel as you carpool with a friend. There you have it, just one more way to engage the spirit of saving money to your benefit.
I’ve had it up to here with all the money saving tips talking about giving up coffee and stuff that is all about JUST limiting our lifestyle. I think there are ways to embrace the full American-capitalist lifestyle, save money AND be kind to Mother Earth. One way that has been proposed to save all sorts of money is to stop buying coffee at your local favorite coffee shop – let’s call it Starcups for example.
If you just stop going to Starcups, you will find that you can save an average of close to $5 USD per day. If you go there every work day, then you spend close to $100 USD per month. Okay, yes, that is a fair amount of money that you are spending simply to get a few hours of extra production in at work for your boss. Assuming you actually enjoy your cup of joe, then you consider it a fair trade. Did you know that some estimates show that skipping that one $5 cup of coffee each day adds up to $ 100,000 USD (if invested with interest) over the course of about 40 years? Hey, wait a minute, that doesn’t sound like such a great deal after all!
But, I propose that you don’t just cut out your coffee to save yourself some green. I suggest that you brew your own at home or work and save the environment – at least contribute to it – in some way. Here is how this can work. For starters, you can buy ‘fair trade’ coffee that is organically grown and processed. Yes, this coffee will cost you more money and it will be slightly harder to find from your local big chain grocer. However, because how the green movement is gaining more and more momentum each week and month that passes, you may find that you can get it after all with little disruption to your normal shopping. This is a big key!
You Will Not Save Money or the Environment If It Is Inconvenient
Just like most things in life, if it becomes too much of a hassle, you will not do it. Why do you think so many people start an exercise program or new diet in the New Year only to resume normal habits around March sometime? In most cases, it was too much to change to your daily or normal routine. The same thing applies here. One way to combat this is to order it online and have it shipped directly to your home. Another option could be to share the cost with your co-workers and have it shipped there. Then, everyone can save money by cutting out their ‘coffee run’ but still enjoy their morning get-up-and-go juice.
The benefits of this are several. For one thing, the coffee you will be drinking is not processed with all the chemical agents that most coffee is subjected to. This organic coffee is simply better for you and you might find it better tasting. In addition to this, you will be doing your part to enhance the growth and sustenance of local farmers in areas who may not have access to the same economic resources that others do. So, if you are a true capitalist, you will happily support these entrepreneurs. Finally, because you – and possibly your co-workers – will not be driving to Starcups to get your coffee, you will be saving gas and even more money.
Do you want an even greater extrapolation of how to save money? Okay, consider all those other pre-coffee-filled- zombies driving to the same coffee shop you are trying to get. Less driving means less likely risk of an accident. Less accidents equals lower car insurance premiums. This means even more money you can save and put into your little piggy bank. And if you think this is a little too much of a stretch, think again. Studies show that more accidents are caused by drowsy or inattentive drivers in the rush hour times than any other times of day. Plus, the less time on the road you spend means that you will have more time to either get productive work done and leave early when possible, or simply have more time in the morning before heading to work.