Archive results for “November 2011f 2011”

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Negotiating Vacation

My brother and my husband are both celebrating their 30th birthdays in the next few weeks so we are heading north for a weekend away. Whenever we take a trip, we typically stay in vacation homes or in REALLY cheap hotels/motels. Depending on the area, vacation homes are typically priced the same as or lower than local hotels but the added kitchen makes it convenient for cooking in rather than dining out.

I found a couple homes I liked and contacted the owners. One owner offered her home at a 30% discount since it’s a last minute booking but she wasn’t in the best area of town. Before Dave Ramsey, I probably would have booked the discounted one and never thought to negotiate with the homes I’d rather stay at.

Oh how times have changed.

I went directly to the best place and asked them to beat the price. What could it hurt?

Not only was I able to get the home we wanted deeply discounted, I was able to negotiate the refundable deposit to 75% less.

Hubby worked an extra side job and we have the whole weekend away covered with cash. Can’t wait!

Posted by Beks on November 7, 2011 at 5:00 AM in Life Experiences, Living Frugal | 5 Comments »
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Really… Watch This…

Saturday Night Live’s take on debt.

Watch the video here.

It takes a little while to load on Hulu, but it’s worth it.

Have a good weekend!!

Posted by Beks on November 4, 2011 at 7:09 PM in :) | 2 Comments »
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Auto Insurance Spies?

I was reading an interesting article about auto insurance and discovered the average rates increased an estimated 10% between 2008 and 2010 thanks to the increase in medical costs and a higher number of uninsured drivers.

I went through a couple years of my auto insurance bills and discovered…

my rates went DOWN about 7% during those years, and decreased another $2 a month this year. Why? It’s a combination of multi-line discounts, accident/ticket free discounts (great, now I just jinxed myself), and driving age discounts but I the reality is, I don’t care why, I’m just glad they did what they did. Plus, the article shared the industry estimates of the average annual auto insurance cost in 2010 ($865) and mine hovers slightly less than that with great coverage. Whew!

Still looking to save? The writer suggests allowing your insurance company install a device in your car to monitor your driving habits. Progressive and Allstate both offer the device and State Farm and Nationwide are testing similar devices as well. Safe drivers can save up to 30%.

Rather not share your Indy style driving with your agent? The writer suggests calling your insurance agency and asking, ‘How can I lower my premiums?’

Posted by Beks on November 3, 2011 at 5:00 AM in Insurance | 1 Comment »
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Navigating Black Friday…

Shhhh. Don’t tell anyone (and by ‘anyone’, I mean my mother) but…

I read Cosmo.

Come on! I read finance stuff all the time and every once in a while, it’s nice to read garbage *cough*, I mean, light reading.

Anyway, for those of you crazy folks *cough*, I mean money savers, who shop on Black Friday, Cosmo has some tips on surviving the busiest shopping day of the year.

#1 – Go to Blackfriday.com. They have a listing of retailers you can sign up for e-mail notifications when their deals are posted. They also let you know what stores are running pre-Black Friday deals.

#2 – Go online early, add items to your cart, and press refresh when the sales start to see if your items went on sale.

#3 – Join your favorite retailer’s Facebook page or subscribe to their Twitter feed. Sometimes subscribers get early access to sales.

Or…

#4 – Don’t buy gifts this year and pay down debt.

OK, they didn’t write #4. But that’s the one I’m doing.

Posted by Beks on November 1, 2011 at 5:00 AM in Spending Money | 7 Comments »
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My Debt

Original Debt: $38,495.86
Added Debt: $1,781.50
Total Debt: $40,277.36
Paid: $36,084.36
Remaining: $4,193.00
Broken Down
Auto Loan 1: $0.00
Credit Card: $0.00
Student Loan: $4,193.00
Auto Loan 2: $0.00
Vet Loan: $0.00

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