Blogging Away Debt Our Journeys to a Debt-Free Life

by Tricia

When I ran the numbers for 2006, I was a bit surprised to see that our car cost over $2,000 to own. Granted, a big part of that went towards fuel ($649).

The accessories for the car ran $100. This amount includes the car registration costs as well as things like air fresheners. Also, for some reason I put driver’s license renewal fees in there. I expect that this expense will be less next year because our drivers licenses are good for a few more years. I also plan on letting the car stink if it stinks 😛 No more air fresheners for a while 🙂

We currently have breakdown insurance through AAA. That runs $48/year and at this time I am paid up through September of 2007. I will have to consider cutting this cost if our money situation isn’t better by then. But I think it will be.

Our fuel costs are fairly low. Our car is very fuel efficient (30-40 mpg) and I am thankful we ended up buying such a frugal car. Really, though, we won’t be using our car as much now with my husband not working. So, our fuel costs should go down overall.

Our insurance on the car took the biggest chunk. We currenly pay $99/month on a monthly payment plan. Our deductible for this full coverage plan is set at $500, but there is a clause where we do not pay the deductible if the accident is not our fault. I have called my insurance company to see about lowering my rates. My car is only worth around $5,000 now, so it seems like I should be able to get it lower.

If I raised my collision coverage deductible to $1,000, I would save $6.00/month. If I also raised the comprehensive coverage deductible to $1,000, I would save an additional $7.83/month. So I could save $13.83/month just by raising the deductibles to the highest I can go. That’s not a lot.

I then asked about taking off the collision and comprehensive coverage from the car. If I did that we would save $61/month. That was more like it. That would be a nice amount to save per month. But it has a price.

Since our car is still worth around $5,000, we would like to keep full coverage on it for now. With winter being here, our roads are now constantly snow-covered (except for a few main highways). It’s probably best to have the coverage right now. Once the snow melts in April or May, we will think about taking off the full coverage.

There is a little bit of money we can cut from here immediately. Longer term, there could be more if we cut the full coverage insurance and the AAA insurance. It seems ironic that we just obtained health insurance and now we’re thinking about getting rid of auto insurance. If it was up to me I’d keep all of the insurance to protect what we have.

Another option I have is to shop around for a different auto insurance policy. That’s hard to do because the company we have now has been great in terms of service and they were the best price around when our car was newer. It doesn’t hurt to shop around, though.

Next expense to review….FOOD.

by Tricia

There have been many times in my life where I’ve purchased something from the store only to have it go on sale within the next few weeks or break shortly after purchase. I’ve heard that you could sometimes take things back, but I never did it. Either I couldn’t find the receipt or I felt funny doing it.

Not anymore – I’ve already saved $28 within the past 30 days.

How?

Price Adjustments

Each store has a different policy on price adjustments. Our local department store states that is something goes on sale within a month after you purchase it you can come back to get a refund for the difference in price. The spiral fluorescent light bulbs we purchased a little while ago (3 pack for $9.99) were now on sale for $8.99. Since I bought three packages, taking a few minutes to bring my receipt back to the store during my next trip resulted in a savings of $3.00. Not too bad.

Return Broken Merchandise

I know if something like electronics are broken, they can be fairly easily returned. What about something like clothing? Even after you have been wearing it a while?

We purchased my son’s winter coat from the local department store. It seemed like a nice warm jacket and he despirately needed one. Less than a month after purchase, the zipper broke. I was so upset. Much to my husband’s dismay (he was a little embarassed about it), I decided to take it back to the store and request a refund or trade for a new coat.

I asked the cashier about the return policy on clothing. She said that you had a month to return clothes. I then asked about the policy of worn clothing breaking and I showed her my son’s coat. His coat did show wear (he’s a little boy after all), and I pointed out the broken teeth on his zipper. She went in her drawer and pulled out her little refund form and I knew things were headed in the right direction. I ended up receiving a full refund for the coat.

I used to feel like it was dumb luck that something I bought broke. I would shrug and say it’s a loss and then go out and spend more money to replace what broke. I don’t feel that way anymore. Every penny counts and if I buy something that breaks shortly after purchase (I actually have one more thing to return but I have to make it back to Walmart), then I will try to take it back next time I am there. The worst they could say is no.