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How to survive 2008 in the world’s richest country - Saving Money on Car Insurance ( 28)
May 11th, 2008, by JC Carvill
Saving Money on Car Insurance
Cindy and I needed to renew our car insurance policy this month – the renewal letter came in the mail yesterday. Our current policy is with Liberty Mutual (www.libertymutual.com). They’ve been a fantastic insurance company and rates have always been competitive as far as we could tell. However considering the fact that we desperately need to save money, we decided that it’s time to maybe shop around for a better deal on car insurance.
What a nightmare.
For anyone who’s tried to shop for car insurance, the terms and conditions that are listed in these things might as well be written in Portuguese. I can now understand why most people simply sign up for car insurance without paying much attention to the policy itself.
However, since we decided it’s time to save some money, I started to do some research about car insurance before renewing our policy with the same company. I learned a great deal, and I’m going to pass on these lessons to our readers.
Insurance Policy Terms and Conditions
One thing I realized that the only way to save any money with car insurance is to understand how the contracts work, and to ask for only the types of coverage that are needed, and turn down all extras.
Essentially, it works like this. An insurance policy is made up of nine components – and each of these components has associated costs. The only component of insurance that anyone is legally obligated to carry in order to drive a car is liability coverage. All other components are optional. If the insurance company you’re dealing with suggests that it isn’t optional, then consider going to a different insurance company.
Components of Car Insurance
The liability component of insurance is the one that you are legally required to hold. It covers any of your legal liability if you get in an accident and hurt anyone or damage any property. The insurance company will pay any damages on your behalf to the injured person, or for the property damage that you’re legally obligated to pay.
The medical payments option is known as MedPay coverage and it covers any medical care that you would need after being injured in an accident.
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) is allowed only in certain states, and is better known as “no-fault insurance”. PIP covers any lost wages, to certain limits, if you become disabled because of the accident.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) protection will cover any damages or medical costs if you are ever in an accident with an uninsured or underinsured driver.
Comprehensive coverage is the component that covers damage unrelated to a typical car accident. Comprehensive insurance covers damage caused but things such as natural disaster, fire, theft or vandalism.
Another insurance option is called Custom Parts or Equipment (CPE), which pays for damage to any custom parts or equipment that you’ve installed on your car, to a particular limit. Another additional option (which also costs more), called ACPE, will cover any custom repairs that cost more than the lower limit set by the insurance company.
The Loan/Lease Payoff option is typically also provided with car insurance, which will pay for the remaining balance of a car loan or lease, up to 25% of the cash value of the car, if you ever total your car in an accident.
Roadside Assistance is an option offered by insurance companies to provide customers peace of mind – it assists with labor costs if you ever have a car breakdown, battery problems, flat tire, or any other such event
The key to paying the least for car insurance is to understand each of these options and to only select those options that you need. This will ensure that you are getting the best coverage that you need at an affordable price for the family.
After doing all of this research, I contacted Liberty Mutual with questions about what options are on our car policy, and I learned that we have several options on our plan that we don’t need. For example, we already are members of AAA, which assists members with roadside assistance, so I asked Liberty Mutual to remove the roadside assistance option from our policy. Additionally, I have very good insurance benefits at work, which would pay for most of the medical costs associated with any accident we have, so I asked them to remove the MedPay coverage.
Once we were able to fine-tune the components of our coverage to suit our specific needs, we ended up reducing the cost of our policy by over $200 a year. The savings were so great that I didn’t even have to shop around, and Cindy was very happy too!
How to survive 2008 in the world’s richest country - The Big Auction – Ebay Sales ( 27)
May 11th, 2008, by JC Carvill
The Big Auction – Ebay Sales
A week ago, I wrote about our auction experience where we were able to purchase all of the following items at unbelievable prices:
White Mountains Ice-Cream Maker: $40
A Western Electric Antique Telephone Ringer: $25
Longerberger Basket: $30
Antique Pressed-Steel Toy Car: $10
English Child’s Record Player: $5
With these purchase prices, Cindy posted all of these items that we bought at the auction starting at $9.99 each. Jokingly, I told Cindy that I didn’t think the record player would sell for very much at all – who wants a rickety old record player with a turntable covered with felt?
I tried to do a little bit of research on these items on Kovel’s (www.kovels.com), on About.com (antiques.about.com), and on LovetoKnow (http://antiques.lovetoknow.com/Main_Page). I tried hard to find the exact items, but while there were a lot of similar items, it was impossible to find identical ones. About.com and LovetoKnow are good references on how to identify items when you have antiques with maker’s marks and other ways to identify them, but they don’t have as many actual items with photos and values.
Kovel’s is a little different because while they help with identifying the makers of items, they also show some example photos of some items and what their values are. This can help tremendously when it comes around to trying to at least get a ballpark figure of what antiques are worth.
So finally, a week after Cindy posted these auctions (insert link to previous post with the photos) every single one of them sold for far more than I’d every imagined.
White Mountains Ice Cream Maker
We bought this 6 quart ice cream maker at the auction for $40. It had a slightly detached handle but nice dark wood with excellent patina (coloring from age). It was very rustic and a great country piece. Weighing about seven pounds, this wooden bucket and steel hardware would make such a fantastic display piece in any home, or even as a flowerpot outside.
The winning bid on this item was $129.00.
Western Electric Antique Telephone Ringer
This was a very unique item because it’s a really simple and very old piece of telephone electronics history. The box is made of solid maple and the ringer is essentially a hand-cranked electrical generator that uses mechanical movement, large magnets, and copper windings that generate electricity when the handle is turned. In the days of these first telephones, that electricity would travel through the telephone wire and ring a bell at the other end.
The winning bid on this item was $50.11
Longerberger Basket
Apparently Longerberger baskets are highly collectible – there’s a whole community out there who collects all of the various baskets that Longerberger made throughout the years. This particular basket was a nice picnic basket with soft colored wood and crafted very beautifully.
The winning bid on this item was $65.50
Antique Pressed-Steel Toy Car
Luckily I found the mark on this pressed steel toy car and through using LovetoKnow.com, I was able to identify the mark as a Marx vintage toy car. Apparently the Marx pressed steel cars are highly collectible and sought after by collectors around the world.
The winning bid on this item was $102.50
English Child’s Record Player
This old antique record player wasn’t marked with any maker’s mark, but it did say “Made in England” and was clearly a very, very old electric Children’s record player with a bunch of very cute children’s designs around the sides. The turntable was covered with a felt-like material that the old records used to be placed on.
The winning bid on this one was $33.50
Final Results
This means that in just one week, Cindy posted five items that we purchased for a total of $110. After taking photos and posting, we finally sold all of these for $380.61. This means that Cindy made a net profit of $270.61. And she’s only just getting started!
The Saga of Jack’s family ( to be continued)
How to survive 2008 in the world’s richest country - Internet Marketing and Selling Other Stuff (26)
April 28th, 2008, by JC Carvill
Internet Marketing and Selling Other Stuff
Cindy has been spending every night this week posting items on Ebay (www.ebay.com) and we realized something – if Ebay can be used to sell items, then why can’t it be used to sell other stuff?So I decided to spend some time to take a look around ebay to find some of the more unique things that are for sale on Ebay, and some of the things that people can sell to make money on Ebay – and what I found was pretty interesting…The following are the top 5 strangest items and services I found on Ebay:
The Peanut Animal Family
Someone is actually selling three peanuts shaped like animals – they’re even named. The peanuts are peanut duck, peanut chick, and peanut quail. The link:
The oddest thing is…people are actually bidding on them!Queen For a DayThe creator of this auction has come up with a very unique way to make money on Ebay. The auction poster has asked for an email from all bidders explaining why “you” are special. The chosen winner gets a free gift – how cool is that?
The link:
Empty Flat Pepsi Can I don’t understand it one bit – but this person couldn’t redeem a crushed Pepsi can, so they’ve put it up on Ebay. At the moment there are 13 and the auction is up to $36. The catch is that the auction poster is promising to send a “gift” with it. Maybe it’s some kind of secret money giveaway? Maybe it’s a scam? Whatever it is, a certain number of people are bidding a decent amount of money on a flat Pepsi can!
The link:
New York Rocks
It’s true – someone is selling rocks from New York. These are three simple rocks – one is white, one is brown, and one is grey. They are simply…rocks.
The Link:
And yes, believe it or not, people are bidding on them!Cemetery PlotIt’s true! This person is selling two cemetery plots side by side at Forest Hill Memorial Park in South Milwaukee, WI. The plot is for sale for $750.
The Link:
I have two questions. First – who would try to sell a cemetery plot on the internet? And second – who would actually buy a cemetery plot on the internet?One thing is for certain, Ebay can be a very weird and wild place, depending which category that you search in. Have a look around yourself – there are some very “odd” auctions going on every day
The saga of Jack’s family ( to be continued)
How to survive 2008 in the world’s richest country - Gas Prices and Food Prices are Hurting (25)
April 28th, 2008, by JC Carvill
Gas Prices and Food Prices are Hurting
I wanted to touch on the subject of Gas Prices.
When Cindy and I were coming back from the auction the other night, we had to stop to get some gas. I was absolutely appalled by the price. I took a picture – have a look:
I honestly don’t recall ever seeing the prices top $4.00. Yes, that one is for “supreme” quality gas – but did anyone ever suspect that prices would be approaching $4.00 so quickly?
How are people supposed to survive – when prices around us are rising so drastically, and yet our income is staying the same? Something just isn’t right.
I only filled the tank up to half (which cost $35!!!) and left it at that. It made me feel sick to my stomach paying so much for gas when we’re already having such a hard time paying for things like electricity and food.
News stories are reporting how families have to choose between food and gas:
http://www.kvewtv.com/news/?sect_rank=1§ion_id=1&story_id=2187
What kind of country is this?
To make matters even worse, we had to stop to pick up a few basic necessities at the grocery store. We’re out of food at home, so we picked up one of those pre-cooked chickens and some coleslaw for supper. We also got a crusty baguette as a treat to go with it.
How to survive 2008 in the world’s richest country - The Big Auction (24)
April 28th, 2008, by JC Carvill
The Big Auction
Well…this week was it. We tried going to our very first auction – and what an experience. Since we’d never gone before it was an eye-opener. There are a lot of rules you have to follow (I’ll get to those in one of my future posts).
But in this update, I just want to share some of the amazing treasures we found at this auction.
The auction was held at the Dover Elks in Dover New Hampshire (http://www.elks.org/lodges/home.cfm?LodgeNumber=184)
I was told by a friend beforehand that this particular auctioneer had some great items and usually the auction prices don’t go too high. We walked in and got our bidding number. As Jen sat down, I took a look around and got a good shot of how many items were just packed into this one auction – a great mix of old stuff. You just don’t find these kinds of antiques at yard sales…
How to survive 2008 in the world’s richest country - Affirmations and Finances (23)
April 21st, 2008, by JC Carvill
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Affirmations and Finances
This weekend, Cindy and I were watching television on Saturday night and we came across a sort of documentary/infomercial of a guy who claimed that “positive affirmations” can completely change your life.
I couldn’t find him online, but I found a person who was saying basically the same message like this guy: http://www.selfgrowth.com/experts/ray_davis.html
The message of daily affirmations is that you “reprogram” yourself to think differently about things.
Daily affirmations are statements that we verbally repeat to ourselves every day. They are designed to become eventually a part of our subconscious. They’re supposed to empower and transform us. Affirmations are positive, self-affirming thoughts that replace the dark and negative thoughts that were previously keeping us from reaching our full potential.
One of the most common goals for affirmations successfully is when people are in financial crisis. Supposedly - using affirmations can help someone obtain extraordinary success.
The explanation was that the focus of affirmations in order to reach that final goal should actually be smaller steps that will mark the way to financial success.
For example, if someone has decided to open their own business – while this general affirmation will work: “I am intelligent and I am able to draw wealth into my life.” More specific affirmations, tailored toward your personality, desires, and dreams will have more of an impact.
Tailored Affirmations to Overcome Problems
Affirmations for financial success result in a success that comes from a series of smaller successes over time. Each stage of a person’s success will have specific obstacles and problems to overcome.
Daily affirmations should include specific affirmations that target the roadblock the person is going through at that moment in their lives.
In time, a person who uses these affirmations will recognize things appear to change “on their own” in their lives around them. Before they know it, they’ve changed their entire lives simply by changing negative self-talk into positive self-talk.
Using daily affirmations in a focused and specific way in order to go after the specific roadblocks that are holding you back from realizing success in your life, you will soon recognize that each small success you have along the way simply builds upon the last success – and before you know it – you’ve reached your ultimate goal of complete financial freedom.
The saga of Jack’s family ( to be continued)
How to survive 2008 in the world’s richest country - Website Design Software (22)
April 20th, 2008, by JC Carvill
Website Design Software
As Cindy and I were working on our latest batch of Ebay posts, we realized that it would be nice to have a website template, or an HTML template that would let us put together good-looking Ebay posts.
We realized that this is hard if you don’t know html already – so I did some research and learned about several Website design software packages that help to put together HTML pages without the user even having to know or write a single line of HTML.
How to survive 2008 in the world’s richest country - Ebay Customers Happy (21)
April 15th, 2008, by JC Carvill
Keeping your Ebay Customers Happy!
We just went through a few days of boxing up items for Ebay and shipping them out – it’s quite a task for the uninitiated.
As we were going through the process, I noticed that many of the customers who bought from us shared the same concerns, and asked the same questions. Ebay customers appear to be somewhat worried when it comes to sending their money to a perfect stranger and waiting for their product to come in.
That’s when I realized that there are some extremely easy and simple ways for people who want to make a significant amount of money on Ebay to make their customers happy. And when you make your customers happy – you get better feedback. And when you get better feedback – your sales will increase exponentially!
How to survive 2008 in the world’s richest country - How to Sell for More on Ebay (20)
April 14th, 2008, by JC Carvill
Last week when City sold all of those items, I noticed that a couple of items didn’t sell. She had started all of the items at $9.99, but out of 10 items, only 6 sold, and the other four went unsold.
I started to poke around and look at other, similar items on Ebay – and I noticed that there were a number of similar items that sold on ebay, but each of them sold for different prices. In one case an antique Marx tin toy Army Jeep sold for $58, and the exact truck sold by a different seller only sold for $30.
How to survive 2008 in the world’s richest country - Ebay – One of the Best Sources of Income in the World (19)
April 10th, 2008, by JC Carvill
Ebay – One of the Best Sources of Income in the World
This week – ten items that Cindy was selling on Ebay finally sold. Most sold for about $9.99 and up, but considering these were items just sitting around the house, it really adds up!
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