- Review and shop out your car insurance coverage often. Typically, you can shop your rates out on a semiannual basis to see if you’re getting the best deal possible. If you were someone who was sliding around in the snow and ice and had Comprehensive and Collision coverage then your insurance will pay to repair or replace your car if it is stolen or damaged in an accident, regardless of who is at fault. Depending on your car, amount of a balance you have left on your car note, distance you commute, and cash flow you can look at ways to increase your deductibles, reduce your coverage, or you can check out my other article about taking a defensive driving class(http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/atlanta-bargain-hunter/2013/dec/04/perks-driving-defensively/) to find ways to reduce your premium.
- Travel with a full tank of gas. Unfortunately, some friends needed to sleep in their cars overnight and had over 14-24 hour commutes home; some inevitably abandoned their cars because they ran out of gas. I think traveling with a full tank is important for a few reasons: a) it saves you time, instead of filling up with $10 today and $20 two days from now—you can fill up all at once, b) You have an idea/ability to gauge how far and long your full tank of gas will take you, c) it’s healthier for your car which will save you significantly more money in the long run.
- Pack your lunch. Like many, I had friends who were stuck in cars for hours with no food to eat because people sometimes just go out to eat for lunch. One thing that can help save money over the long run is bringing snacks and packing a lunch to work and/or school. Imagine how much you’d save if you didn’t spend $8 a day on going out for lunch? ($8 x 365 days =$2,920)
- Consider walking/biking/or taking transit to work. I’m not going to get into the politics of it all, but suppose you were able to walk or ride your bike to work? Obviously, this may entail having to live closer to where you work which sometimes is not possible, but ponder this question “What if you only had to fill your tank of gas once a week or twice a month versus every other day, how much could you save?”. Or even better, not having to deal with any traffic and getting exercise while you do it, because we all LOVE trafficJ. You can Google terms like “Benefits of a Walkable Community” or “Benefits of Transit” for more information.
- This last point, is not really a financial point, but merely me just saying that I love living in Atlanta for a reason and it’s because of times like Snowmageddon that when our neighbors and friends are in need—no matter the burden YOU were willing to help! Thank you to all the people who served others!
If you’re interested in learning more ways to save in insurance rates, taxes, food bills check out http://www.oxygenfinancial.net/forms/Free-Money-Meeting and request a free consultation and let us know you learned about us through The Atlanta Journal-Constitution @ATLBargainHunter.
Written By:
Cristina Briboneria, CFP®, ADPA®, AWMA®
Vice President, Private CFO®
oXYGen Financial, Inc.
Request a FREE consultation: www.oxygenfinancial.net
