From USAToday’s Wednesday report here, Toyota and Lexus (made by the same company) have slipped in the car rankings.  Apparently, Consumer Reports (CR) has, in the past, just passed Toyota or Lexus simply because they are so great.  And Ford is doing much better.  However, from the physical version of the periodical, Toyota still trumps the list:

 Category             Most Reliable                       Least Reliable

Small Car             Toyota Yaris                        Dodge Caliber

Family Car            Toyota Prius                       Chevrolet Impala

Upscale/Luxury     Lexus GS 450h                   Cadillac STS (V8)

Small SUV            Honda Element                    Dodge Nitro

Midsize SUV         Toyota Highlander               Land Rover Range Rover

Large SUV           Toyota Land Cruiser             Chevrolet Suburban 2500

Pickup              Toyota Tundra (V8 2wd) Cadillac Escalade EXT

I totally scored on this rating:  my recently-purchased Corolla is #3 for small cars in reliability (behind Toyota Yaris and Honda Fit), and my CR-V is #5 for small SUVs in reliability.  How do you score?  To find out, look here.

Before putting up homes for sale, check with mortgage & equity if you can use your business cards to reverse the mortgage or use it as rental property.

From this MSN article today, you’d think so.  It’s three pages of reading, but here’s the executive version:

1.  Consumers are not spending discretionary income on frivolities, according to Harvard University Professor Elizabeth Warren, because they don’t have as much discretionary income.

2.  Despite the lines at Starbuck’s and the mall, people just aren’t spending as much as they used to.

3.  The majority of consumers really don’t carry credit card debt from month to month (gasp!).  This is a commonly-held misconception.

4.  The "latte factor" doesn’t work, according to Warren’s daughter and co-author of her book.

 I disagree with #4, but whatever.  Check out the article if you’ve got the time. 

I made my first mortgage payment yesterday where my principal is more than my interest!  19 more left!

First and foremost, I must apologize in that I don’t have a posting for health insurance.  I have self-contained healthcare at work, so I don’t have any way to squeeze in that arena.  I would welcome anyone that would be willing to guest post or to link to an article about getting the cheapest health insurance possible without sacrificing quality.

 With that aside, I need some help here.

People are constantly talking about being on a debt diet or comparing not spending with not eating sweets, etc.

I don’t think I have the same genes everyone else does.  I’m a black belt when it comes to not spending money, but when it comes to food, I’m Horrible with a capital "H".  I don’t really understand how I can have so much control (some might say too much control) in one area of my life, but absolutely none in another arena.  If it weren’t for exercise and a husband that’s a health nut, I’d have a problem.

I try to read as many bestseller non-fiction books as possible, so I read The Secret (whether this is non-fiction or not is questionable according to J.D. here - it’s a pretty funny article; you should check it out).  The book does have a good point in that "what you pay attention to becomes reality," because we ensure things happen by paying attention to them!

So, I’m thinking that it’s not about control genes.  Here’s what I think happens:  I control what I care about controlling.  I’ve focused on debt/money goals for the past seven years of my life, so that’s what is coming to fruitition.  Maybe if I focused on eating healthfully for seven years now….

What’s your take on this topic, nature or nurture? 

Life insurance is another cost for us.  Here are some tips:

1.  Shop around.  I’m sure you’re sick of hearing this.

2.  Only get insurance if you need it.  I’m not a financial planner, but I know that if no one is depending on your income, then you don’t need as much life insurance.  I wouldn’t have life insurance if no one depended on my income.

3.  Don’t insure babies.  Gerber makes so much money off us.  Don’t do this.  No one depends on the babies’ income.

4.  Buy term life insurance.  Whole life insurance is a rip.  Invest the money that would go to higher premiums into a better investment.

5.  If you haven’t already, quit smoking and exercise more.

6.  Contact the company to see if there is a way to pay up front for a period of time.  They might be charging you to pay month-to-month and you don’t even know it!

There are several ways to save money with homeowners’ insurance.  The following are some ideas that I researched today:

1. Shop around.  Self-explanatory.  But the next bullet explains that more in detail with a black-belt, little known idea to shop around.

1. Use direct writers.  At Smart Money’s story here, they explain that direct writers don’t use a middleman to sell insurance.  Try the following:

·        American Express (1-800-535-2001)

·        Amica (1-800-242-6422)

·        USAA (1-800-531-8100)

1. Pay your whole payment when it is due.  I forgot to say this yesterday, but it applies to all insurance premiums.

1. Maintain that good credit record.

1. Stop smoking.  This is dangerous and costly.

1. Ask agent about discounts that you qualify for.  Here’s some ammo you can go armed into the conversation with:

• Alumni/business association discount
• Home security discounts (deadbolts, security system, burglar alarm)
• Multi-policy discount (car and homeowners with one company)
• Senior citizen discount (more likely to be in the house – less likelihood of burglary)

1. Armed with a good emergency fund to cover a real emergency, raise your deductible for as much emergency fund as you have.  Make sure that’s okay with your mortgage company.  My old mortgage company didn’t like more than $1000, but my current company allows up to 2% value of the house or something.  I cannot stress enough though that you make sure you have enough emergency fund to cover this.

1. Don’t include the value of your land in the insured amount.  The land’s not going anywhere.

1. Stay away from having certain items in your house:  pools, trampolines and certain breeds of dog will make your premium increase.

The best mortgage for students is an insurance covering all, from health insurance and dental insurance to car insurance.

Everyday, you pay for insurance - insurance for your life, house, car or vacation.  Maybe even insurance for your child’s life.

 Car insurance is a large chunk of America’s insurance costs.  In 2005, according to the Insurance Information Institute, in the most expensive state (New Jersey), insurees paid $1,184 per year in premiums.  In the cheapest state (North Dakota), the average insuree paid $554.  Here are some tips to keep your premiums down.

After you have an emergency fund, increase your deductible as much as you can stand.  This decreases the cost of insurance by leaps and bounds.

Shop around for insurance.  Take a Saturday afternoon and write down all your insurance costs for your car.  Call up several insurance companies’ 800-numbers (call 1-800-555-1212 for Free 1-800 information, then say the names of those companies that you are interested in for your state) and get a rate quote.  The Insurance Information Institute has a tool here to give you the companies offerig coverage in your state.  Write the name of the sales rep and the date/time called.  When Monday morning hits, take 5 minutes to call your agent and haggle with him/her a bit.  They’re probably interested in keeping your business.  Also remember that your homeowners’ may be tied to having your auto insurance at that place, so you may need to research that in conjunction with the car insurance rates. You should know all your rates and deductibles before calling anyone on the phone.

While you’re on the phone with your agent, ask if there are any discounts that you’re not receiving right now that you could be eligible for.  Even if you’re only taking one class at a time, or working on your Master’s degree on the weekends, a student discount could save you money.  Are there any drivers’ courses near you?  These can earn you a discount as well.  According to Edmunds.com, here are some good interesting discounts you might not be aware of:

Have a look for more details here.

 Another reason to have good credit…your rates use your driving record and your credit score to decide prices.

And another reason to not have a flashy car:  the insurance is much cheaper.  If you have a decent emergency fund and are not paying a car payment for the car, you might be able to get by with only liability.  Runzheimer International did a study in 2004 on the cheapest cars to insure, but I’m sure it’s still pretty valid.  Have a look at the Bankrate article about it here so you can see what the next car should be to purchase on your list.

 Now, I have a confession to make.  I did this article to motivate myself to get cheaper insurance.  Now I’m going to follow all my advice and spend some time this afternoon calling companies.  Cheers!

Are you a car snob?  Because my husband is.  He absolutely refuses to buy any car not made by Honda or Toyota.  He will buy a truck made by Ford or Toyota.  That limits the choices each time we get on the car market.

When I was searching for my muse this morning on the net, I found an article at the NYTimes talking about a car being made in India for $2,500 and of course I had to read about it.  I’m sure the quality of the car is not great, but a new car for that much still piques my interest.

What do you sacrifice by being a car snob?

Another funny thing is that people don’t realize that luxury cars are made by the same companies, maybe in the exact same factories, maybe on the exact same production line as cheaper cars that are not luxury cars.  Lexus is made by Toyota, Acura is made by Honda, and Infiniti is made by Nissan.

I’m two weeks into my "no restaurant" month.  It is especially difficult when traveling.  But it is much easier/time-saving to have peanut butter sandwiches that I make myself in my room.

 What lengths have you gone to in order to save money?  What was your most glorious debt/goal ever accomplished?

 I think the worst thing I did was to wash clothes in the bathtub during a trip once because the laundry cost $4 in the hotel.  Then realize later that it was reimbursable.

And I also think my most glorious debt/goal was probably paying off my debt.  I had over $7K in debt when I got married.  Paying off my first mortgage wasn’t that great.  I think that paying off this current mortgage and saving enough for the California down payment will be my next glorious moment!

My work computer finally crapped out, so I have no computer to publish from!  At least I’m staying in a hotel and there is a public one!

 Here is my endorsement for Dollar rental cars.  I got a flat tire today, so I called their roadside assistance.  Apparently, my work insurance doesn’t cover roadside assistance, so I had to change it to a spare tire in khakis and a dress shirt.  Not cool.  So, when I returned to the Dollar counter (I had no idea I wasn’t covered, I only knew that the road assistance lady wouldn’t send a tow truck to help me out).  Anyway, they credited me with one free day on the rental for my trouble.

It doesn’t help my finances at all, but it is $70 less for the government and your tax dollars!

I also love Holiday Inn.  Not only does the one I’m staying at offer the regular free breakfast, but also free beer and snacks from 5:30 to 7:00 P.M.

I’m reading The 4-Hour Workweek and it is quite thought-provoking.  I don’t think I’m at the point where I can implement everything, but it does stimulate my motivation.  But I got it at the library (the cheapest one on Amazon is 10.85 - score 10.85 for me!).

Also, I’ve been thinking about the $20 challenge that PF blogs have been doing.  I was at the airport today and I so wanted to check all the change slots, but I think I would have missed my plane.  There are a lot of vending machines nowadays at the airport!