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Posted
Dec 23 2008, 05:54 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog Blueprint for Financial Prosperity. One of the main reasons I bought a home was because I was tired of moving. I hated packing up my things, renting a truck, moving my things, then unpacking my things. It felt like such wasted effort. However, in my numerous moves, I did establish a great way to come up with a total cost-of-housing metric that helped me compare various housing options. When I first started comparing apartments, I got the basics right. I compared the total rent, I accounted for utilities, and I accounted for any insurance I would need to buy. I failed to recognize commute time and cost, though, which played a significant factor in my first apartment (25 miles one way). That's just one of the considerations I missed. There are several more.
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Posted
Sep 05 2008, 04:17 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
There's an interesting debate going on at Prime Time Money about whether it's smarter to buy a new or used car. Right now, used seems to be winning. What do you think? Before you jump in, read the exchange between "PT" and contributor "J." It's instructional and highly amusing. PT also gives great tips to use whether you're buying a new or used car. Here's a serious part, with J arguing for a new car: PRO (J): Interest rate of 1.9%.
CON (PT): The rate may be low but your monthly payment is almost certainly going to be much higher. Not to mention off-the-lot depreciation. That's money you could be using for retirement savings or your kid's education.
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Posted
Jan 27 2009, 06:05 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.
A few years ago, I was driving from one office building to another when a Dodge Durango ran a red light and totaled my car. I was fine, as the Durango hit me at a 45-degree angle, but my car was not.
The passenger door was dented, the front quarter-panel was crushed, the frame was bent, and the wheel was crooked on the axle. If that wasn't enough, both airbags deployed. My Acura Integra was kaput.
I was fortunate in that accident because I wasn't at fault, the other driver was calm, a witness stopped, and the police handled the situation expeditiously. The end result was that I got a check and needed a new car, but the process was as quick as could be expected.
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Posted
Feb 26 2008, 07:10 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Rental car companies want to charge you about $20 a day for a loss or collision damage waiver. My Money Blog says that "it basically absolves you of any liability if the car becomes dented, breaks down, gets scratched, blown up, or whatever." Many people don't realize that their car insurance often provides some type of coverage for rental cars, and their credit card may supply secondary coverage that pays for what their car insurance won't, MMB says. Read your car insurance policy, and "look for specific wording in the paperwork that (credit card companies) mail you with the tiny print on amazingly thin paper," he writes.
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Posted
Sep 16 2008, 03:09 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Car crashes are the No. 1 killer of U.S. teenagers. So why shouldn't we talk about raising the legal driving age? "BeThisWay" at Are You Going To Be This Way The Rest Of The Time I Know You? tackled the question head-on in a post called "Captain Obvious reports: 16-year-olds maybe shouldn't be licensed." Her conclusion may surprise you.
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Posted
Dec 03 2008, 06:45 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Filed under: banking, The Dough Roller, mortgage rates, credit rating, credit cards, credit reports, credit card rates, credit score, bad credit, car insurance, insurance rates, homeowners insurance
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller. We all know just how important our credit score is when we apply for a loan. High credit scores get approved, while low scores do not, subject to other factors, of course. But your credit score and credit history affect a lot more than whether you get approved for a loan. Here are seven unexpected ways your credit score and credit history can affect your finances.
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Posted
Jun 06 2008, 04:54 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Most of us -- or so we hope -- are aware of credit reports. But did you know about other databases that contain histories of your insurance claims, medical care and other personal information? "Isn't it scary how much of your information is floating around out there?" says Jonathan at My Money Blog, who explains how you can get these reports for free. Since they're used to determine how much you pay for -- and sometimes whether you get -- insurance and other necessities, it may be worth your time to find out if the information in these reports is accurate. It's bad enough that a prospective insurer can find out you're being treated for "American Idol" addiction, and even worse if you're really not.
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Posted
Oct 21 2008, 04:35 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog Blueprint for Financial Prosperity. When I first started driving, I was amazed at how much car insurance costs. I, like many other newly minted drivers, was put on my parents' car insurance policy -- which I'm sure made my parents nervous -- and didn't really feel the full brunt of new-driver rates. However, when I left the nest and had to insure myself, I started hoping that 25 would come sooner because everyone said car insurance rates drop significantly after you turn 25. (I spent all my under-21 years waiting to be 21, then my under-25 years waiting to be 25. Now I'm waiting for retirement. The waiting never ends.) I've had the opportunity to test the rates-drop-at-25 myth and other car insurance myths, and here's what I've found:
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Posted
Sep 15 2008, 11:32 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
David at MoneyNing asked his reader this question: "Would you do something immoral to increase your wealth if you won't get caught?" (It boosts our faith in humanity that in a poll at his site, a healthy 67% chose "No!") But how often do people cross a line? Case in point: "Miss Thrifty" wasn't injured in a four-car pileup that dinged her fabulous Thriftymobile. (She wasn't at fault.) But everyone she knew, including her mother, told her to file a whiplash claim. "Everyone does it," they said.
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Posted
Jun 04 2008, 03:52 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
"Frugal Dad" has some great advice for buying your teen's first vehicle, and it starts with this: Don't buy your kid a new car. "Some out there hock their own financial futures to put their prince or princess in a brand new car, and pay for it long into their college years," Frugal Dad writes. "Not only is this harmful to the parents' financial plan, it sends a bad message to teenagers." Need we say more about encouraging a sense of entitlement?
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