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Posted
Nov 05 2007, 10:45 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Time to admit to being a dunderhead: I've been way overpaying for auto insurance for the past few years. Worse, I discovered that I didn't have coverage I needed (uninsured driver) and was paying for insurance I probably didn't need (collision). All of this cost me $98 a month, or $1,176 a year. Confession is good for the soul, but it's embarrassing when done in print. I'm doing so in hopes of inspiring readers to check their own policies and make a few calls. As incentive, let me point out that my new plan will save me almost $700 a year. Like I said: way overpaying. How much per month? I've had the nagging feeling that I could do better. But life has been so hectic that "get insurance rate quotes" kept getting pushed to the bottom of the to-do list. When an Allstate ad sheet was delivered with the newspaper, I decided it was time to deal. An Allstate agent here in Seattle told me I could combine renter's and auto insurance for a total of $1,056 a year, or about $88 per month for both
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Posted
Jan 03 2008, 03:03 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Have you had a bad day? You might feel better if you read the tales of two personal-finance bloggers who were caught in bureaucratic nightmares. The hospital told One Frugal Girl three hours before a scheduled medical procedure that her insurance wouldn't pay for it, even though the insurance company had said it would. The headline on her post says it all: "Another horrific day at the hospital." Lynnae's lament at Being Frugal is about credit cards. She was charged a late fee and assigned a higher interest rate because she made her payment too early.
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Posted
Jun 04 2008, 05:27 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
If Single Ma had accepted the two prescriptions written for her and for her daughter without question, she would have spent $100 out-of-pocket -- despite the fact that her workplace health insurance plan includes meds. She did some research, made some phone calls, and ended up saving $180 (that's not a typo), without accepting reduced care for herself or her beloved BabyGirl. This practical post at Fabulous Financials illustrates why you need to be a savvy consumer when it comes to medical care.
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Posted
Sep 05 2008, 10:19 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
I.C. Jackson's experience with unemployment benefits is enough to make anyone cringe. After she lost her job, she took her mother's advice and applied for benefits -- even though she had been fired for being chronically late. Her claim was approved. Months later, her former employer apparently won an appeal. "I was ordered to pay back every dime of a benefit that I was told legally belonged to me," I.C. wrote at Debt Blog. "... Who knew that just like buckshot spraying from a barrel, applying for unemployment benefits could blow up in your face?"
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Posted
Dec 05 2007, 08:34 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Heavy rain flooded half my North Seattle block on Monday. After a dozen chaotic hours -- eight of them without power -- at the apartment building I manage, I really, really did not want to sleep on a Red Cross cot.
Yet another reason to have an emergency fund: a hotel room with privacy and unlimited hot water.
Sure, I could have bunked at the emergency shelter. I chose not to do so. Choice is one of the luxuries that an EF affords us.
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Posted
May 14 2008, 06:49 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
"Him" at the Him-and-Her blog, Make Love, Not Debt, is depressed -- clinically depressed. He reached the decision to get professional help after it began to affect his relationship with "Her." But, before that, he tried to spend his way out of depression. He explains that "trying to thwart depression by doing everything except getting treatment can affect one's finances." His post is called "Depression is expensive, denial much more so."
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Posted
Jul 17 2008, 06:05 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
When Amanda of Value For Your Life was 12 year old, she begged and begged until her parents finally got her a dog. Enter Jasper. Eventually Shadow joined the clan. What Amanda didn't know was that when each dog moved in, her mother began automatically depositing $25 a month per dog into a do-it-yourself pet insurance fund. That money -- growing in a high-interest savings account -- came in handy over the years, and without the limitations often attached to pet insurance policies. It was there to help Shadow as he developed back problems and, eventually, terminal cancer. (Read her remarkable account of Shadow's passing. Amanda, a veterinarian, euthanized her beloved dog at home. Warning: You may shed tears. We did.)
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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
Mar 03 2008, 11:50 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
What will be the "Wal-Mart effect" on health care as the retail behemoth proceeds with plans to open walk-in clinics in hundreds of its stores? A post by Jessica Hupp at RNCentral.com describes 20 possible impacts -- and most are positive. Consider this: Isn't it likely that health care costs will come down as other providers try to compete with Wal-Mart's lower prices?
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Posted
Jul 03 2009, 07:19 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller.
Individual health insurance plans can be costly, complex and downright confusing. Navigating the world of co-insurance, co-pays and deductibles becomes a difficult task when it comes to choosing insurance plans that are not prepackaged and backed by an employer.
Many self-employed individuals and those who work for employers that do not provide health insurance spend hours trying to decipher the language of the industry and find the best coverage for the lowest premiums.
All health insurance plans are not created equal. Health insurance companies use a variety of different approaches when developing products and services for individual buyers. Low premiums might not necessarily mean that individuals are getting the type of coverage they need. The first step in exploring the many different types of individual health insurance plans is to learn all about the basic terminology and common features.
What is co-insurance?
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