saving money

Monday miscellany: Car insurance costs edition.

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Bankrate.com recently took a deep dive into car insurance costs, and found that the average annual U.S. premium is $1,674.

Put another way: That represents 2.44 percent of the average driver’s income.

Bankrate also reinforced that how much you pay depends on where you live. For example, folks in Tampa pay about $450 more each year than drivers in Orlando. Yikes.

“The true cost of auto insurance in 2021” includes an interactive map that shows you average rates in your state and also its major metropolitan areas. It also spells out the ways that common life events – such as a drop in your credit score or being in an accident – can affect your premium.

The one that really got my attention is the “change in credit score” factor. In all but three states (California, Hawaii, Massachusetts) your credit score can help determine your car insurance rate. The difference can be scary-high. 

 

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Does refinancing a car hurt your credit?

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Sometimes stuff happens: illness, job loss, divorce. When things get super-tight and you’re casting around for a cash influx your eye might fall upon that fairly new vehicle. Maybe you should sell it. Or you might wonder, “Does refinancing a car hurt your credit?”

Yes, it can. But in some cases it might be the best – or only – option for when things go sideways. (Looking at you, COVID-19.)

I tackled this topic recently for Self.inc. “Does refinancing a car hurt your credit?” covers the good, the bad and the WTF of this complicated topic.

On the face of it, refinancing a car isn’t a great idea. But sometimes it could be the right thing to do.

The most obvious reason to refinance is because interest rates dropped. This is especially true if you financed with the dealer rather than looking around for loan options. Given that the average new-car loan is $34,635 and the used-vehicle loan is $21,438, even a loan rate that’s just 1 percent lower will make a big difference over time. (Not-so-fun fact: The average used-car loan is 65.15 months long and the average new-vehicle loan is 69.68 months.)

You could even get some cash in-hand if you do something called a cash-out auto refinance, which is similar to a cash-out mortgage refi. If having cash is vital, this might be the right choice for you at this moment in your life.

For example, if you couldn’t make the rent during a COVID layoff, a couple of months’ worth of payments might stave off eviction. Or if you have credit-card debt at 18 percent and were eligible for a cash-out refi at a much lower interest rate, you would be able to pay off the card and improve monthly cash flow. (Ideally you’d use some of that money to start an emergency fund, because the only thing certain is uncertainty and we need to positions ourselves to punch back at it.)

As always, you need to look at the big picture – and to look at it from all angles. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. 

 

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9 reasons to get a library card.

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The other day on Twitter a guy asked, “Does anybody still have a library card?” Not sure whether the question was plaintive or condescending, but the reaction was both swift and vociferous. The general consensus was, “Of course I do, and I don’t know why someone wouldn’t.”

One person actually said “I feel sorry for (that guy).”

Again, not sure where he weighed in on the topic. Maybe he’s one of those people who thinks he doesn’t need a library card because he has the Internet. But to paraphrase a meme I saw earlier today, “Saying you don’t need a library card because you have the Internet is like saying you don’t need a math teacher because you have a calculator.”

Maybe he was hoping to find his people online, because he’s one of those who got his library card as soon as he could sign his name. One of those who signed up for a new card every time he changed cities. One of those who, even though he reads e-books, swoons when he walks into a physical library and runs his fingers along the spines of the tomes in the “New Reads” section.

That would be me as well. Our libraries are finally open, and today I went back for the first time in probably a year and a half. The building itself is diminished: certain areas are closed off, and the traffic is noticeably lower than usual for a Saturday afternoon. But it was open. And I was finally back among my friends.

By “friends,” I of course mean “books.” I had to stop myself after choosing six. That took some doing, because I happen to know the limit is 50 items. But as much as I wanted to keep browsing, I didn’t want to carry 50 books. Besides, I figured I should save some of the new books for everyone else.

The library is one of my favorite places, and if you consider yourself frugal it should be among your top spots as well. Here’s why.

 

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Extreme Frugality: Coupon/rebate deals.

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This is one in an occasional series of articles about saving money.

Back in the day, the coupon/rebate combo got me a lot of free stuff. A lot. For years I didn’t have to pay for toothpaste, shampoo, lotion, deodorant and other toiletries, or for certain food items. On the rare occasions when I did pay, the tab was a few cents to just under a dollar.

This was a godsend at the time, since I was living on less than $1,000 a month and working on a university degree. Bonus: I got so much free stuff that I supplied my daughter with many essentials, and donated a bunch to a social services agency.

Coupon/rebate buying helped me stretch my limited funds. It helped me help others. What’s not to like?

<<Surviving and Thriving has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Surviving and Thriving and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses and recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.>>

But all good things must end, and coupon/rebate deals were no exception. The stores running these loss-leader promotions gradually fell out of the habit. Ever since I moved back to Alaska I’ve had almost no chances at getting the freebies.

Until, that is, I discovered a new coupon/rebate combo.

Now I use some (or all) of the following: the Coupons.com, Shopkick*, Ibotta** and Fetch Rewards*** apps; the Swagbucks rewards program and the CouponMom.com website. While it’s not as crazy-lucrative as it once was, I can say that it’s been worth my while. Two recent examples: 

 

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COVID hack: Use rewards points.

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According to a recent report from Bankrate.com, about one in three rewards credit cards holders did not cash in any rewards points in 2020.

That’s not surprising, given how many people save their points for air travel. Not much of that last year; only 11 percent of the 2,449 cardholders surveyed cashed in for flights.

On the other hand, 30 percent of those surveyed redeemed points big-time, to the tune of $300 or more worth of gift cards or actual spending cash.

When times are good, rewards points are a savvy consumer’s way of getting the most bang for the buck. And when times are not so good? That $300 cash-in can be a fine budget-booster.

“You could use it to defray big expenses or for small, everyday items to make your life better,” says Ted Rossman, a credit card analyst at Bankrate.com.

To paraphrase the credit card commercial, “What’s in your (virtual) wallet?” That is, what kinds of rewards points are languishing, rather than being given something to do? 

 

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Extreme Frugality: Post-holiday sales edition.

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Each year retailers set out millions of dollars’ worth of holiday presents, décor, cards, wrapping paper and foods. And each year there’s always some (or a lot) left over. Hence the annual post-holiday sales, where we can save some (or a lot) of money.

I wish I’d written this for Dec. 26, when stores were fairly bursting with red and green bargains. But it’s not too late. While holiday retail inventory is down, it’s not out: Sales are still happening both online and in-store. The discounts are deeper, too.

Sure, some of what you’ll see went unsold for a reason. It was tacky. It was garish. It was expensive. It was mystifying (see “corgi-butt bottle opener”). But plenty of perfectly good stuff simply doesn’t get bought, and post-holiday sales can stretch next year’s holiday budget and certain year-round needs as well.

For example, if your winter boots have started to let in snow at every step, you’ll likely find screamin’ deals on replacement footwear at this point. Or if someone you know is going to graduate from college, get married, move into a new home or have a baby in the coming year, now is the time to go shopping.

As always: If you don’t need it, it’s no bargain. Why buy another 10 rolls of wrapping paper when you’ve already got two dozen? Or extra holiday ornaments when every inch of the tree is already crowded? And you can display only so many nutcrackers or old-time Santas before your family stages an intervention.

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Giveaway: More stocking stuffers.

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I’m really enjoying these giveaways. That’s because I love giving things away almost as much as I love winning things myself. Okay, not 100 percent accurate right now: I’m hoping against hope to win a PlayStation 5 in time for Christmas. My great-nephew, like many other gamers, is obsessed over this new system. Some people … Read more

Why I threw away my underwear.

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Five years ago I wrote a post called “Why I sewed my underwear.” That piece still gets good traction; either people want to be justified in sewing their own smalls, or they want to read just why someone would bother repairing when replacement undies are so cheap.

(Well, cheap the way that I buy them: six- or eight-pack cotton drawers from Hanes. I’m well aware that solo scanties can cost $30 or more. I would never deny any woman – or any man, or any non-binary person –  undies that make them feel pretty. Personally, though, I’m built for comfort, not for speed.)

Today I threw out five pairs of unmentionables. And I feel just fine with that, for a couple of reasons.

The fixes weren’t holding. Either I’m a lousy sew-and-sew or some garments simply can’t be repaired over and over. DF thinks it’s the latter: “After one fix, out it goes.” And this is from a man who has been known to repair just about everything. Once, when the elbows of a shirt were threadbare, he cut the fabric above the elbow and started hemming his new short-sleeved shirt.

It’s okay not to wear tattered tighty-whities. I can afford new, whole briefs rather than having to slide (carefully!) into a few loosely connected underwear molecules. After all, I do have a job and that job lets me replace things that need replacing.

So yes, I bought new bloomers. But I did it frugally, because of course I did.

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Extreme Frugality: Waste nothing edition.

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(Note: This is one of an occasional series of articles on saving money.)

We took the second batch of apple rings from the dehydrator this morning. Made from windfall apples, they have a mildly sweet flavor that at first seemed bland. Yet after eating two or three, I was hooked. Really looking forward to snacking on these this winter.

The cores of those apples wound up in the slow cooker along with other cores from the freezer; they’d come from the previous batch of dehydrated fruit and from two batches of apple pie filling. When DF judged them done, he drained the liquid through a cloth-lined colander and poured the juice into wire-bail bottles, then stored them in the chilly basement.

And the gloppy pomace left in the colander? That went into the compost pit out back. One day it will become part of a garden bed.

Not everyone can (or wants to) garden, or to preserve food. But you can observe the “waste nothing” ethos in other ways, too.

Not-wasting is a central tenet of frugality. A life without waste is a life in which each decision means something. This doesn’t limit our choices, however. It merely refines them. Rather than drifting through life reacting to every trend or advertisement, we decide what’s really important to us.

DF and I didn’t set out to become Super Green Eco-Consumers when we chose to reduce, reuse and recycle. We were merely living the way we grew up, i.e., not spending more than we must on food, clothing, utilities, housewares and the like.

Sure, this affects our impact on the Earth, which I guess does make us eco-friendly. But it also dovetails nicely with my frugal mantra (which he now shares): I save where I can so I can spend where I want.

Because we’re careful with money, we can afford to save for retirement, which means we won’t be a burden to our families as we age. We can also afford to give to charity, help relatives and friends in need, and allow ourselves special treats (a trip to Phoenix, a massage, a really good meal at Kincaid Grill once or twice a year).

Living without waste makes our lives better. And one or more of the following tactics might make your life better, too.

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6 ways to save money on cloth diapers.

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(Happy Throwback Thursday! A version of this article was originally published Jan. 30, 2014. As an Amazon affiliate, I may receive a small commission if you purchase using my affiliate link.)

Yesterday I read an article about continuing shortages on things like disinfectants, toilet paper* and diapers. The piece suggested you could make emergency diapers out of T-shirts.

Couldn’t resist that notion, so I watched a YouTube video on how to turn that old 10k shirt into a COVID-19 hack. It sounds counterintuitive somehow, but cloth diapers are made of cotton, too, so it sorta-kinda makes sense.

Note: The diaper “shortage” is likely due to panic-buying rather than a diaper industry failure. Parents see emptying shelves, which makes them fear potential shortages, which in turn creates actual shortages.

It’s also led to a boom in the cloth diaper industry, according to an article in Today. These didies can be super-pricey. It’s a far cry from way, way back in the day, when I paid $2.99 per dozen for cloth diapers. Believe it or not, they were “slightly irregular.” Yes, I swathed my daughter’s butt in factory seconds.

What’s more, after moving to Philadelphia I had to wash the diapers by hand on a scrub-board and dry them on wooden racks. As a broke and exhausted single mom, I could afford neither the time nor the money to go to the laundromat. I hope none of you are ever that hard up.

Cloth diapers really aren’t as awful as people think. These days they’re prefolded like disposables, so you just tuck them into covers (no more plastic pants). In fact, these diapers are so well-made that they actually have resale value after Junior gets toilet-trained.

Yes, there’s a bit of an “ick” factor, but let’s face it: If you have a baby, you are going to have to touch some poop even if you use disposables.

Here’s how to save money on cloth diapers.

 

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