Finishing your holiday buying in person? Get ready for warfare on wheels – and not just as regards scoping for prime parking spots.
Combat shopping can be murder on your ride. Whether you leave it in a garage, on the street or in a mall parking lot, you’re at risk of being tagged by a clueless driver and/or having your purchases stolen before you can even get them home to be wrapped.
While some consumers prefer to shop entirely online nearly six in 10 will do at least some brick-and-mortar visits, according to the National Retail Federation. Excited, distracted or stressed-out shoppers may dent your fender or scrape some paint on the way into or out of a parking space.
The honest ones will leave contact information on your windshield. The others just keep driving, which is not only bad manners but could also be a hit and run, legally speaking. Most states don’t define this as taking place on roads or highways, and many include parking-lot incidents in the hit-and-run definition.
One of my recent NerdWallet articles can help.
“How insurance can help you out of a holiday shopping jam,” offers tips on what kind of claim to file and how to go about it. It really does matter, e.g., an uninsured motorist vs. a collision claim. As for having items stolen from your vehicle, I offer some tips on protecting yourself and dealing with the aggravation of a break-in if it does happen.
A present with wheels
You’ve probably seen holiday TV commercials or print ads featuring a brand-new car wearing a bright red ribbon. YouTube has a category of amateur videos along the same lines: Man/woman gets surprised by a new car or truck, followed by screaming and/or hugs and/or tears.
Who wouldn’t want to make a loved one that happy? However, buying a car isn’t a decision to be made lightly. Another NW article, “How to secretly buy a car (and car insurance) for the holidays,” talks about the nuts and bolts. Some things to keep in mind:
- Suppose you guess wrong and the giftee doesn’t like the car you chose? This isn’t a sweater you can return for store credit; no law requires a dealer to take the car back.
- How much will a monthly payment and a higher insurance premium cost?
- Who’s paying for those things, anyway – you, the gift’s recipient or your shared household budget?
- Will your spouse/partner that you made such a major money decision on your own?
- Oh, and you may wind up paying a federal gift tax in some cases. Wheee!
As you may have guessed, I think it’s generally not a good idea to do this. But if you’re considering it, the article can help.
Also from NerdWallet:
“What to do after a car accident”: Don’t say “I’m sorry.” Don’t say, “It’s OK, I’m fine.” Don’t let the other person talk you out of reporting the incident. And much, much more. (P.S. As with so many other things these days, there’s an app for car accidents.)
“How to lower funeral costs”: The median cost of a funeral with burial in the United States is now more than $7,100. If that bothers you, read this piece for information about your rights when it comes to your last rites.
“6 ways women can save money on car insurance”: Before age 30 men tend to pay more than women for auto insurance. After that, the tables may turn – especially if you’re single, which includes being divorced or widowed. Fight back with savvy decisions. While you shouldn’t skimp on coverage, neither should you pay more than you must.
What’s in your wallet?
Too much, probably. Lots of credit cards? The only existing photo of your grandma? A debit card with the password written on the back? Or, heaven forbid, your Social Security card?
“Things you should never keep in your wallet,” a piece I did for Forbes Investing, explains ways to protect yourself. This topic affected me personally, as I was mugged on the way to a conference and suffered considerable aggravation as a result. Although I was one of the lucky ones – no identity theft resulted – my wallet has since been reorganized.
Shortly after that incident I did a column for MSN Money about doing a “wallet audit,” and learned that a family member has been carrying his Social Security card for decades. If you do this, please stop it. Now. Also, read the article to learn how to redact your Medicare card to protect your Social Security number in case of loss or theft.
Vinegar won’t provide consistent weed control, but it sure can do a lot of other things. Money Talks News recently published my piece, “The case for vinegar: 83 amazing and environmentally friendly uses.”
In particular I can recommend the soap-scum buster, aka the “Scrubbing Bubbles alternative.” It really works, it’s a lot cheaper than Scrubbing Bubbles and while it doesn’t smell great it also doesn’t give me asthma symptoms. (Besides, the smell goes away in a little while.)
A few words on words
In addition to my regular freelance work and this website, I maintain a writing-focused blog associated with my online writing course. In a recent roundup here I linked to work I’d done there and traffic increased.
Of course it did. Not a few of my S&T readers are writers themselves. So I’ve decided to keep linking to those pieces – some of which, by the way, aren’t solely about the craft of writing.
Some recent posts:
“Want to write well? Read more”: Feed your mind and the words will follow. Or should, anyway.
“Practice makes perfect”: Unless you’re very, very lucky, good writing doesn’t just flow from the brain directly onto the page/screen. We have to practice the craft before we’re much good at it.
“Can every piece be a magnum opus?”: Probably not – but it’s still a chance to help someone. Read more to find out why.
White vinegar is a wonder at getting the smell of spoiled milk out of the carpet in a car. If you’ve ever had a jug of milk tip over and leak on the way home from the grocery store, you know how awful it smells. I used it full strength on the carpet in our old van, and it killed the smell with no damage to the carpet.
I read all your articles and I liked the vinegar one the most.
The tip about moving the car after you put your gifts in the trunk resonates with my Jersey girl parking lot situational awareness strategy. I’ve added it to my crime prevention list.
Oh those car commercials! They’ve always been ridiculous even more I was a PF Blogger and knew anything about money. Who on earth wants to find out their partner just blew XX,XXX on a surprise car without your agreement?
Alas, I’ll have to link to your Nerdwallet article next week.
Agreed! I’d be pretty startled if my S.O. announced proudly, “I just took a ton of money out of our savings/signed us up for a five-year loan and I don’t even know if you wanted a new car!”