Things to buy at a low price in April if you're looking to save money

Are you a bargain hunter? I am. I mean why pay more when you don’t have to? Today I am sharing a few things you can get at a low price in April.

Tires, car batteries and windshield wiper blades

Did you know that April is National Car Care Month? Nope? Me either. But this can translate into savings in a few areas including car accessories and necessities.

Vacuums

It’s spring cleaning season, which means vacuums and other cleaning supplies dip in price. You can see vacuum cleaner prices that will beat Black Friday.

Thrift Store Finds

Thrift stores see an influx in donations in April and May so head to your favorite thrift store for a deal.

Home improvement supplies.

With warmer weather and spring holidays around the corner, many companies put home improvement supplies on sale. Look for things like handheld drills and tool kits to be marked down.

What to budget for:

Here are a few things to budget for this month to help yourself in the coming weeks.

• graduation fees

• Easter

• Mother’s Day

• Spring Break and Summer Break travel

• spring and summer sports fees

How to survive a financial crisis

Our homeowner's insurance doesn't cover wind damage. It covers the usual: fire, theft, tornado. But not wind damage. Why? Because we live in a hurricane zone, where high winds are not only likely but expected. 

So to insure ourselves against the wind potentially ripping our home from the foundation, we had to purchase a separate policy for that. It's an expensive policy, but I am told if damaging winds do come I will be grateful I have insurance. 

Don't you wish you could purchase insurance to cover every possible scenario of life? Why is there no devastating life change insurance? There is no policy to protect you in the case of a divorce that leaves your income stretched thin. There is no insurance policy for a job loss. 

And while there are insurance policies for devastating diseases and accidents, no plan is perfect. Far, far too often people are left paying hefty price tags for things that are far beyond their control. 

Even with the best-laid plans and healthy emergency fund (and emergency funds are so important, if you don't have one in place please work on it now) it still doesn't mean there will be enough funds to cover everything. 

So what do you do in this situation? 

1. Don't panic

It's natural in the face of a disaster, any disaster. But panic leads to bad decisions and bad decisions NEVER come alone. 

One bad decision usually leads to another and then another. They are like a horde of spring breakers caravanning down the highway of your life. 

Don't rush into making any big choices, if you can take the time to think things through, pray or talk to someone you trust. Giving yourself space and time to breathe. 

2. Don't fall into a trap of indecision

While panicking is a bad idea, so is not making any decisions at all. It is really easy to get so overwhelmed during a crisis that you just shut down and do nothing. 

It can become so easy to ignore the problem or use the crisis as an excuse to make no decisions at all. 

3. Make a plan- even if it's not ideal

If you get a large medical bill call your healthcare or insurance provider and see if you can work out a payment plan. 

The son of an acquaintance of mine was in a devastating accident. He was taken via an emergency helicopter to a trauma hospital. It turned out the medivac flight wasn't covered by the family's insurance. The final cost of the flight for that family was $20,000. And from several news articles I've read that is on the low end of the cost. 

As a parent, I can tell you the cost of the flight would not be the first thing on my mind. Saving my child would be the first thing on my mind. When it comes to your kids every parent knows, all bets are off. 

That family also faced thousands of dollars in subsequent medical care. The family was already living on a written budget and in order to avoid bankruptcy the family had to develop a plan. 

They worked out a payment plan with the helicopter company. They were able to do this without interest. While it wasn't an ideal situation and it will end up taking them years to pay off, it was a better alternative to a potential bankruptcy. 

Maybe it's not a medical emergency. It might be another life change. If you are going through a job loss I have written a post of six things to do to make the road easier. 

4. Be prepared to make tough choices

During the great recession, when the economy went downhill Jason and I had to make the decision to short sell our house. We had to cut our lifestyle back to nothing and begin making really tough decisions so we would get out of debt and get our lives back. 

For us these decisions were easy, but for many it is difficult especially with kids in the mix. You want to make life as normal as possible for your children, and the idea of selling their home just seems unbearable. But sometimes there are decisions that need to be made. 

5. Give yourself grace

There are many times in life when we go into crisis mode. Maybe you have exhausted all of your resources, sold your house and everything you own and you are still short. You may feel left with very few choices. 

In the case of a real emergency (I am talking a major life event: forgetting to save Christmas or not factoring in the cost of school clothes in your budget are not emergencies) you may have found yourself borrowing money or using credit cards. While this wasn't the perfect choice, it may have been the only choice you felt you had at the time. Don't beat yourself up over this.  Know you did the best you could and make a plan to get yourself out of debt.

We can't possibly plan for every single thing that is going to happen. Take a deep breath and know it will be okay. 

Again, I want to urge you to work on your emergency fund. 

If you don't have an emergency fund, please do me a favor and start working on one today. I get heart-breaking emails daily from families who faced a crisis with no buffer. So please take the time to arm yourself the best you can. 

What about you? Have you found yourself in a crisis? What did you do? 

How to survive a financial crisis

Our homeowner's insurance doesn't cover wind damage. It covers the usual: fire, theft, tornado. But not wind damage. Why? Because we live in a hurricane zone, where high winds are not only likely but expected. 

So to insure ourselves against the wind potentially ripping our home from the foundation, we had to purchase a separate policy for that. It's an expensive policy, but I am told if damaging winds do come I will be grateful I have insurance. 

Don't you wish you could purchase insurance to cover every possible scenario of life? Why is there no devastating life change insurance? There is no policy to protect you in the case of a divorce that leaves your income stretched thin. There is no insurance policy for a job loss. 

And while there are insurance policies for devastating diseases and accidents, no plan is perfect. Far, far too often people are left paying hefty price tags for things that are far beyond their control. 

Even with the best-laid plans and healthy emergency fund (and emergency funds are so important, if you don't have one in place please work on it now) it still doesn't mean there will be enough funds to cover everything. 

So what do you do in this situation? 

1. Don't panic

It's natural in the face of a disaster, any disaster. But panic leads to bad decisions and bad decisions NEVER come alone. 

One bad decision usually leads to another and then another. They are like a horde of spring breakers caravanning down the highway of your life. 

Don't rush into making any big choices, if you can take the time to think things through, pray or talk to someone you trust. Giving yourself space and time to breathe. 

2. Don't fall into a trap of indecision

While panicking is a bad idea, so is not making any decisions at all. It is really easy to get so overwhelmed during a crisis that you just shut down and do nothing. 

It can become so easy to ignore the problem or use the crisis as an excuse to make no decisions at all. 

3. Make a plan- even if it's not ideal

If you get a large medical bill call your healthcare or insurance provider and see if you can work out a payment plan. 

The son of an acquaintance of mine was in a devastating accident. He was taken via an emergency helicopter to a trauma hospital. It turned out the medivac flight wasn't covered by the family's insurance. The final cost of the flight for that family was $20,000. And from several news articles I've read that is on the low end of the cost. 

As a parent, I can tell you the cost of the flight would not be the first thing on my mind. Saving my child would be the first thing on my mind. When it comes to your kids every parent knows, all bets are off. 

That family also faced thousands of dollars in subsequent medical care. The family was already living on a written budget and in order to avoid bankruptcy the family had to develop a plan. 

They worked out a payment plan with the helicopter company. They were able to do this without interest. While it wasn't an ideal situation and it will end up taking them years to pay off, it was a better alternative to a potential bankruptcy. 

Maybe it's not a medical emergency. It might be another life change. If you are going through a job loss I have written a post of six things to do to make the road easier. 

4. Be prepared to make tough choices

During the great recession, when the economy went downhill Jason and I had to make the decision to short sell our house. We had to cut our lifestyle back to nothing and begin making really tough decisions so we would get out of debt and get our lives back. 

For us these decisions were easy, but for many it is difficult especially with kids in the mix. You want to make life as normal as possible for your children, and the idea of selling their home just seems unbearable. But sometimes there are decisions that need to be made. 

5. Give yourself grace

There are many times in life when we go into crisis mode. Maybe you have exhausted all of your resources, sold your house and everything you own and you are still short. You may feel left with very few choices. 

In the case of a real emergency (I am talking a major life event: forgetting to save Christmas or not factoring in the cost of school clothes in your budget are not emergencies) you may have found yourself borrowing money or using credit cards. While this wasn't the perfect choice, it may have been the only choice you felt you had at the time. Don't beat yourself up over this.  Know you did the best you could and make a plan to get yourself out of debt.

We can't possibly plan for every single thing that is going to happen. Take a deep breath and know it will be okay. 

Again, I want to urge you to work on your emergency fund. 

If you don't have an emergency fund, please do me a favor and start working on one today. I get heart-breaking emails daily from families who faced a crisis with no buffer. So please take the time to arm yourself the best you can. 

What about you? Have you found yourself in a crisis? What did you do? 

Quick and easy ways to save money now

I feel like part of my job and my duty to you as the sisterhood of savings is to give you tips on how to save money. Doing some of these things is how we got out of debt, how we stayed out of debt, how we've been able to cash flow things like cars and roofs and trips to Disney World.

1. Start meal planning.

Not only is this going to save you literally thousands of dollars because you're not throwing away food -- the average family in the US throws away $1,500 of food every year. Not with a meal plan -- but you also save time. Think about it.

If you come home on a Monday night and you're exhausted, you're going to spend at least 30 minutes wandering around your kitchen looking for something to eat. If you have taken 15 minutes on a Sunday afternoon to meal plan for the week, you just got hours of your life back. If you are spending 30 minutes every day or at least every week looking for something to eat, and you take 10-15 minutes to meal plan, you have saved hours every year.

2. Pack leftovers for lunch.

I have talked about this. You'll save at least $2,000 a year. Easy. A travel mug and take your own coffee. You can make coffee at home -- good coffee -- for 25 cents a cup. I love to use these pyrex containers for lunches. 

3. Never run a movie without a Redbox code.

Even if it's not a completely free movie, get a Redbox code. I realized that Redbox is only like $1.50. I get it. And even if you rented a Redbox movie every weekend for the entire year, that would only cost you $78. But the point is, I really like saving money.

You can quickly find Redbox codes on Honey. If you are not using Honey, I highly recommend it. It is free.  

Honey will run coupon codes for you. It's free. You can add it to Google Chrome as an extension and start flashing and alert you if there are coupon codes on any website. But I use it on Redbox. It will scan until it finds me the best code. (No, this is not sponsored by Honey or any of the other companies I'm talking about today but I am using some affiliate links you can read more about that here.)

4. Do two eat from the pantry challenges a year.

That means for one month, you're only going to buy a few basics of groceries and not your complete grocery haul for the month. You will end up saving between $200-500 depending on how much you spend on groceries.

 The average US family spends $550 a month on groceries. But if you decide to go on a no-spend or a very limited grocery haul for the month, you're going to save $500. It's $1,000 a year.

5. Call your service providers, whether it be cell phone or internet, and see what kind of deals they can offer you.

We saved $600 one year just by asking. Seriously. Just by asking.

 We switched from Verizon to Straight Talk a few years ago. We noticed very little difference. It turns out, where I live, Straight Talk runs on the Verizon tower, so it's basically the same coverage for less than half the price.

 There are also places like Cricket and Republic Wireless where you can get very discounted cell phone plans.

6. Use eBates when shopping from home.

I love eBates. I don't find that I spend more. It's just useful when I'm buying things that I'm going to be using. Like, we bought a new dishwasher and we were able to get 7% cash back on that. Same thing with our new fridge.

We bought all of our appliances through eBates, sometimes vacations, those types of things. And we get a little cash back for our efforts. And when you sign up you can get a $10 gift card to Target or Walmart. 

7. Accept hand-me-downs for things that you need. Or borrow.

I have told this story before. A few years ago, my vacuum cleaner died and I had carpet in my home at the time. I told my mom, "My vacuum cleaner died. I’ve got to go buy a new one." And she said, "No, you don't. I have this one. You can use it." It was very old, like, it took a bag. I think she bought it the year I was born. It was so loud; it made so much noise. But it worked. It cleaned my floor and it didn't cost me anything.

 So be willing to temporarily accept things from people, if they're willing to give them to you.

Don't take stuff that you don't need just to be nice. But if you need a vacuum cleaner and your mom's got one that's like 29 years old, take it.

8. Check Craigslist before you hit up the store.

When Isaac needed a little booster to sit at the table, I did a real quick look on Craigslist and found the exact same one that I was about to buy off Amazon on Craigslist for $10.

Quick and easy ways to save money now

I feel like part of my job and my duty to you as the sisterhood of savings is to give you tips on how to save money. Doing some of these things is how we got out of debt, how we stayed out of debt, how we've been able to cash flow things like cars and roofs and trips to Disney World.

1. Start meal planning.

Not only is this going to save you literally thousands of dollars because you're not throwing away food -- the average family in the US throws away $1,500 of food every year. Not with a meal plan -- but you also save time. Think about it.

If you come home on a Monday night and you're exhausted, you're going to spend at least 30 minutes wandering around your kitchen looking for something to eat. If you have taken 15 minutes on a Sunday afternoon to meal plan for the week, you just got hours of your life back. If you are spending 30 minutes every day or at least every week looking for something to eat, and you take 10-15 minutes to meal plan, you have saved hours every year.

2. Pack leftovers for lunch.

I have talked about this. You'll save at least $2,000 a year. Easy. A travel mug and take your own coffee. You can make coffee at home -- good coffee -- for 25 cents a cup. I love to use these pyrex containers for lunches. 

3. Never run a movie without a Redbox code.

Even if it's not a completely free movie, get a Redbox code. I realized that Redbox is only like $1.50. I get it. And even if you rented a Redbox movie every weekend for the entire year, that would only cost you $78. But the point is, I really like saving money.

You can quickly find Redbox codes on Honey. If you are not using Honey, I highly recommend it. It is free.  

Honey will run coupon codes for you. It's free. You can add it to Google Chrome as an extension and start flashing and alert you if there are coupon codes on any website. But I use it on Redbox. It will scan until it finds me the best code. (No, this is not sponsored by Honey or any of the other companies I'm talking about today but I am using some affiliate links you can read more about that here.)

4. Do two eat from the pantry challenges a year.

That means for one month, you're only going to buy a few basics of groceries and not your complete grocery haul for the month. You will end up saving between $200-500 depending on how much you spend on groceries.

 The average US family spends $550 a month on groceries. But if you decide to go on a no-spend or a very limited grocery haul for the month, you're going to save $500. It's $1,000 a year.

5. Call your service providers, whether it be cell phone or internet, and see what kind of deals they can offer you.

We saved $600 one year just by asking. Seriously. Just by asking.

 We switched from Verizon to Straight Talk a few years ago. We noticed very little difference. It turns out, where I live, Straight Talk runs on the Verizon tower, so it's basically the same coverage for less than half the price.

 There are also places like Cricket and Republic Wireless where you can get very discounted cell phone plans.

6. Use eBates when shopping from home.

I love eBates. I don't find that I spend more. It's just useful when I'm buying things that I'm going to be using. Like, we bought a new dishwasher and we were able to get 7% cash back on that. Same thing with our new fridge.

We bought all of our appliances through eBates, sometimes vacations, those types of things. And we get a little cash back for our efforts. And when you sign up you can get a $10 gift card to Target or Walmart. 

7. Accept hand-me-downs for things that you need. Or borrow.

I have told this story before. A few years ago, my vacuum cleaner died and I had carpet in my home at the time. I told my mom, "My vacuum cleaner died. I’ve got to go buy a new one." And she said, "No, you don't. I have this one. You can use it." It was very old, like, it took a bag. I think she bought it the year I was born. It was so loud; it made so much noise. But it worked. It cleaned my floor and it didn't cost me anything.

 So be willing to temporarily accept things from people, if they're willing to give them to you.

Don't take stuff that you don't need just to be nice. But if you need a vacuum cleaner and your mom's got one that's like 29 years old, take it.

8. Check Craigslist before you hit up the store.

When Isaac needed a little booster to sit at the table, I did a real quick look on Craigslist and found the exact same one that I was about to buy off Amazon on Craigslist for $10.

My top money lessons from 2016

Happy New Year! I am so excited about a glistening new year full of infinite possibilities. It's like the first page in a new notebook. I just get giddy with the idea of filling it with new ideas and goals. 

Today though, I wanted to take a look back at the top financial tips and goals from 2016. So let's dive in. 

1. You have to, have to, have to plan for the unexpected. 

2016 was just the year of unexpected. Everything in my house broke, we had some major health costs arise and it was just an expensive year. 

It is imperative to have a rainy day emergency fund. I know it's hard to build one up and keep it thriving when life throws one thing after another at you. But not having the money in place will only make things worse. 

Here are a few ways to build that fund up FAST. 

2. Just because you have an irregular income doesn't mean you can't budget

I now earn a full-time income from home now. Which is awesome. (If you want to learn more about how I do that I will have a course coming out in two weeks!)

But because I run my own business my income can be irregular. While we really only live off one income, we still have to have a plan for that money. 

When we first started budgeting we had a very irregular income and it took some tweaking to get it right. But it can be done. 

Here are my top tips for that. 

3. Living on a budget can lead to burn out

There comes a point when you've spent so much time being frugal you just want to scream. You want to stand in the middle of your yard and scream your head off. But don't. Your neighbors will think you're crazy. Also, you will get past this moment of frustration. 

Ask yourself some questions: 

Why are you doing this? Why are you living the way you're living? Is it because you're in debt and don't want to be anymore? Is it so you can buy a house? Pay for college? Help those in need?

Here are my tips for when you're so tired of being frugal you could scream!

4. If there's a will there's a way

Last year we had to replace our roof. It needed to be done quickly and we didn't want to deplete our entire emergency fund to do it. So we had to go into barebones mode. It was so reminiscent of when we were first getting out of debt. 

But when all was said and done we saved up an extra $6,000 in six months on TOP of our regular savings goals. 

5. You have to communicate

My husband spent much of 2016 on the road. And I'll be honest, I used this as an excuse to get off budget. Having a spouse that travels can derail your budget plans if you don't communicate about money. It's worth it. Trust me. Hard but worth it. 

What about you? What money lessons did 2016 teach you? 

Saving money on prescription costs

It's no secret that medical costs are on the rise. In fact, insurance costs are expected to rise 5 percent in 2017. 

But one way to combat that cost is to arm yourself with money-saving knowledge. Last week I talked about saving money on large medical bills. Today I am going to talk about saving cash on prescriptions. 

If you family is like mine and just gets the sniffles every once in a while, you don't think about prescription costs until you go to the pharmacy and get a case of sticker shock. But, if you're like thousands of families across America, you deal with chronic illnesses that can have a devastating blow to your budget. 

Here are some things to remember the next time your doctor hands you a script. 

1. Not all pharmacies are equal

Not all pharmacies charge the exact same amount for each prescription. In fact, the difference can be several dollars. That's why checking out websites like GoodRX is a great idea. 

For example, a prescription one of my family members takes was free at one pharmacy and $7.00 at one across town. 

Of course, these websites generally don't include locally owned pharmacies, so call them to compare prices. 

2. Look for pharmacy deals. 

The pharmacy we use offers certain antibiotics for free. Any parent with small children can tell you how much money this will save over the course of just a few years. 

3. Refill it one more time. 

If you've met your deductible by the end of the year, try to fit in one more prescription if you can before the calendar year ends. This could save you big bucks if you don't have to pay a co-pay. 

4. Ask for copay assistance. 

I am not going to lie, every time I think about the Epi-pen price increase I want to vomit. It makes me angry. And I could wax on for hours about this topic... but I won't. 

I did see, however, that the manufacturer is offering a $300 "coupon" for a two-pack of the pen. 

Many drug companies are now offering coupons or co-pay assistance on expensive scripts. This helps their bottom line. If a person can't afford the medicine, they're not going to take it or find a cheaper alternative. But if the drug manufacturer offers a discount they are still making money. 

What about you? What have you done to save on prescription costs? 

Four ways we saved money this month (and one way we spent that will actually save later)

September is rolling to a stop soon and I was thinking about all the things our family has done this month- and one of the things we've done is save some money. Which is good, because we're going to need it. ;)

I thought I would set aside a blog post each month to share how we've saved money during the course of a month. So keep your eyes open for that. 

Today I am sharing four ways we saved in September and one thing we actually spent money on that will save us in the future. 

1. We signed up for auto pay

This actually ended up putting about $20 a month back into our pockets. We signed up for autopay with our Internet and cell phone providers. 

Our internet provider will knock $10 off our monthly bill for signing up. This is something we had done in the past, but our provider conveniently forgot to mention it expired after one year and would need to be re-upped. 

It took me several months to notice we were no longer getting a discount and that a bill kept coming. I just blindly paid it-- hey, I've had a lot going on!

Our cell phone provider also offered us $5 off each line for auto pay. So that saved us an additional $10!

2. I found a solution instead of shopping

Here is something I will confess. I love high-end linens. I just can't stand scratchy, cheap sheets. So I have really good sheets on my bed. Luckily they were a gift. But they start to pull or peel, you know what I mean when you get those fussy balls on clothes and bedding. It felt like sand in the bed. 

I was going to price a new set of sheets when I remembered my handy little sweater shaver. I pulled that sucker our and "shaved" my sheets for a smooth and delightful night sleep! 

Sometimes the solution is right in front of you. It really does remind me of that old saying "Make do, do without..." 

3. We had a free date night

Thanks to a Swagbucks gift card, Jason and I were able to enjoy a much-needed date night at Starbucks. We both enjoyed a pumpkin beverage (when it was 90 degrees outside!!!) for free. 

If you don't know what Swagbucks is, it's free. You can earn points for taking quizzes, watching videos or using it as a search engine. Then you cash those points in for free gift cards. I was able to snag a $35 gift card for FREE. 

4. I did a little Insurance audit

Okay. So this doesn't save me money NOW, but it will in the future. Not to mention countless man hours. 

Where we live we are required to have a wind policy separate from our home-owners insurance. This is because we live in a place that has hurricanes. We replaced our roof earlier this year after, it was a big effort on our part, but it's gorgeous. 

Recently we got a letter from our wind carrier saying our roof had only 40% of its life left, which would greatly impact us should something happen and blow our roof off or knock our house down. (I might be exaggerating  a wee bit.)

So I contacted my insurance provider to let them know the roof had been replaced. Note: this is something I actually did in February when our roof was first replaced!!

I also followed up to make sure it had been noted in our file. 

Again, this won't save me anything NOW, but it could save me hundreds of hours of my life in the future. 

Bonus: One thing we purchased that will save us money. 

I broke down and bought a set of room darkening curtains from Walmart. They are actually very pretty and were only around $10. In the long run, they will save us money by blocking some of the morning sun that heats up the front of our house in the early hours of the day. 

I want to get another set of curtains for the windows in the back of our house for the afternoon. 

I think next summer (or even the coming weeks) this will actually help us lower our electric bill as it keeps our house cooler. 

What about you? How have you saved money this month? 

Saving money on insurance costs

This post is underwritten by a Nationwide insurance agent in Harrisburg, MS. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Having kids, buying a new home, moving to a new city or purchasing a vehicle for your growing family are all exciting things. But one major expense that goes along with these life changes is insurance. 

I think it is easy to shrug off the expense of insurance as if it is simply a fact of life, but the truth is that you can avoid overpaying  for insurance with a little bit of effort.

Shop Around

As with many other major purchases, if you are serious about spending less money on insurance, you need to shop around. Look at different providers and policies and read the fine print about exactly what is offered. Don't just go with the first provider you see or the one your neighbor has. 

Buy only what you need

Many people complain about paying too much for insurance when it turns out that they have purchased more insurance than they need. Make sure you don’t have policies that cover duplicate categories. For instance, if you have AAA membership, you don’t need to purchase towing insurance 

Bundle what you can

See if you can save money by sticking with one provider. We use the same provider for our home, auto and supplemental wind policy (required by our mortgage lender in the hurricane zone where we live). 

Try to build a good relationship with your insurance broker who can help you find good deals on coverage. Insurance companies have been known to provide price reductions for customers who own more than one policy with them- all you have to do is ask. Also, see if you can negotiate through your agent a deal that will cost you less.

Be smart about your deductible

Desperation can cost you money when you are looking for the right insurance policy. You can set your deductible, or the amount you pay out of pocket for damage or an accident before the insurance company kicks in its share. Many people set their deductible as high as possible to avoid paying much, but this often means higher premiums. Remember, a high deductible is not “free.” 

Set your deductible at a lower level or pad your emergency fund to make up the difference. 

Mind your miles

Many insurance providers provide discounts for low miles. This is just basic math, the fewer miles you drive, the less likely you are to be in a wreck. If you have a short commute, or only use your vehicle for things like running to the grocery store or basic errands, you may qualify for a discount. 

Rethink claims

If your car gets bumped in a parking lot and there is a small dent really evaluate whether or not you need to make a claim. 

Once premiums go up because of a car accident or another unfortunate event, there isn’t much you can do.

If the dent can be fixed for a modest amount of money, it might be better to fix it yourself, rather than filing a claim. 

Shop smart

If you're in the market for a new (or new to you) vehicle give your insurance agent a call to see the cost of insuring the vehicle. Premiums are based on things like the cost to fix or replace a car. Make sure the insurance costs are in your budget before you drive off the lot with your new car. 

Ask!

Safe driver discounts. Military discounts. Full payment discounts... ask your insurance provider what discounts they offer and see if you qualify. 

Insurance Doesn’t Have to Be Expensive

Insurance can be affordable if you put some thought into purchasing a policy. 

Make sure you know all of the details of your insurance policy so there aren’t surprises and you don’t end up buying too much insurance. Look for an insurance company that suits your needs, and stick with one that works. Build a relationship with your agent who can do some work for you and find discounts. 

Also, avoid being too quick to file claims so you aren’t treated as if you are a risky client. If you are unhappy with your current insurance package and feel you are paying too much, it is a good idea make the switch sooner rather than later. It may be a hassle to change providers, but it might end up saving you money. The amount you will save on insurance will be worth the transition to a new provider.
 

What about you? What steps have you taken to reduce insurance costs? 

What do you do when a financial crisis comes your way?

Our homeowner's insurance doesn't cover wind damage. It covers the usual: fire, theft, tornado. But not wind damage. Why? Because we live in a hurricane zone, where high winds are not only likely but expected. 

So to insure ourselves against the wind potentially ripping our home from the foundation, we had to purchase a separate policy for that. It's an expensive policy, but I am told if damaging winds do come I will be grateful I have insurance. 

Don't you wish you could purchase insurance to cover every possible scenario of life? Why is there no devastating life change insurance? There is no policy to protect you in the case of a divorce that leaves your income stretched thin. There is no insurance policy for a job loss. 

And while there are insurance policies for devastating diseases and accidents, no plan is perfect. Far, far too often people are left paying hefty price tags for things that are far beyond their control. 

Even with the best-laid plans and healthy emergency fund (and emergency funds are so important, if you don't have one in place please work on it now) it still doesn't mean there will be enough funds to cover everything. 

So what do you do in this situation? 

1. Don't panic

It's natural in the face of a disaster, any disaster. But panic leads to bad decisions and bad decisions NEVER come alone. 

One bad decision usually leads to another and then another. They are like a horde of spring breakers caravanning down the highway of your life. 

Don't rush into making any big choices, if you can take the time to think things through, pray or talk to someone you trust. Giving yourself space and time to breathe. 

2. Don't fall into a trap of indecision

While panicking is a bad idea, so is not making any decisions at all. It is really easy to get so overwhelmed during a crisis that you just shut down and do nothing. 

It can become so easy to ignore the problem or use the crisis as an excuse to make no decisions at all. 

3. Make a plan- even if it's not ideal

If you get a large medical bill call your healthcare or insurance provider and see if you can work out a payment plan. 

The son of an acquaintance of mine was in a devastating accident. He was taken via an emergency helicopter to a trauma hospital. It turned out the medivac flight wasn't covered by the family's insurance. The final cost of the flight for that family was $20,000. And from several news articles I've read that is on the low end of the cost. 

As a parent, I can tell you the cost of the flight would not be the first thing on my mind. Saving my child would be the first thing on my mind. When it comes to your kids every parent knows, all bets are off. 

That family also faced thousands of dollars in subsequent medical care. The family was already living on a written budget and in order to avoid bankruptcy the family had to develop a plan. 

They worked out a payment plan with the helicopter company. They were able to do this without interest. While it wasn't an ideal situation and it will end up taking them years to pay off, it was a better alternative to a potential bankruptcy. 

Maybe it's not a medical emergency. It might be another life change. If you are going through a job loss I have written a post of six things to do to make the road easier. 

4. Be prepared to make tough choices

During the great recession, when the economy went downhill Jason and I had to make the decision to short sell our house. We had to cut our lifestyle back to nothing and begin making really tough decisions so we would get out of debt and get our lives back. 

For us these decisions were easy, but for many it is difficult especially with kids in the mix. You want to make life as normal as possible for your children, and the idea of selling their home just seems unbearable. But sometimes there are decisions that need to be made. 

5. Give yourself grace

There are many times in life when we go into crisis mode. Maybe you have exhausted all of your resources, sold your house and everything you own and you are still short. You may feel left with very few choices. 

In the case of a real emergency (I am talking a major life event: forgetting to save Christmas or not factoring in the cost of school clothes in your budget are not emergencies) you may have found yourself borrowing money or using credit cards. While this wasn't the perfect choice, it may have been the only choice you felt you had at the time. Don't beat yourself up over this.  Know you did the best you could and make a plan to get yourself out of debt.

We can't possibly plan for every single thing that is going to happen. Take a deep breath and know it will be okay. 

Again, I want to urge you to work on your emergency fund. 

If you don't have an emergency fund, please do me a favor and start working on one today. I get heart-breaking emails daily from families who faced a crisis with no buffer. So please take the time to arm yourself the best you can. 

What about you? Have you found yourself in a crisis? What did you do?