I love the new CVS coupon center!  I am forever getting coupons upon check-out and forget to bring them back with me the next time I shop.  I will have good coupons too like money off my final purchase.  Well, now I don’t have to worry about that because my coupons are given to me BEFORE I shop.

All you do is find the coupon center at the front of the store and use the barcode scanner to scan your CVS extra value card and presto - you have coupons!  The last time I went I got a coupon for $4 off a purchase of $20.  Awesome!  I bought some things that I had been needing.  Have you tried it yet?

OK. Just because something is on sale doesn’t mean that you should buy it.  Have you ever found yourself buying something just because it was too good a deal to pass up?  Like those discount cigars you bought so your husband can pass out IF you have another child even though you have no notion of having another?  I have an aunt that will shop at Good Will to save money, but spends more money than she ought just because she can’t pass up the deals.  If you are honest, you gotta admit that you have bought something simply because it was a great deal. I know I have.  Let’s save some money people and stop buying things that we don’t need even if it is the deal of the century!

It seems like every time I turn around I am getting a bill for car insurance.  It doesn’t help matters any that we have three cars that need to be covered. Every time I pay it I say to myself that I have got to make sure that we are getting the cheapest car insurance.

I decided to look into it and found these great tips for lowering your car insurance.  Hope it can help you as much as it has helped me.

7 Tips To Reducing Car Insurance Costs.

1. A major factor for any car insurance company in assessing the insurance premium you pay comes down to the type of car you drive. Different types of car attract different levels of premium because, in particular, different types of car are driven by different types of people, who may have different types of risk profile.

Sports cars, for example, will usually show a higher rate of accidents than staid boring family cars.

And there are always certain types of cars which attract thieves more than others, and this is reflected in the premiums you pay to insure them.

Your insurance company can tell you which types of cars are cheaper or more expensive to insure, so before you buy a car make some inquiries about whether that type of car is a high insurance premium car.

2. Consider your deductible. This is the amount you pay first out of any claim, and the cost of your policy is directly related to the amount of your deductible. Higher deductible - lower premium. So consider carefully whether you could afford to pay a higher amount first from any accident and raise your deductible. If so, you will get lower premiums.

3. Safety and anti theft devices can reduce the insurance costs for a car. Talk to your insurance company and find out if there are any safety or anti theft devices that you can install to reduce your premium. Then consider installing them making sure that you notify your insurance company once you have done so. And why not ring up your company and make sure that they are aware of any safety and anti theft devices you already have, if they aren’t you may get a reduction.

4. Drive carefully. It may sound obvious but as insurance premiums are related to risk then your manner of driving is related to your insurance premiums. Safer driver equals lower premiums. It may not seem so at the time but those traffic violations or speeding fines reflect in your bill.

5. Don’t just pay your premium each time it comes around without investigating if you can do better. Car insurance rates vary all the time and so even if it was the best rate last year it may not be this year. Every year shop around to see if you can do better, you may be surprised.

6. Have a look at other insurance policies you have with other companies. Many insurers offer discounts for combining all your family insurance with their company. Find out who they are and get a quote on all your policies combined.

7. Always look online for a competitive quote. Most of the major players and brokers are represented online and it is extremely competitive. It is very easy to get an online quote, just go to Google and search for car insurance quote and start looking.

OK, so Dave Ramsey says that having whole life insurance is a rip off. It is marketed as a savings plan, but if you die before you “cash out” the money you have earned, you will not get it.  This was never told to me!  Also, you can get a better rate of return if you invest your money elsewhere.

I will be looking at term life insurance online quotes.  If I have term life insurance only I can probably save close to fifty dollars a month.  Thanks for the great advice Dave!

Affordable health insurance - it seems, especially today, those words just don’t belong together in the same sentence. Health insurance monthly premiums have become the biggest single expense in our lives - surpassing even mortgage payments. In fact, if you have any permanent health problems, such as diabetes, or have had cancer at one time in your family history, your monthly cost could easily be more than the house and car payment combined.

Shopping for affordable health insurance can certainly be an eye-opener. If you have always had a health insurance benefit where you work - especially a state or federal employee - and now have to buy your own, you may not be able to afford the level of health insurance coverage you have become used to.

Affordable health insurance, however, is definitely available -if you know how and where to look.

When you are looking for affordable health insurance, you want the lowest cost per year that will fit your budget, of course. But, even more importantly, you want a company that has a good record for paying without fighting with you on every detail. Just as there is a car for just about any budget, there is also affordable health insurance. You may not be able to afford a “Cadillac” policy - but then you probably don’t need all the frills anyway.

Shopping for health insurance on the internet is the easiest and best way to find affordable health insurance. Here are five reasons why.

1. You don’t need a local agent to help you submit the claims for health insurance. The medical provider does it for you. You save money because the health insurance company saves money by not paying the agent commission. This could amount to an 8% to 12% savings to you.
2. All the top health insurance companies are at your fingertips on the internet. Most local agents can only quote you from the few companies that they represent. They may not offer you what is best for you financially or health-wise but only what they happen to have available.
3. Health insurance companies have to be extremely competitive because it is so quick and easy to compare them with their competitors on the internet today. In the past you would have had to visit physically eight to ten agents to do a similar comparison. Most folks just didn’t have the time or desire for that.
4. You can change your coverage, deductibles, and payment options with just a few clicks rather than going through the paperwork delay with a local agent (and then finding out he/she made a mistake - more delay).
5. Charging to a credit card means you aren’t going to forget a payment and be without insurance. Also, it gives you another 30 days before you actually have to pay. Also, many companies today give an additional discount for “auto-pay”.

The key, however, to finding affordable health insurance is realizing that the purpose of any health insurance is to protect you from a major financial loss - not to protect you from spending small money on clinic visits and sliver removal. These small expenses may be cumbersome but they generally will not hurt you. It’s the $100,000 heart operation that will break you. That’s the financial disaster health insurance was originally designed to prevent.

Also, keep this in mind. Health insurance, as with any insurance, is a gamble. You are gambling that you will draw out more than you pay in. Your health insurance company is gambling they will pay out less. The odds are in their favor for two reasons. They have all the facts for millions of families to average out, so they know the risk in advance. Also, they get to set the rules and the prices. The higher you set your deductible, the more risk you take. This is not a bad thing at all. You will most likely be the winner in the long run.

Yes, finding affordable health insurance is much easier than most people think. Even if you are older and qualify for Medicare, you will often need a Medicare supplement plan.

Taking more of the risk with higher deductibles, spending a little time on the internet comparing eight to ten different companies, and deleting coverage that you will not likely need (such as maternity for many folks) will make it very possible to find your own affordable health insurance.