I just feel like writing a bit about a few recent financial happenings.
Turns out that the auto maintenence bill from yesterday was $220.17. The battery replacement was $24 plus $15 in labor. The oil change was $19.49. Those are the only things we NEEDED. The tranmission fluid flush at $150 was not a necessity. But what's done is done, right?
Yesterday was a zero spend day. I always like those! Today, I spent about $18 on pop, ice cream, jello and pudding. Can you tell someone in the house has tender teeth this evening?
We have discovered that a cheaper pine bedding works pretty well for our mice and hamster. The pine stuff is $6.50 compared to $26 for the same amount of premium paper fiber stuff! Guess what? I have a brand new bag of that premium stuff to return!! Tomorrow, I will have $27.55(tax included) more in our checking account. I sure wish I had tried the stuff a year ago. Oh, well what's done is done.
I inquired with our homeowner's insurance about increasing our deductible to $1000. For some reason, it's been at $500 since we moved. We would save $59.60. Per year. That is less than $5/month. Of course, I don't want to over pay when I do have the cash on hand, but I'm torn about what to do. Thoughts, anyone?
I received our tax bill two days ago and taxes are going up $86 per year. I think this is what prompted me to inquire about the insurance deductible. Maybe I should increase it. My net increase to the house payment would only be $26.40/year!!
Hmmm...decisions, decisions. Thanks for tuning in to my brain again!
Nickels and Dimes
August 21st, 2009 at 02:05 am
August 21st, 2009 at 02:26 am 1250821560
I have a $500 deductable and should raise it because we keep having little things happen to our house. ie Damaged siding when the sprinkler system was put in. I dont know how much it is going to cost to fix the siding but I would not call the insurance on it because of fears that too many claims would result in a premium increase or being dropped.
August 21st, 2009 at 05:54 pm 1250877291
Our deductable is $500.00 and I had to make a claim last December for $2500 in damage due to an ice storm. More than $2000 worth of additional damage wasn't covered by the policy (damaged trees on the property that had to be removed), so the fact that we had a low deductable made a huge difference to us when it came down to having cash in hand to handle the other aspects of the claim (damaged trees and debris removal, being out of the house for 1 week and eating all our meals out).
August 21st, 2009 at 07:20 pm 1250882454
MomEsq: My parents had some big repair bills and had to stay at a hotel for a period of time...and in your case there were repairs that were not covered. So, I can completely see the need to have the most cash available.
You both bring up issues, that leave me undecided, but right not I'm leaning towards leaving it as is.