Personal Finance Advice

These days you have to be really wise, especially when it comes to your finances. Spending on your car and its insurance coverage is no exception to this. Wouldn’t it be great if you can get the cheapest auto insurance possible? To do this, you must shop around. You can ask for help from [...]

If you know that you are going to have your car for a long time, buying parts with a lifetime warranty can make a lot of sense, even if those parts are more expensive than others that are available. That is a lesson that can be learned from Rachel and her car named Chariot. She [...]

When people find out that I’m debt free, the thing they most want to know is how it’s possible and how they can achieve it, too. Quickly. They want the crash course or the quick fix to debt free living. I tell them that there really is no quick fix. There’s no magic pill that [...]

I drive an SUV that I purchased new in 2002. It has relatively low mileage but, after nearly eight years of hauling sports equipment for my kids and mulch for my garden, and after assorted spills while my kids negotiated who got to sit where, my car is not as pristine as it once [...]

A friend recently got a bit of a shock when his auto insurance came up for renewal. He discovered that his new rate was $400 higher than his old rate. He couldn’t figure out what was wrong until he remembered: He filed a minor, one person accident on his insurance. The total claim was for [...]

By M Butler
It comes as a shock to most people I meet, but I don’t own a car. Three years ago I was thousands of dollars in debt and something had to give. I decided that it would be my car.
When I made the decision my friends and family thought that I was crazy. Truth [...]

Summer’s coming and that means vacation time! With gas prices lower than they have been in the last few years and with airlines gouging you for everything from extra bags to nuts, many people are hitting the highways this year. While road trips are typically less expensive than other forms of travel, there are some [...]

One of the items that people most frequently go into debt to purchase is a car. That’s not surprising given that even the most basic brand new car begins around $12,000. And that’s for four wheels and a seat; no extras or room for many passengers. Most people don’t have that kind of money lying [...]

I went for a drive today. I did not go very far – just the distance of two subdivisions so that I could drop my son off at a friend’s house. I must have seen at least ten or twelve kids riding bicycles, roller blading and skateboarding. It was a beautiful [...]

When I was growing up in the 60’s and 70’s, it seemed that everyone except my parents were members of the American Automobile Association (AAA). Roadside assistance was the great appeal, especially in the days before cell phones. I recall being quite jealous of the silver and red AAA stickers that my friends [...]

By Jason Lancaster of Accurate Auto Advice.
As a person who worked in car dealerships for nearly 10 years, I can tell you that a lot of people make expensive mistakes when buying a new or used car. Fortunately, these common mistakes are easy to avoid – here’s what you need to look out for: [...]

Ok, I admit it. I have a serious addiction. Two of them in fact. Everyday, I allow myself one soda and a pack of cigarettes. On Saturday, I have two sodas. My elixir of choice is Diet Mountain Dew. I’ve been downing them daily for over 20 years.
My other addiction, smoking, I know I shouldn’t, [...]

I hate rush hour almost as much as I hate Paris Hilton.
I understand that scientists believe that we are putting the earth into an oven and turning up the heat to high. I’m keeping their warnings in mind and making rational decisions with this information. When I have saved enough to make a down payment [...]

By Joseph Ganem
Just about every financial decision we make involves comparing numbers. But, often the numbers shown are not the ones you should compare. The sellers of automobiles and related products are masters at leading people down the wrong financial road with misleading numbers. Whether buying a car or a tank of gas, it is [...]

Today’s question to get your morning rolling is, Should the speed limit be reduced to 55 mph again?
I find quite curious is that with all the complaining about gas prices, nobody has been willing to come out and say it’s time to go back to 55 mph speed limit again. I think that shows how [...]

As a finance and conservation nerd, I’m excited about higher gas prices. I realize that I’m in the minority in this opinion and I know full well that most people will think I’m nuts. I have to admit that I don’t enjoy paying higher prices, but since there’s nothing I can do about it and [...]

When it seems that everyone wants to trade in their SUV for a more fuel efficient car, it might come as a surprise that I just purchased a SUV to replace my fuel efficient car. Although I have been told that I’m stupid for doing so, I often find that it makes financial sense to [...]

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that gas prices are soaring sky high. As a result, many people are rushing out to trade in their older, larger, inefficient cars for newer smaller, more efficient models. But is this rush to trade really necessary, or even a good thing?
Certainly if you’re driving a [...]

I recently discovered a new website that has a wealth of information about saving money on fuel. I’m pretty sure the website itself isn’t new, but it’s new to me and it might be new to you too. The website is Fueleconomy.gov and it run by the US Department of Energy and the [...]

Since I first became interested in personal finance a few years ago, I have been dead set against buying a new car. As a person who likes to save money, the thought of buying something that would depreciate tremendously as soon as I drove it off the lot made me shutter. Plus there [...]