I don’t know about you, but sometimes it seems like all of my money goes to pay an insurer to cover something. I need auto insurance, as most of you do, to comply with state laws, and also to protect myself in case I have a car accident. My lender requires homeowners insurance. I also pay health insurance premiums because I want to be sure that an illness or injury does not wipe me out.

But all of these insurance premiums really do add up, and I have been shopping around. Now insurance rates are local, and premiums will also depend upon other factors like my claims history, and even my credit report. But I am getting some competitive offers, and am finding I can get the same coverage from top inusrers for less money. Even a 20% discount can save me hundreds of dollars every year, but I am seeing 40% discounts on some policies. If you add up your auto, home, health, and life insurance, and find that you are paying at least $500 a month, then even a 20% discount means you have saved $1,200 a year!

So, do you like to pay too much for insurance? If not, get the best car insurance quotes with one fast, safe, and free online insurance quote form!

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The tips in the article went beyond pure savings to include lifestyle decisions that would profit most of us during lean times and fat times

1. Take care of your health. You may have to work longer, and Americans are living longer and healthier working lives. If your savings have dropped, and extra few years at work can help a lot.
2. Think about how you can enjoy yourself now, and during retirement, without spending a lot of money. Luxury cruises and world tours sound great, but so do week-ends at the local lake.
3. Try to delay pulling out any of your retirement money as long as you can. Time can help your portfolio rebound.
4. Is there a way for you to bring in some extra income? Lots of seniors have had lifetime hobbies that turned into sources of paid work or freelancing jobs later. Could you tutor a kid in math, alter a dress, install a garbage disposal, or teach people how to perform routine maintenance on their cars? You’d be surprised at the number of freelance jobs out there, and how they can actually pay off very well while helping your community. Learn more about freelancing jobs.

Related: Retirement Dental Plans

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Layoffs: We lost 240,000 US jobs in October, and some analysts predict employment may hit 8 - 9 percent by next year.

Hiring Freeze: Just when more Americans are looking for work, less companies will be bringing on new staff as they struggle to contain their own costs.

Higher Health Costs: Expect to pay more for health benefits (again).

Travel Restrictions: It may be harder to get travel approved, and when you do travel for work, expect to fly economy, make more quick trips, and be restricted to a tight budget.

Training Cuts: Company programs to help employees advance may by reduced or cut. These programs do help employees and companies in the long run, but they are epensive, and may be hard to find for the next few months to years.

Parties: The holiday party at a nice hotel may be cut back to pot luck at the office. It’s probably ok, because it will save you from having to purchase an expensive dress or tux anyway.

Salary Freezes, Merit Raise Cuts; It’s like groundhog day for your paycheck!

Pensions: Retirement plans may be reduced, forcing employees to save more for their own future. And of course, with reduced raises, 401k contributions, etc., this will be tough.

Reduced 401k Matches: Most employees provide matching funds for employee’s retirement contributions, but this may be reduced or eliminated.

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A few mistakes can really damage a credit report, especially these days when credit companies are so eager to lower credit scores because of the tight money situation But a poor credit score can cost you money as everything from auto loans to auto insurance will cost you more! You should keep your own money, and you can do it by repairing your credit.

Fact: Over 80% of credit reports contain errors. I, myself, found that some credit cards were listed twice, making it look like I had more outstanding bills then I did. I also had a home that had been properly sold, and paid off to the mortgage company, listed as a default! When I got those errors fixed, my credit score zoomed up a hundred points!

If you don’t have the slightest idea how to repair your credit, get Credit Repair For Dummies. It should really be called Credit Repair for Smart Consumers

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Many major credit card companies will pass on costs by:

• Raising Credit Card Fees - Some companies may even impose a monthly fee on cards that did not have one before!
• Lower Credit Limits - Watch this one, because you may not notice your limit has been reduced, and can overspend it, and then of course, you will get hit again with a penalty. Ouch!
• Raising Credit Card Interest Rates - Keep an eye on your interest rates. Maybe it is time to transfer balances to lower interest rate cards if you can.
• Increasing the minimum payment - We are hearing that some credit card companies will raise the minimum payment from 2% to 5%. So if you run up a $2,000 balance over the holidays, and were expecting a $40 minimum payment, you may be unpleasantly surprised to see a $100 minimum payment!

Why are credit card companies doing this? For one thing, they fee consumer default. As the unemployment rate rises, they fear that more people will default on their payments. They also face rising costs, and have previous bad debt to make up for, so they seem to be doing a great job of passing those costs on to their paying customers.

What Can You Do?

You need to keep an eye on your credit cards. Almost every credit card has online access these days. Make sure you keep track of your statements so you know what your credit limit is, how much you have used of it, the interest rate charged, and any fees that also get charged.

And of course, try to have a frugal holiday season without running up a lot of debt if you can.

After the holdays, use our online debt payoff calculator to help you pay those guys off!

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• Be conservative with your money! Nobody can tell us if this will be an inflationary or deflationary cycle. First we heard fears of hyper-inflation, and now that some consumer prices have dropped, we hear talk of deflation. Either way, this is a good time to have cash on hand and not gambled in some risky investments. If you just have to take advantage of a stock that’s plunged and has to be a good deal, please don’t bet the whole farm. In my experience, the advice you read on message boards is not reliable, and sometimes those financial posters have ulterior motives.
• Avoid consumerism please! Do you really need that giant big screen tv when your 19″ has served you well for so long? It really is time to buy things you can pay cash for, and to leave that credit card balance for emergencies like a run to the dentist or auto mechanic! You need your teeth and transportation. A big screen TV? No so much! Also, look at tips to survive the holidays without more debt.
• You are your biggest asset anyway, so invest in yourself. Maybe its time to take that money you were going to buy a risky stock or big screen TV with and use it to make yourself more marketable. If you cannot afford college, check out a free scholarship guide online. You’d be surprised how much education money is given away, and how it is given for a variety of reasons.
• Downsize if you can. A smaller home can save you a lot of money down the road. Everything from utilities to taxes will be cheaper when your home is smaller. You don’t like keeping that big house neat and clean anyway! If you cannot downsize your home, think about downsizing your clutter. You may have some great stuff that can be sold online, or in a traditional garage sale. I have neighbors that made hundreds, or even thousands of dollars, by cleaning out their closets.

Look for these, and may more frugal lifestyle tips at frugalpigs.com too.

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Inflation, Job Loss, and Tight Credit… Oh My!

This decline is expected to escalate into the 4th quarter of 2008, and last, at least, until the 1st quarter of 2009. Despite the cash injections by the US federal governmnet, credit is still very tight. This began with the mortgage crisis, but extended, as these things do, into other areas of business. With incomes and credit tight, auto sales are down, and now the US auto companies are the latest companies to throw up a red flag.

The US jobless rate is predicted to spike up to 7.5% in the last quarter of the year, which is more than a point over previous estimates.

In case any of you are wondering, we are still experiencing inflation, though fuel prices have backed off, which should give us some breathing room.

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This won’t help many of the people who already suffer from serious medical problems, but you may want to compare health insurance plans if your current plan does not cover enough, or if you just cannot afford the premiums any longer. Here is a quick way: Low Cost Family Health Plans.

Also, be sure and look into any state programs that exist already. If you need an unemployment health plan, your state Medicare office may have help. Children’s health insurance plans also exist, with looser restrictions than health care for adults, so you can get the kids covered. In addition, many counties run a health care system with a sliding scale for medical costs.

But even with all of this, many people slip through the health care costs every day. And a doctor’s office does not seem to be a good place to find out about programs to help. I am ready for a change, and I hope it comes soon!

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The article also makes a very good point about mortgages and bankruptcy. Note that a personal bankruptcy usually has little effect on a home loan or other secured debt. It may, however, free up money to keep the mortgage current.

I posted recently about how my credit limit had been reduced by 70% on one card for no apparent reason. The thing is, if I wouldn’t have caught it, I could have used the card, had an over the limit charge accepted, and been due for a nice slap of over the limit fees and a dinged credit report!

It is also reduculous that some national banks will pay 3% interest on deposits, if you are lucky, but slap rates of 23% or more for people with reasonably good credit. If you find yourself in a situation like this, it is really time to transfer that balance to a lower rate credit card. I find some reasonable rates at some banks of 10 - 14%. It is not all about credit scores either, but about the lender’s policies!

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This is a tough mortgage market all around the USA, but transactions are still going on, and people are still getting homes even when they do not have perfect credit. And sellers are able to find a larger pool of buyers by being a bit more flexible than they might have been a few years ago when real estate sales were booming!

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