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01-24-2007, 08:33 PM
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#6
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For Richer or Poorer Mod
Last Online: Yesterday 11:06 PM
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 4,942
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I was going to post a tip along the same lines - DRIVE SAFETY, STAY HEALTHY and LIVE A CLEAN LIFE ...
When you're in an auto accident, you pay TWICE - once to get your car repaired and again with increased auto insurance premiums. A few minutes of distraction behind the wheel can turn out to be very expensive because your increased premiums - on every car you insure - might not go down again for over 3 years!
You also end up paying for an accident because a damaged car, even if fixed, can end up having a lower resale value. A severely damaged car can end up being not sellable at all if the Department of Motor Vehicles decides to put 'salvage' on your registration.
And too many accidents or tickets might end up getting your policy cancelled entirely, forcing you to get insurance from a company with higher premiums, less coverage, or worse service - or all three.
Even if you manage to avoid an auto accident, getting a ticket will increase your premiums, too.
The KIND of car we drive can affect our auto insurance premiums, too. Many sports cars are more expensive to insure than station wagons. Some brands of cars are more expensive to insure than other brands. Before making a final decision on which car to buy, it is a nice idea to ask your insurance agent to give you an opinion. And of course, it is cheaper to insure an older car than a brand new one - even if you pay for the new car with cash. One of the reasons is new cars don't always have their spare parts supply lines available in the first couple of years so insurance companies build in the extra expense of getting your car repair JUST IN CASE you get into an accident. If you need to take out a loan to purchase a car - new or used - the insurance picture is even worse since the loan company will require you to carry insurance and may even dictate how much insurance coverage you have. If they don't think you're carrying the proper insurance, they may cover you with their own policy AND ADD the inflated premium price to the BALANCE OF YOUR LOAN.
In some areas, having bad credit will increase your auto insurance and homeowner's insurance premiums - or get you denied for coverage all together. Still not working on improving your credit rating? A lower credit score will translate into higher interest rates on credit cards, loans AND your mortgage, even if you do get approved. Plus many employers have started to look at credit histories during the hiring process and a bad credit score just might ace you out of a job.
We all know being unhealthy can translate to higher medical expenses but our health insurance premiums will be higher, too, if we get into a position where we need to purchase our insurance separate from an employer. Additionally, an unhealthy lifestyle will translate directly into higher life insurance premiums. And if that unhealthy lifestyle translates into a medical condition that might impair our ability to operate heavy machinery - of requires that we take a medication that has that effect - we might suddenly find ourselves without a driver's license because a doctor is required to report that condition to the state.
That pack of cigarettes is costing a lot more that we first believed and a gym membership just might save money in the long run.
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"I've been rich and I've been poor but independently wealthy is where it is at."
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