I used to keep a lot of stuff in my car – mostly junk.  The new me, though, is new & improved and I try to keep only what I truly need in there. Here are 5 of these bad boys below. There are others too, of course, but these are the ones that always seem to save me. Either in money or frustration :) Pay attention!

1. A handful of $1 bills. Coins would do too, but really only if we’re talking quarters.  I like to keep 5 or 6 dollar bills on hand just in case of an emergency. And for tolls, yard sales, homeless donations, must have slurpees, an extra gallon of gas, you get the picture.
2. Anything you need to return or donate. I talked about this on my one and only radio appearance last Christmas, but basically these all go in the trunk to make sure you actually DROP THEM OFF.  If you’re anything like me you always remember to do this sorta stuff when you’re driving.  Usually right past the store ;)
3. Bed Bath & Beyond coupons! (Or any other kind that come in handy -  like those entertainment books you all seem to like so much :)) You’ll never forget to save 20% again!  Also, those “buy 10 lunches get the 11th FREE” cards are smart to keep there too.  Us guys don’t have the luxury of toting around purses.
4. A backpack w/ extra set of clothes – You won’t believe the number of times this comes in handy.  In fact, I need to start doing this again because I’ve been out of practice so long! Other things to keep in the bag: toothpaste, tooth brush, deodorant (could all be travel sized), and socks.  Can never have too many extra socks laying around.
5. One “Power CD”. The one that makes you feel all kinds of confident and jovial no matter what mood you’re in! This is very important.  Sometimes you just need to blast some tunes and tell the whole world you’re coming (especially if there are some fine ladies nearby). Note: Justin Bieber won’t cut it.  Justin Timberlake, however, will. “I’m bringin’ budgets back (Yup!), them other boys don’t know how to ac (Yup!)”

I think that about covers it.  Am I missing anything?  Sometimes I like to keep hand sanitizer around for when my donuts and coffee spill everywhere (Oh, napkins are good ideas too!) but other than that I keep the ride pretty bare necessitied (new word). Cars just get cluttered so fast, ya know?

Some ideas from my Twitter friends:

(I couldn’t help it – they’re so smart!)

Hopefully these will spark some ideas for what YOU’d feel comfortable with! As long as alcohol isn’t one of them, I think you’ll be set. But remember, no Bieber.

(Pimp Caddy shot by linz_ellinas)

• Save $10 bucks and wash that sexy car of yours.
• Reason #211 Not to Have Car Payments
• The Car That Guzzles Money.

Top secret until I spill it all here, of course ;) As I mentioned on Sunday, the USAA crew flew a handful of us bloggers out there to give us a sneak peak on some of their new products. And let me tell you, USAA Headquarters = WOW. That place is PIMP!  Like, the Google Complex on financial crack! Haha… (you can find my pictures here)

And I gotta admit, I was feelin’ pretty V.I.P. up in there. Nothing like an all expense paid trip to the mothership to get me giggling like a little school girl ;) Truth be told it felt like home too.

Not sure if I’ve ever mentioned this before or not, but I’m a proud product of the Marine Corps family (Hooh-Rah!) and it’s been a good 10+ years since I’ve been around all that military talk.  I miss it so much! When you’ve grown up immersed in it throughout 15+ moves – all around the world – it’s kinda hard to shake (and settle down for that matter). So it was pretty cool being around it again this week w/ all the military spouse bloggers that were invited along with us PF guys (Hank from Military Money Might and Ryan from Cash Money Life – who we couldn’t decide if he looked more like Justin Timberlake or old school Pacey from Dawson’s Creek, haha…) While USAA now serves non-military folks too (almost their entire banking products, not insurance), they really are becoming the provider of choice for the military community.

And before you even think it, I am not getting paid or forced to write any of this :) I honestly truly believe that USAA is the best financial institution out there or else I wouldn’t have my entire financial life with them: 15 total accounts! It’s rare finding an institution that actually CARES about their members and keeps rockin’ customer support as they do (which is HUGE for me as you know).

But back to the top secret products coming out.  I’m calling it now that these tools are gonna change the way we find cars and houses in the future, and I’ll even bet on it ;)  Here’s what they’ve got cooking over there:

Auto Circle: Find, Finance, and Insure

This is pretty bad ass.  They’ve basically created a tool where you can do EVERYTHING you need while car shopping – both online and via iPhone/Droid. You can search for cars you like (kinda like Autotrader or Carmax), scan the ranges of prices people have actually PAID for these cars (along with MSRPs, dealer costs, available discounts, etc) and then literally lock in a price if everything looks good to you.

USAA came up with this price guarantee certificate that you can take to your local dealership in USAA’s network, or even use it to negotiate the price off other places in your area. And if you’re a fan of GMCs or Mercedes, you’ll even get some extra cash back – which will come in handy to you know who ;)

And after you’re done finding the car?  You can then secure financing AND Insurance in the same freakin’ spot. So awesome!  You can find, finance, and insure a car all within 20 mins if you were on a mission ;)  And if you’re qualified for that last part too (their insurance) – although you can certainly use their tools to get the deals and financing and then get insured elsewhere if you like!

Auto Circle can be found starting August 4th here: http://AutoCircle.com

USAA Home Circle

Similar to Auto Circle, this is USAA’s new home finding tool.  Kinda like your very own MLS system w/ all the pics and info available to realtors out there. You can search through thousands of listings, compare specs, and learn about financing rates & costs all at the same time.  Making it pretty damn efficient!  And great for getting ballpark ideas too if you’re only in the mod to window shop ;)

I think that’s what I like most about this new stuff coming out – they’re giving us the TOOLS to get all this information and then we can do with it as we will! Even if we never use USAA!

Home Circle will be found here starting August 4th: http://HomeCircle.com

USAA Money Manager

This is actually already live already but I hadn’t had a chance to blog about it yet.  Similar to Mint, this tool will categorize your expenses and deposits giving you an overall screen shot of your financial picture (even if you don’t go in and categorize them, USAA will take educated guesses so you can get a good sense right from the start where your money’s going).   And I’ve been told they specifically did NOT call this a “budget tool” because people are afraid of that word!  The shame! THE SHAME! I bet if they called it the “sexy budget tracker” people would be flocking to it even more ;)

Deposit @ Home and Deposit @ Mobile

These guys are live too, and you’ve probably seen me pimping it out on Twitter before cuz it’s just  so freakin’ cool! and easy! and fast!!! For those who don’t have iPhones or Droids, computer scanners also work to deposit your checks instead of having to mail them in like the good ol’ days.

And guess what else? USAA’s workin’ on new ways to deposit CASH too down the road!!! Which is huge if you’re already a member and had to open up accounts elsewhere because of this even though you didn’t want to ;)

Brat Connect

Okay, not financially related at all but I HAD to include this here because I’m a brat myself. And us brats like to connect and find our other lost brat friends over the years from all that constant movin’ and shakin’ ;)  And very smartly they’re making this a Facebook app – where many a brats are already looking for each other. This Brat Connect guy will be ready August 23rd.

That about covers it! Hopefully I didn’t bore you with overpowering USAA love.  You’ll find many of us members are pretty hardcore about ‘em ;)  And I just wanna share them with as many people as will listen! They truly are on top of their $hit.  Unlike the dirty dirty Bank of America (*shiver*).

So look out  friends! They’re cookin’ up some game changing tools out there, and they may be worth a shot if you haven’t considered them before. ‘Till next time,

———–
PS: Have to give a shout out to all my other new friends too: Kate from Military.com’s Paycheck Chronicles, Janet at Military Money Matters, Evette at Military Money Magazine, Andi from SpouseBUZZ, Beth of Enlisted Spouse Radio/Homefront in Focus, Brandy of Army Wife Magazine, Wendy from My Military Life, Star of Army Wife Network, Dan of Military Avenue, Greta of Hooah Wife and Friends, Vivian from Blue Star Families, Kathie from Military Spouse Help, and the feisty Mrs. G from Mudville Gazette. It was a pleasure being in your company!

• USAA Now Open To Non-Military Folk!
• J. Money Causes Ruckus on USAA’s Facebook Page
• Personal Financial Statements shouldn’t be Top Secret.

It’s just not my week in car world.

You know how people say things happen in threes?  Well, it seems to be true with my not-so-pimpin’ Caddy these days. I love it to death, but sometimes it can really frustrate me.  Is that what having kids is like? ;)

The wrath of the money guzzler:

1)  I got a $40 speeding ticket. I know, not my car’s fault but I’m still blaming it! ;)  Luckily it wasn’t a “real” speeding ticket though, in that one of those secret parked vans caught me on tape (literally, they sent me the pics!). Unluckily, however, it was in my own neighborhood which means I now get nervous every time I leave and come home.  I guess my “under 15 miles over” theory doesn’t hold anymore…and that I also don’t listen to my own advice on breaking the law!

2)  My registration renewal is now due ($128). Again, not any fault of my Caddy’s of course but it still sucks. Especially when you hear the next nonsense I’m about to spill…

3)  We failed the emissions inspection! ($450+?). This one blows the most  First, because it means I have to pay a mechanic to find out WHERE the problem is exactly, and second because I then have to pay for it to be FIXED!  If it can even be fixed! (at almost 20 years old, my ride’s starting to near retirement) Luckily, however, once you hit $X amount in mechanic fees the great state of Maryland can sometimes (always?) grant you a waiver.  That way you don’t dish out $2,000 for a car that’s barely even worth it! On the down side, that $X amount of money comes to $450 bucks…good thing we don’t have car payments!

So right now I pretty much hate owning a car ;) I wish I could say I don’t need one or that getting a new car would fix all of this, but the truth is there’s always going to be something.  Which is yet another reason why keeping an emergency fund filled up is smart! Dipping into our $10k would be much less stressful than having to come up with it all on the fly. But we’ll see what happens.

For now, we’re just gonna brace for the worst and hope everything gets fixed and/or waived for no more than $450 (we’re still waiting on the results).  I’ll keep ya posted! And I hope your cars are in much better shape than mine ;) This stuff is no fun…

• Want to keep more money? Obey the law!
• Money Saving Tips on Your Car Insurance
• 5 Things to Always Keep in Your Car

When your car starts breaking, you actually don’t mind paying to fix it! :)

I just dropped $270 on new tires and alignment and it is a-okay in my books, friends.  The longer I can keep my ‘93 Caddy on that road means the more money I can sock away until I have to get a new one!  And believe me, I’ve been tempted like a mother lately to buy a Benzie latley (a C300 to be exact) – I gotsta watch my self.

But I know that if my Caddy is alive and running just fine, I would be a nut job to pick up a $20-$30k tab just to roll around more sexily. I really couldn’t justify that.  Now, if it broke down completely and I had a little somethin’ somethin’ saved up on the side for this newer car (and I just may, ya never know!), we’d be singing a whole other tune.

But right now it ain’t happening. I’ve got a 17 year old car humming along nicely, and every month I reckon I save at least $500 big ones (the old car payment I used to have from my Toyota Highlander – y’all remember that? When I tried selling an SUV in the middle of “HATE ON SUVS” season & $4/gallon gas? Haha…).  That thing cost me at least $400 alone in interest payments, and I’m just not ready to jump back in again.

So while I really really REALLY want a Benz or whatever other car grabs my attention that month, I just gotta remember that NO car payments is financially better than $500 car payments. And I say “financially better” because I know we’re all human and sometimes we just have to give into guilty pleasures every now and then. At least that’s what I’ll be telling myself the day I pick up that C300 ;)

How are you guys rollin’ these days? Whatcha driving, and whatcha paying for it?

——–
More pics of my ‘93 ‘Ville.

• The Car That Guzzles Money.
• O.M.G. I might be buying a new car.
• To sell, or not to sell… my SUV.

Nothing I’m about to say will come as a shocker, but it needs to be said ;) And that’s because I’m getting dangerously close to a few of these! I know human nature will always play its part, but without reminders every now and then we tend to keep going until caught. So today, we tackle the law. And how staying on the right side of it will keep more money in our pockets.

Don’t park illegally. You’ll be faced with fines from $25 to $250 an occurrence! Or even worse, you’ll get towed. And that’s definitely no fun to work out – for both you and your wallet (especially if you live in a city like NYC or DC, bleh.) The Mrs. learned this the hard way the other month and she didn’t even have to go far. She parked in an emergency lane IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD and was promptly handed a $250 ticket. She was pissed off to no end (she had parked there late at night because she didn’t want to walk far alone), but it sure did teach us a lesson!

Don’t Speed. Not only will you get slapped with fees, but it’s a one way ticket to higher insurance rates! That one speeding trip costs you years of extra premiums for nothing. I know we never *try* to get caught, but some of you test the limits a lot more than others and you know exactly who you are ;) The last speeding ticket I got (knock on wood) was 10 years ago and the only reason I remember it was because I never told my dad and yet he “somehow” found out! haha…Cops, insurance companies, parents – none of them like it.

Don’t Cheat The Government: Guess what? If you don’t pay our taxes you’ll be slammed with even more once you’re caught! And possibly jail time. You still locked up Mr. Snipes? Stay on top of it the best you can or hire someone to do it for you. It may cost a little more, but it’ll save you a lot more down the road.

Don’t Go To Jail: Not only does it suck, but you can’t earn any money in there. Or at least anything decent (I’ve been told you can earn a dollar or two a day doing chores?). That means all your debt & bills out in the real world will keep piling up awaiting your beautiful return.

And Lastly, Pay Your Bills on Time! It’s not illegal if you don’t, but it’s a surefire way to keep burning money for no good reason at all. Banks and credit cards LOVE people who pay late so they can legally jack up the fees & interest rates! And unfortunately the only person at fault here is you :( So please, don’t let them bend you over like that – stick with the game and pay attention.

• New Tax Law Changes for 2010 Boyee!
• The Car That Guzzles Money.
• Money Saving Tips on Your Car Insurance

So I got an email from a friend of mine this weekend, and she’s faced with an interesting quandary.

Usually I can come up with some sort of advice (especially when it comes to money) but this one’s got me stumped, and I’m hoping you guys can chime in and offer her up some of your own words of wisdom :)

Here’s what she wrote, followed by my own helpful-but-not-really thoughts on the matter myself:

Hey J,

It’s Brandi from – Brandi’s Healthy Journey.

I have a dilemma… kind of. If you haven’t read up on the blog recently my car exploded on the highway. I’ve had tons of people helping me out by lending me a car, taking me to work etc etc. This includes a few people looking for car options for me. These people have been great in sending me links to cars. Taking what I know I can afford and listening to what I want.

However, without asking me, my grandfather just today went out and bought me a car. He BOUGHT me a CAR. And he won’t tell me how much it was (prolly at LEAST 2000 more than I told him I would pay) and he will only let me pay him the original $2500 I was budgeting for.

Now this has graciousness and awesomeness written all over it. However, to me it doesn’t feel like a gift. I feel as if I’m going to owe him. I can’t afford to owe him more than the $2500 I budgeted for. I also can’t live with myself knowing that I do owe him. I didn’t WANT this. I was working through it on my own. I was proud of how well I was handling it and I was going to be really proud when I found myself a deal I could handle and do it without having to owe anyone money. Well at least serious money.

So I’m asking u for advice. I don’t know what to do. I tried talking to him about WHY I didn’t want to buy a more expensive car before he went and did this and he did it anyway. Am I just being proud? Am I being stupid and ungrateful? I just feel as if he’s cut the legs out from under me. I told him what i was looking for and what I wanted and that I would pay for it. And now, I feel as if he disregarded everything I asked and just did what he thought was best because ‘I didn’t know any better’.

What should I do? What CAN I do?

Thanks Dude,
Brandi

Tough one, right? My instinct was to tell her to accept it now that it’s already happened, but to make sure her grandfather truly knows how she feels about the whole thing (that she’s thankful, but also very upset). Unfortunately though it wouldn’t solve her problem with the budgeting aspect, nor the feelings on paying him back (or not).

I then wondered if there was a way she could just return the car? If that were a possibility, she could remain thankful but politely decline the car, show she’s a strong person, and then find the car she really wants without any more “paying back” worries! She thinks the only way she could return it at this point, though, is if she were to sell it her herself and then pay him back with the proceeds. Plus, she still doesn’t know how much her grandfather even paid for it, nor how insulted he would be.

So, my dear readers, what do YOU think? She’s given me permission to post this up, and is really looking for some honest to goodness feedback here :) Thanks guys!

• I just bought the Caddy! AND, I slapped it on my Credit Card!
• The Car That Guzzles Money.
• O.M.G. I might be buying a new car.

You already know how I feel about Cash For Clunkers, but if you’re planning on hooking it up you better do so by Monday! Although you never know how many more times the Gov’t may decide to extend it ;) Sneaky little devils….for more detailed info check out MSNBC or Cash Money Life.

• "Cash For Clunkers" Cashed Out?
• Rebate checks to hit the stands on Monday!
• No sign of my rebate check yet…

Seriously, would it really be that bad? I know it sounds crazy, but I really REALLY feel the need to drive a sex mobile right now (or anytime for that matter). Perhaps someone out there would like a fancy budget blog? Say, for around $100k? Anybody? Bueller? ;)

A friend introduced me to this car club forum here in the DC area, and one of its members is about to give up his heavily mod’d Porsche! Apparently he needs the money for a down payment on a house or something…pshhh. If that doesn’t show how expensive this thing is, he’s also put in a good $10-$20k at LEAST in newer parts and upgrades! Wha wha wooooooooey!

Now, I’m no expert in cars (nor am I really IN the market for a new car) but I thought I’d write up a list of the pros and cons just to make me feel better…

Reasons to splurge and buy the Porsche:

• It’s a Porsche!
• I could drive fast(er).
• I’d feel about 100x sexier.
• I could become a member of this DC car club.
• I could pretend I’m a rock star!

Reasons so just say NO:

• I would get more speeding tickets.
• People would try to race me and I’d look like an old fogie turning them down.
• I’m pretty sure it would cost way more to maintain than my ‘93 Caddy.
• I don’t *need* a new car.
• I don’t need a new car payment!
• It would cost as much as a down payment on a house.

If you haven’t guessed it already, it looks like I’ll have to pass and keep the good ol’ dream alive. As much as I WANT this freakin’ thing, my excitement level just doesn’t override the financial implications at this point….probably because I’m getting too practical in my old age :( So as long as I don’t go on any test drives in the near future, my wallet (and my marriage) is likely to be safe. BOOOOOO…

• You mean if i have a Porsche I’m not rich? Ahh, come on.
• Do you patch up your old clothes, or just buy new ones?
• Reason #211 Not to Have Car Payments

Word on the street is that the “Cash for Clunkers” program may already be over – less than a week since it started! I won’t bore you with all the details here (mainly because I’m lazy and there’s already so much circulating around the webs right now anyways), but I did think it was prudent to mention. After all, you might have been excited to go out this weekend and start saving money by spending money! ;)

Haha…okay, well that’s just one take on the whole thing. It was perfect for all those already looking to buy a new car! I had considered picking up the $4,000ish rebate myself and trading in the ‘93 Caddy – but then I realized I was an idiot and punched myself in the face. I LOVE that car! Sure it gets 14 mpg, but it runs just fine and I have ZERO car payments! Definitely not looking to spend another $443 a month again anytime soon, regardless of the discount…

But getting back to the breaking news here, does this mean Cash for Clunkers worked? If the gov’t set aside $XXX and we already went through $XXXX, then yes? Or should it have lasted the entire few months originally planned? I’m not the right person to answer that one, I’m just glad it gives us bloggers something new to talk about ;) Your thoughts?

UPDATE: Lawmakers pass $2 billion bill to keep program alive
————-
Some great articles on it so far:
MSNBC @ White House Reviewing ‘Cash For Clunkers’
Cash Money Life @ Cash For Clunkers Suspended Already?
*And my favorite from Man vs. Debt @ Dear Uncle Sam: Please Stop Stimulating Me

• Cash For Clunkers to go away on Monday.
• Dear Debt, You will have to PRY this cash from my fist.
• Win cash playing "Edmunds Savvy Shopper" sweepstakes!

That’s how much a friend of mine pays every 6 months – $1600! (ouch). I guess it doesn’t help having a couple DUI’s and a fancy a$$ sports car ;)

With extremes like that aside though, what do you think the average person pays for car insurance?
I’m going to guess $1000/6 months, and now google it and see what i can find. Well, I was *kinda* close!

According to CompuQuotes, the average car insurance costs $800/year.

oh wait…so i was WAY off actually, cuz “per year” would make my guess @ $2,000…haha, oops. I also checked out another site (rmiia.com) that had the national average @ $816/year, so that # looks to be pretty accurate. In fact, this site breaks it down even better by showing it by state, and over a 3 year time-span so that’s pretty cool. It looks like Maryland, where i reside, is up at around $949/year. Some of this info is a cple years old, but you get the point.

You like how i base everything on 6 months intead of 1 year? It’s how USAA does it, so I guess I’m more in line with that thinking ;) In fact, USAA is the only car insurance company I’ve ever used! Crazy, huh? I’m just too in love with them to stray really, although i did try a cple times (shhh, don’t tell!) but even then Geico, Allstate, and State Farm were wayyy off.

The Mrs. and I Pay a total of $706.51 in car insurance every 6 mo’s for 2 cars

1. ‘93 Cadillac Deville, 6 Month Premium @ $330.30 with a $200 deductible.
2. ‘05 Toyota Corolla, 6 Month Premium @ $376.21 with a $200 deductible.

So for ME, USAA is the best, but it could be anyone’s guess as to which is the best for YOU. There are sooooo many variables that get thrown into the company’s calculations that make ya crazy – driving records, deductibles, coverage, the car you drive, the state you live in, the body parts you have – they all play a part in this silly game. I always recommend comparing quotes from at least 3 places for sure.

A co-worker also told me that some companies will knock off a few dollars if you pay the entire price up front too! Never came across that myself, but I know sometimes you can get a discount for having the amounts automatically deducted every month. I’m a big fan of breaking them into monthly payments than paying a huge chunk anyways.

So yeah, car insurance sure can differ out there. I’m hoping you all pay around the average yourselves, but if not let us know why! I could use some drama today ;)

• Money Saving Tips on Your Car Insurance
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• All about the life insurance today – too many people dying :(