This is GREAT news for anyone who's ever wanted to join USAA :) Consumerist "broke the news" on Monday (although one of my favorite twitterati, @AskJune_USAA, says it's been around for a while?), and I checked out their site and indeed it's true! The stars have aligned and USAA is now open to the general public.

Non-Military folks don't get access to *everything* they have, but pretty damn close. It would be enough for me to change over if I was unhappy w/ my current getup! Here's a list of everything via their Become A Member link (at the bottom under "Other Individuals"):

USAA's investment products, most bank deposit products, life insurance, and shopping and discounts are available to other individuals. While auto and property insurance policies are not available due to membership eligibility requirements, we can still help. USAA's General Agency has a 20-year relationship with Progressive insurance.

The following products are available to other individuals:

Product	Availability
Insurance	Life insurance Auto insurance not available through USAA. Please call 1-888-870-8096. Property insurance not available through USAA.
Banking	Checking Teen Checking Savings College Checking Certificates of Deposit (CDs) CD IRAs Youth Savings Prepaid Card
Investments	All products
Shopping and Discounts	All products

I can't tell you how excited I am for this! Seriously, It's like getting asked out by Megan Fox (only dorkier). If you've ever wanted to join, or know of anyone who does, now's the time baby! Get ready for awesome rates, plenty of options, free* atm withdrawals!, and the most important: Excellent customer service. I've probably called them at least 100 times before, if not more, and only once was I surprised with bad service. I'm telling you, they rule. And I'm not getting paid to say that (though that would be nice! haha...).

There really is a reason I have 15 accounts with USAA - they know how to rock the business. We have our savings (2), checkings (2), roths (2), money market, credit cards (2), heloc, insurances, etc, and I'll continue using them for as long as they'll let me ;) But ask around and learn for yourself. If anyone reading uses USAA, what do you think of them? Are you happy?

Whether you use USAA or not, just know that it's now an option. That's really the point of me expressing my undying love for them here. If you're completely satisfied with what you've got, great! Leave it alone and be happy. If not, might be worth checking out?

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PS: Major thanks to donkee for the heads up on this!

*USAA does not charge a fee for the first 10 ATM withdrawals and refunds up to $15 in other banks' ATM usage fees each month. A 1% foreign transaction fee applies to withdrawals outside the United States.

Labels: awesomely awesome, banking, insurance, USAA

Guest post by Chris Wilson

Every young driver is faced with the possibility of paying high auto insurance premiums.

This is mostly due to the fact that insurance companies consider young people high risk drivers. Fortunately, the internet contains a host of insurance articles that will help young drivers reduce their insurance costs. Because of the internet, cheap auto insurance has become much easier to obtain.

Most insurance companies and insurance websites provide an auto insurance online comparison tool that allows young drivers to compare quotes from several different auto insurance providers. Not only do these companies provide insurance quote comparisons, young drivers will be able to make sure that the policy they choose provides coverage that meets all of their needs. The lowest policy quote may not provide the best coverage, therefore, there will be other policy quotes one can study and choose from. In order to acquire comparison insurance quotes, drivers just have to provide general information such their ZIP code, car type, gender, age...etc.

Once drivers locates an affordable car insurance policy that meets their needs, they can then check with the insurance company to see if they offer discounts on such things as good grades and completing a driver's safety program.

Comparing auto insurance quotes gives young drivers an advantage because they are more likely to find more affordable insurance than if they were to walk into an insurance company office. Because of the internet, young drivers have the ability to see what various insurance companies are offering and select the best option.

To find affordable car insurance, young drivers can compare insurance policies online from a variety of insurance sites. This allows them to find the best car insurance policy much more quickly and easily. Purchasing cheap auto insurance is one way young drivers can reduce costs during these difficult economic times.

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This article was written by Chris Wilson, a freelance writer who's work has appeared in a variety of economic sites. For more information please contact - CheapInsurance123.com

Missing J. yet? Why not send him a message on twitter!

Labels: guest post, insurance

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This is a guest post from the team at CarInsuranceQuote.net.
If you like what you see, check out their their website and see
how much you can save on your car insurance.
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With today's economy, most people are looking to save where ever they can. Whether it's brewing a pot of coffee at home rather than paying $4.00 at a cafe or skipping an annual vacation, consumers are tightening their belts. One great way to see immediate savings is to re-evaluate your car insurance.

The first place to start is with your car. If you are in the market for a new vehicle, consider the cost of insuring it along with the ticket price. Older and smaller cars with a high safety rating are likely to cost the least amount to insure. After shopping around and narrowing your selection to just a few possibilities, call an insurance agent to see about car insurance quotes on each make and model. The numbers could surprise you and you could opt for one vehicle over the other.

If you are not in the market for a new car, start by looking at your current auto insurance policy. (Here's what Mrs Budgetsaresexy and I pay) Are you missing out on any discounts? Talk to your insurance agent about good-driver discounts, good-student discounts and whether your profession qualifies you for any discounts. You can also take drivers safety courses that can lower your rates.

If you drive an older vehicle, you can consider dropping your collision and/or comprehensive coverage. If you car is worth less than 10 times the premium, purchasing full coverage may not be as cost effective. Instead, consider liability insurance as your affordable alternative. You can find out the worth of your car by looking online at Kelly's Blue Book. In any case, be sure to consult your insurance agent before dropping any coverage. They might suggest that you consider raising your vehicle's insurance deductible. By raising this part of your policy, you can lower your auto insurance premiums significantly. (Just make sure that you have enough cash reserves set aside in case of an accident.)

If you own your home or more than one car, talk to insurance agent that can bundle your insurance policies to save on each insured car you drive. If there are any other types of insurance that your company offers, it may be a good idea to talk to your agent about what else you can bundle to receive discounts on your coverage.

Believe or not, many insurance companies also utilize your credit rating to help them determine what type of risk you might be. Car insurance companies determine rates upon risk and if there is higher risk, rates will increase. You should always review your credit annually and look into how you might improve your credit score. Keeping a good credit score as one way to lower your car insurance rates.

All of these tips are a great way to reduce your rates, however, the quickest and easiest way to see the biggest drop in premiums is to shop around for car insurance. To get a car insurance quote, simply enter your basic information online with a comparison shopping website and you will be contacted by up to five local insurance agents offering you cheaper auto insurance rates. These agents know they are competing with other agents in your area, and in order to win your business, they will offer you the most complete coverage at the absolute cheapest price.

Labels: guest post, insurance, saving

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Today's guest post is presented by Barbara Waltz, one of the founders of 247QuoteUs.com, an online resource blog and insurance quote comparison guide. Barbara is an insurance agent with over a decade of experience in the industry so listen up! She knows what's good ;)
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This morning you likely woke up, had some breakfast , started up the computer to read news or blogs, got ready for your job and left on your way perhaps stopping at Starbucks or some other coffee place. If this was your morning, you are not alone, it is pretty much the daily routine of middle class America. We still have it quite good despite the economic downturn and while you may have cut down your vacation from Florida to a long weekend away or stopped going out to dinner as much, your life likely has not been forced to change. This is actually pretty much the story of one of my lifelong friends Robert, he lived in a decent home, drove a decent car, and lived a pretty standard life. While it may seem like we are invincible in our SUV's or nice apartments, we still fall prey to health problems, such is the case with Robert.

I have known Robert since high school and seen him go through college, get married, and so on and we are still pretty close. About 18 months ago he came to me to tell me some devastating news, I was actually the first person he told, he had swelling in his lymphnodes and wanted to get checked out, he found out he had non-hodgkins lymphoma (NHL). He did not know what to do or how to really tell his family. Sadly, like a growing portion of the US, Robert had no form of health insurance. At one point he had coverage from work but was forced into part time work and lost his benefits not long before this.

As a friend, and someone in the know about the industry, he confided this with me but obviously it was not something we could sit on for long as he needed to be treated in order to fight it. If caught early, it is something that can be treated but 35% do not make it past five years after being diagnosed.

The treatment for NHL is very costly and depending on the type of tumor people will receive chemotherapy, radiation therapy or some combination of the two. With insurance, the costs for these treatments and being out of work takes a drain on a family's budget, without insurance the costs rack up into the thousands and force drastic measures to be taken. There are some "safety net" government and public organizations in place but these are few and far between. Fortunately for Robert, he got into some of those programs and that greatly helped to reduce the cost of the medications. Within his social network he managed to get put in touch with doctors and facilities who would treat him at a price that could meet his budget. Robert and his family did have to make some cut backs in order to foot the bill, they sold off their house and moved into a condo and got rid of his car as well as countless other little things to help out their budget. He has been very lucky however in the good fortune he has come across from his friends and family but more so that the treatments have so far gone well.

As someone who has worked in the insurance industry for quite a while, I see and hear stories like this quite often. Some people drop coverage because they want to have a little bit more money to spend each month, others being forced to live without coverage due to job losses, the situations may be different but the risks that you run of not having any coverage at all can be extreme. While many individual health insurance policies tend to be pricey, it is possible to get affordable health insurance that is strictly for major health issues. That will mean you still have to pay out to see the doctor for your sore throat but you can have the peace of mind of knowing that you are backed if something major ever arises. For better or for worse, the US has a free market health system which allows for some of the best medical care in the world but unfortunately only for those who can afford it.

Luckily for younger people, it is very affordable to get some sort of policy even those that are not just for catastrophic coverage. If you have a policy in place, it is a good idea to look into what is covered by your policy in order to ensure you are covered the way that you should be. Depending on the coverage taken, it may be possible to save money month to month on premiums by trimming down some unused benefits or increasing copays if a strict budget needs to be adhered to. For any questions regarding your policy there are numerous quality resources online (blogs and guides) that cover FAQ's and contacting a local agent is always helpful for immediate answers.

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PS: Need more convincing to get insured? Reference back to the gallbladder fiasco of '08 ...

Labels: guest post, insurance

I'm not naive enough to think medical bills don't get (s)expensive, but I'm also one of those people who have to experience it first to believe it. And as my good friends Ace of Base would say - I have now seen the sign baby! And it has surely opened up my eyes.

Medical bills are indeed expensive. And I praise the Good Lord for providing us with enough health insurance to cover most of "the incident"! Especially before our rock star plan got downgraded a bit. As a guy, I never think anything's going to happen to ME. But now that there's a WE and I'm getting a little wiser (some may say due to marriage), it's now come to my attention that this stuff really IS important.

This "incident", if you recall, was the gallbladder removal of '08. Remember that? It took the doctors an entire week to figure out Mrs. Budgetsaresexy needed that thing pulled out before she jumped off a bridge - which incidentally occurred on voting day! Luckily we were able to sneak away and cast our opinions before the polls closed, but it was def. a close one. (although not as life threatening)

So last time I posted about this I had people guess how much the surgery would cost in the end. And the numbers were pretty scattered - We had some around $20k, some at $40k, and then others up in the $70k-$80k range. We actually even had one for $0! You Canadians out there now what I'm talking about ;) So now that we've cleared up some billing issues and finally received the last of the statements, here's what it all "cost":

• Inpatient services (3 nights/4days): $9,482.38
• TV charge (wtf?): $15.00
• Gallbladder surgery: $3,610.00
• Anesthesia: $1,504.00
• Emergency Room: $1,302.65
• Radiology: $980.00
• Labwork: $709.00
• X-Rays: $627.00
• Consultations: $325.00
• Outpatient Services: $197.39
• ------------------------------------
• TOTAL COST: $18,752.42
• ------------------------------------
• TOTAL AMOUNT WE PAID: $95
• ========================

As you can see, having health insurance is muy importante! We might not appreciate it when we're young and nubile, but I'm telling you that it can nab ya when you least expect it. Just take a look at all this Swine Flu stuff! *shiver* You better believe I'll be making sure we're covered 100% of the time going forward - even if we (knock on wood) ever lose our jobs. Although i'm sure it's MUCH easier said than done in that instance!

If you're still around TightFistedMiser and Mr. Anonymous from my original post - you guys win the prize for the closest guess @ $17k! I would have liked to mail you the burnt off gallbladder for your winnings, but sadly I didn't think of it at the time ;) So instead, please accept our warmest thoughts & make sure you're staying healthy over there. I wouldn't wish hospitalization on anyone, not even this chode.

Labels: in the real world, insurance

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This article was written by Joanne Kwan, an independent writer. For more information please contact InsuranceSpecialists.com. Joanne covers all varieties of insurance - car, home, renters, health, life - and is passionate about spreading the good word.
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In the middle of this recession, with cutting costs a matter of necessity rather than choice, many people are looking at their insurance policies and begrudging every dollar that goes toward their upkeep. Some coverage we can't avoid. Homeowners insurance is generally a condition of your mortgage. By law you have to have auto insurance. But life insurance? Why in the world would you try to work that into your already tight budget? Actually, there are a number of good reasons to seriously consider doing just that.

• You want to get a life insurance policy while you're young in order to get better premiums (which you may be able to lock in until age 65, thus saving money for the long term). Even more importantly, you need to apply for a policy before you have any pre-existing medical conditions that could disqualify you.
• In the event of your death, the life insurance policy will help your heirs to resolve any debts you may leave behind that might otherwise leave them financially strapped. (Or it may simply take care of the exorbitant cost of burial in the United States.)
• By arranging a life insurance benefit, you can guarantee that any major goal you have set for yourself will be taken care of after your death, like giving your wife financial security or making sure your kids go to college.
• Life insurance is more affordable than health insurance and will give you some peace of mind that in the event of your death, your family and loved ones will be cared for or that your medical bills will be paid.
• You may be able to kill two birds with one stone by taking out a life insurance policy that can be converted to long-term care benefits in the event that you become disabled later in life.

There are many ways you can research life insurance coverage (or coverage of any type for that matter). I suggest trying out InsuranceSpecialists.com first, where you'll not only find an engine for free insurance quotes, but also the latest industry news to help you to understand exactly what you're shopping for, and why it's necessary. I would also try googling "insurance coverage" as well to get an even better idea of what is out there.

One important point to consider is that if you have multiple policies from one insurance carrier, discounts generally result. You may be able to consolidate your homeowners, auto, and life insurance policies with one company and actually reduce your monthly insurance costs while increasing the comprehensive nature of your coverage.

All insurance consultants agree that where most people miss the mark in getting affordable coverage is in failing to get competitive quotes, failing to understand insurance industry language, and failing to negotiate. A one-stop-shop like InsuranceSpecialists offers visitors the background material they need to become knowledgeable consumers as well as a gateway to the most affordable insurance rates available today.

There are many costs that can be realistically cut during a recession, but insurance generally shouldn't be one of them. A life insurance policy is a relatively inexpensive way to purchase a long-term sense of security and peace of mind for you and your family. Before you say no to the coverage, find out your options and how life insurance can fit into your life and answer your long-term goals.

Labels: guest post, insurance

Yup, so I pay a bit more now for health insurance - oh well! When it comes down to it, I still have a job. And a mighty sexy one too at that :)

Who needs 100% company-paid health insurance anyways?! There's no way we could have continued doing that in today's environment (as hot as it was!) So I'll suck this one up just as I did the other benefit cuts and just never go to the doctors or dentist again! Haha, nah...it's not THAT bad.

Our CEO & Management handled this situation pretty damn well. Our company's premiums went up around 40% and they were forced to come up with a change that would best benefit all parties involved. But after they did that, they called an all-hands meeting and presented everything very thoroughly and explained their reasoning behind their final decision. EXCELLENT! That goes a long way in any company, but esp. those small ones like ours.

Here were some of the options they had to sort through:

• Keep our current plan, and pass the extra expenses onto us. This would have allowed us to hold on to our rock star plan as-is ($10 copays, $50 ER visits, no deductibles, etc.), but we'd then have to contribute about $300-$400 A MONTH each! ouch. That's a far cry from paying $0.00 each month.
• Change up the CoPays and Deductibles. This would mean our insurance is still paid for 100% through our company (no auto. deductions every paycheck for it), and our coverage would be the same, but we'd now have to pay a bit more every time we took a visit. If you go a lot, then you'd be more affected than those who rarely ever go (like myself).
• Lower coverage and pickup a limited plan. This would also drastically cut costs, but then our coverage goes to $hit and we'd have to be extra careful where we go to do what, and how. I'm CRAZY glad they didn't go w/ this one for obvious reasons.

They went with Option #2, which I agree was a great choice. We get to keep our awesome coverage through Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO, and we don't have any $ auto. deducted from our paychecks every 2 weeks!!! I love it. Some of us NEVER go to the dr's so we wouldn't even notice the change until we do. Which would probably suck cuz that means something is *really* wrong w/us ;) haha....but either way, I'd say 99% of us were pretty happy w/ the outcome. If I had to pay $400 a month i'd be pretty pissed. I'd still do it cuz I love my job, but I'd fill out that complaint jar to the brim on that day!

Here are the biggest changes to our plan now:

• CoPays go up from $10/visit to $20/visit. This one stings a little, but again you only pay it when you hit up the Dr's. And it's a lot less than a) $30 like a few of my friends have, and b) having no insurance! (yikes)
• We now have deductibles! I believe they are now at $300 per incident, up to a max of $7,000 total you can pay throughout a given year? Something like that (I don't have them in front of me at the moment). This is the biggest change as we never had them before - most things were totally taken care of, unless you had a unique situation that required you to go out of network.
• Network vs Non-Network spread increased. I never go out of network so I kind of dozed off here, but I know that it costs a lot more now going out of network than it previously did. I can never understand why anyone would really do this anyways...

So yeah, looks like our company is still dealing with the changes going around town. We were told this was the last of the "big items" being looked at now too, so that's def. good to hear! And that means our awesome 401k matches are still on the docket - woohoo :) Who knows what next month will bring, but for now I'll still continue working along happily and doing my thang over here. Can't get bent out of shape when the unemployment rate keeps skyrocketing..

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PS: I still have to report on the final cost of the Gallbladder Removal last year! I haven't forgotten, just too lazy to compile all the amounts and get it all together. More to come on who got the closest estimate.

Labels: career, crazy economy, insurance

Or does your budget not allow for such a thing? Fortunately/unfortunately, I've had some random a$$ things come up where I've had to ask myself the very same thing. And luckily (due to sexy budgeting and knowing where all my money hides), the answer has been a firm YES.

The most recent occurance happend as I popped into my dentist this morning for a routine checkup...and left with an extra $80 bill! Now, in my defense I could have easily spouted a "no thanks" to the proposition in question, but it really was for my own good.

My dentist had recently become certified in oral canceer screening through ViziLite Plus, and wanted to know if I was interested in getting checked out. Naturally, the first words outta my mouth were Hell Yeah! a) I've never gotten checked for cancer in my mouth and b) the process for finding out seemed cool :) Plus, the earlier you catch that stuff the easier it is to treat.

It involved swishing around a mouthfull of vinegar/raspberryish formula for 30 seconds, and then waving around a black light to see if there's any nastiness in there (*shiver*). While it was scary as $hit waiting the 45 seconds for my answer, it was well worth the postive outcome I received.

But before we even got to all that, I was told up front that health insurance doesn't cover it! Apparently people think you have to be at least 40 years or older to GET cancer - WTF? Anyone can catch that junk! So it was totally up to me whether I wanted to spend the $80 on the spot or just do without. Mrs. Dentist advised it was a good thing to do at least once a year to be safe, so it came down to one question: Do I have enough wiggle room in my budget right now? And as I mentioned, that answer was a YUP - I sure do! (This is what all that obsessive account checking does for ya ;) )

But the important thing here isn't so much whether the money was there or not, but KNOWING that you can make a quick decision like that comfortably. If you can do that, you've mastered you're money baby!

Labels: insurance, money management

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 is around $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 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 ;)

Labels: car stuff, insurance

It'll be our first destination wedding we attend :) And if you recall, we said hell to the no on picking up the travel insurance as it just didn't make sense this trip.

I really hope i'm not jinxing our selves here, but by the time you read this i *should* be on that plane and going on my merry way. And please, pray we don't land in the water like yesterday's mess :( Although what a happy ending, my gosh!

Here's what the "Cancel For Any Reason Travel Protection Plan" covered, had we listened to our travel agent plead and PLEAD that we get it (seriously, i really hope all goes well....whey am i post this now BEFORE we get back? oh well...i've already started):

• It cannot be used for another travel date and it cannot be transferred to another person
• Trip interruption should clients need to return home early for a covered reason.
• Protection against additional expenses in the event a covered weather delay.
• Reimbursement for lost or stolen baggage.- Reimbursement for medical expenses incurred overseas. Many group health or primary medical insurance plans do not cover medical expenses incurred outside of the United States or the plan's covered territories.

Well yes, any of those things would be horrible shall they happen. But since it's a) too late to get now, and b) probably wouldn't be convinced anyways since it didn't work last time, I think we're good to go. Here are my thoughts on it:

• Date is now here and 100% settled! woohoo :) And the Mrs. changed her last name months ago on her passport, so this is now all good.
• We're leaving today and coming back in 2 days. Even if we *had* to come back early, could we even get a flight out before our scheduled one anyways? And will it be "covered"?
• We're only checking in 1 bag each, and if they get lost don't the airlines cover this anyways? just in case i won't bring my finest duds ;) flipflops and a Hawaiian shirt baby!
• Now THIS is scary, i won't lie...I seriously don't know what i'd do in this situation. But i'm hoping that out of the 60+ people attending the wedding, ONE of them would be a doctor ;) And if not? well sucks to be me!

I'll let you know if anything crazy happens, but for now i'm just worried about those baggage fees! Is that stuff still going on? Does it count going overseas? Is the Bahamas considered "overseas"? Can I ASK any more questions? Happy weekend hookers, don't miss me too much.

Labels: insurance, travel

One of our eldest cats (we'll call him Bob), is starting to get up their with age, he just turned 10, and Pet Insurance is looking quite sexy these days.

The problem is, or problems really, is that I have absolutely NO experience or knowledge, or even a clue for that matter, about any of this stuff. Like, is Pet Insurance even worth it? Does it cover checkups, accidents, anything and everything? Not a clue.

In fact, I'm specifically posting about this today so that i'll force me to do a little research ;) That way we all learn a little somethin' somethin', and then YOU leave me comments about whether pet insurance is retarded or not. Esp. for all you Vets out there - you know who you are. Deal or no deal? Good good...now here we go.

As I mentioned, i'm starting from scratch here, so i figured the best way to start is to plug in "pet insurance" and see what Google googlizes for us. Here are the top 3 sites (not ads) that showed up under this keyword. Keep in mind, I'll be focusing on the cat stuff since Bob, and his sister LaLaLa, are of these species. Here's what we got:

VPI Pet Insurance :: petinsurance.com
First Impression: Awesome! Sharp, clean, easy to navigate and very professional looking. Their toll-free # is bold up at the top, and right off the bat I'm inclined to use them. They even have a "10 things to ask before buying Pet Insurance" page! I'm liking that.
Animals they cover: dogs, cats, birds, and exotic pets (like sugar gliders! what?)
Packages: Focusing on just cats here, there are 3 options you can go with. You can see them here.
Quote: You fill out a few questions online, and then give you a quick quote right away...except for Bob. Turns out he's too old to insure due to "underwriting guidelines"! Poor Bob :( I still want a guestimate for this sorta stuff though, so i tried our 2 year old cat - we'll call her LaLaLa. She's apparently worthy, and it pumped out a range of $7.88/mo. up to a max of $38.33 depending on the package. Either way, it def. seems worth it! that ish is expensssssive.

PetCare :: petcareinsurance.com
First Impression: Eh, so-so. Not as cozy looking as the previous one, but def. "Vet-like". They also state their the "#1 choice of North American pet owners", so they gotta be good ;)
Animals they cover: dogs, cats
Packages: 4 choices to choose from, with lots and lots of information. You can check 'em here.
Quote: YAYYYY, Bob can be protected! $9.95 for the smallest package, $11.95 for the medium one, and $21.95 for "the best" one. From the bat already cheaper than LaLaLa's quote above - and she's 8 years younger? So i plopped her info in and WOW did it come back w/ options! 9 different ones actually, all depending on the amount of coverage i wanted. But the 3 comparable ones here were $9.95, $25.95, and $38.45 respectively....in the same ballpark as VPI's insurance. This also tells me that the packages for Bob probably aren't the best out there, but at least they'd still cover him!

Pets Best Insurance :: petsbest.com
First Impression: cute, warm, and "salesy" right off the top. Top half of page dedicated to giving you a quote..can't tell if i like this or not, but i'm giving it a shot! oh, and in their FAQs they state that no pet is too old for pet insurance! i'm like that already...
Animals they cover: looks to be just dogs & cats.
Packages: 3 options with all sorts of coverage. Clicky here for the deets.
Quote: Negative. You have to enter your email address to get an instant quote...sorry Charlie (or Bob & LaLaLa i should say), but i'm not doing it. Not worth the possible amount of emails i'll get down the road from them. BUT, they do state all over, that the monthly packages start at $19.99 so that gives me something to consider, and I already know Bob can be covered.

Wowww, so lots of information huh? It took a little bit putting this together, but at least i know some more now. It still hasn't swayed me to act on it yet, but i'm hoping some of you might have a few nuggets of knowledge to share with us :) And in the meantime?

We'll just keep loving the hell out of Bob & LaLaLa and hope it's enough to keep them out of the Vet's clinic! They're indoor cats anyways, so unless they trip and fall while eating dinner, they should be out of harms way. haha....

Labels: insurance, pets

So what we thought was a simple stomach ache turned out to be a bad gallbladder for the Mrs.! Wowzers. needless to say, we'll be camped out in this hospital 5 star hotel room for at least another day or two until all is said and done, but that's fine by me - just fix my girl and all is good!

Now, you might be asking yourself why on earth i'd be blogging at a time like this? Well it's simple. I'm addicted. Also, i'm bored as hell :) We're going on day #4 now with it all, and i've finally finagled a way to convert this nurse's computer into my personal blogging station! haha...if that's not sexy, i don't know what is ;) This whole process has tought me a few things so far, and i'd like to share them.

1) It's good to go to the doctor's if you think something is wrong. This "minor" stomach ache turned out to be a potentially fatal issue, which i would have NEVER guessed! you should have seen the look on the doctor's face when we asked if we could go home and schedule the surgery for later. She about died! haha....she was like, "um yeah....so, if you have an infection, it can cause this and this, and then this and you can die." and we were like, "hm....okay, we'll stay" :) that's some good ol' fashion McCain straight talk for ya!

2) It's a HELLUVA good thing we have health insurance! This is the first time we're using it to this degree, and i'd really not wanna pay out of pocket 100% ya know? It also got me thinking - i wonder how much all of this is gonna cost us when it's all said and done? A few hundred? A thousand? i haven't a clue. We've spent a total of $17 so far ($10 on a copay and $7.00 on some pain medication) but that's it.....for now.

So, i'd like to play a game now with you called "Guess how many Washingtons this will cost us?". (final cost here.)

I don't know about you, but i have nothing but time here to waste! So if you're bored @ work, or just really experienced with hospital bills - let the game's begin!

Here is all the info i can remember so you can do some calculations. Or, if you have massive A.D.D. like i do, especially today, then you can just take a wild guess for the hell of it. or not. whatever, it's all good. We have Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO as insurance, and i've been told that it's "a good one". Here are the deets:

• Visit to the Gyno: Not sure exactly what was done here, but the Mrs. says they "ran a few tests" and did some consultations. Copay: $10.00.
• Visit to the E.R.: blood work taken, cat scan done, and doctor consultation. Copay: $0.00
• Visit to a G.I (Gastrointestinal specialist): more blood work and consultation. Copay: $0.00
• Visit to a Surgeon: Just a Consultation. Copay: $0.00 (sugeon actually said he won't write up anything as he doesn't accept our insurance, and it was a courtesy call from a good friend of his. i'll take that!)
• Visit back to Hospital: More bloodwork. Copay: $0.00
• Return visit to the G.I.: Another consultation. Copay: $0.00
• Return visit to the Hospital: Ultrasound, which finally found the problem! Copay: $0.00
• Admitted back into E.R.: Tests and IV setup
• 2 3 nights staying over in this fancy pants hospital suite: around the clock visits, tests, etc...No Copay so far as we haven't left yet.
• 1 Gallbladder surgery - to remove it! Coming right up.... UPDATE: operation successful! Mrs. budgetsaresexy is now into "recovering mode" According to the doc, it was a VERY good thing it was removed as it was NOT a pretty picture. *bleh* Thx for all the prayers, they worked!
• NEW: 1 Gallbladder scan - The Mrs. was in some major pain after surgery, so they checked to make sure all is well...and it was! FINALLY out now and relaxing on this beautiful Sunday :)
  

And that's the whole kit & caboodle! So, yeah wow....that sounds like a freakin' LOT! i didn't realize until typing it out just now. I'm gonna venture to say that our portion we'll end up paying will be $500. And the total cost w/out insurance being like $5,000. Think i'm close? At least that's how much i *hope* it'll cost, but i really have no idea - totally pulled that one from the posterior.

I am just PRAYING that it doesn't cost us thousands!!! how scary :( I guess that's what Emergency Funds are for though, cuz that's how we'll be paying for all this! Alrighty homies, i wish you a blessed day! i'm outta here for now...I need some coffee STAT.

Labels: insurance, life

That's what I re-learned out in St. Louis this weekend.

A little small talk w/ a distant cousin turned into quite a discussion on insurance & personal property! I'm not sure how interesting it is now that i'm sober, but it's still just as important ;)

After being in the insurance industry for a good 5 years, the cousin had become tired of dealing with disastrious insurance claims, and took it upon himself to do something for the greater good (and for himself): He started his own business photographing/videographing all of his client's goodies! Freakin' smart right?

This way, if a fire comes through and sweeps away your belongings, you'll have a detailed record of EVERYTHING! According to him, only 4% of the population actually do this - and those who don't couldn't even come up with 50% of their belongings when it came time to itemize for insurance claims. SCARY to say the least. And oddly enough, i fall into that 4%! I must admit that i haven't updated it in 2 years, even after moving into our townhouse, but i'm still proud to say that i'm ahead of the curve :)

So, how exactly do you go about doing this? And more importantly, how long does it take? Well, all that depends on the amount of house that you have, as well as the number of things. It took me only about 30 mins when i was living in a 1 bedroom condo. For an average 3 bedroom house, however, it takes my cousin 5-6 hours. But he's also pretty hardcore and detailed - he takes pictures, and videography, of every single drawer in the house, and then lists them all down in one packet of paperwork.

He also makes 3 backups, in 3 different places and file types (think electronic & hard copies), so that he's pretty protected himself. And then he charges anywhere from $300-$1,000 accordingly. He'll then come back every 2-3 years too and update it for an extra charge. Smart man ;)

But he clearly admits that "anyone can do it! it's just a matter of spending the time - and some would rather spend their time differently". If you're already reading this, you're more than likely a DIY'er (do it yourself'er) anyways, so here are a few quick steps in saving a butt load of cash, and time, down the road:

1. Take pictures of everything in your house! Start by snapping pics of all the walls, then go into all the cabinets and drawers. You don't have to snap a pic for each item, just chuncks of things at a time. As long as they come out clear and easy to see, you're ahead of the game.
2. Walk around with a videocamera (or a digital camera w/ video option)! Start outside of the entrance, and just walk through all the rooms - opening up doors, cabinets, etc. Talk when you're walking around so that it'll pick up the names of the rooms you're in, as well as anything else you think is important.
3. Make 3 copies of everything! store 1 in a safe/safety deposit box if you have one, 1 on your computer, and then another outside your house somewhere. Perhaps at a family member's or even a server if you have access to one. Just anywhere outside of the house. It wouldn't do you much good if the pics disappear in a fire as well ;) Unless you have a fire-proof safe, but even so it's not worth the risk.
4. *Optional* - Type up/write down a list of all the major items, along w/ approximate value. I only say optional because while this makes your life even BETTER, it may be a bit much to get you started. I tend to not start things the more complicated they get, but hopefully you're different :) Just make sure you do steps 1-3 first, and then see if you're up for this last one....think of it as extra credit!

And that's it! Again, it only took me about 30 mins to do this a cple years ago...but i also only took video and made 1 copy ;) haha... so i have some work to do myself! I'll be going back this week and sucking it up for a bit to make sure our things are nice and secured. $hit, even if you just do it once in your lifetime you're possibly saving yourself THOUSANDS down the road!

I'm telling you, it's totally worth it. And, if you KNOW there's not a chance in hell you're gonna do it, then suck up the cost and pay someone to do it for you - just make sure it gets done :)

Labels: advice, insurance, money hacks

And that's because the sexy FDIC covers a lot of our money :) I tried to avoid bringing it up since it's been covered a good 3,000,300,40405,490u002945 times already in the media, but sadly i'm just plum out of ideas to blog about today.

And the truth of the matter is, the FDIC does in fact play a major role these days. So today i go trendy. Plus, not *everyone* knows about it either, so this one's for you! (for all others sick of hearing about it, take a look at the pretty pictures over on google, or the latest Chuck Norris facts.)

I'd like to start off by sharing a little email i got from the Mrs. this week on it all, and then i'll get to why, exactly, the FDIC is important in our financial lives:

"suze orman is on oprah today...she was adamantly saying about how to protect your money during the impending recession. she said that everyone should go to myfdicinsurance.gov to answer a few questions and see if their money is insured by the government.

if your bank IS FDIC insured, then she says you have nothing to worry about because the govt is backing up your funds if anything should go wrong. if your bank is NOT FDIC insured, she said you should be getting your money out TODAY into an account that is FDIC insured."

Nicely done, Mrs. Budgetsaresexy! I'm proud to say that I've got her piped into the financial world more and more so lately. She's no nerd about it like i am, but she sure is getting closer ;) And i'm sure Oprah had nothing to do with it either...HA! I bet she'd watch anything on there, but i digress...

Her email basically sums up the gist of how important the FDIC is though, especially in the impending death of our Financial World that's apparently going on these days (i don't buy it though). Okay great, so what the F do they do?

They insure up to $100,000 $250,000 beautiful dollars of yours! (Updated due to the bailout plan!)They cover a whole bunch of checking and savings accounts, along with cds, and most money markets. You can also be sneaky and stash $100k $250k at two separate banks (not branches) and then even have $200k $500k insured! What they DON'T cover is stocks, mutual funds, etc, but you can read more on the FDIC site, or on Wiki.

So if your WaMu, PNC, Bank of America, or the hundreds of other banks that are FDIC insured goes under, you don't lose a penny. In fact, since it started out 80 years ago, no one has ever lost any money - so that's always good. Most of the banks that i know of ARE insured under them, but i'm guessing there are hundreds that aren't. So as the Queen of Finance herself stated, if your bank ain't insured, get it out and drop it into a safer one!

And now, i shall get back to my day job...which i've been severely slacking on today. (luv you blog!)

Labels: advice, insurance, money management, suze orman

I don't know why people seem to pass away around the same times, but i don't like it.

One of my neighbors recently left, and now a friend's father this week - both from cancer. So while i keep trying to avoid thinking about death and such, it's been all over my mind today.

Soooo, i figured it was about time i posted something about the most exciting topic ever - Life Insurance (Yay!). haha...I'll skip the whole salesman aspect of it all, BUT i will say that regardless of your situation, you definitely need to have some!

The Mrs. and i picked up a plan each last year after strong encouragements from the 'rents. They had been going through my grandparents financials after the g-pa got close to passing away, and realized they needed to get their stuff in order as well. Then, ofcourse, they passed on the info to me ;)

There are a butt-load of insurance types you can get (term, permanent, whole, universal, etc), but we stuck with Term insurance since it seemed to be the best from all our research. You can check out the main differences on Wikipedia, but here's a quick summary:

"Term life insurance or term assurance is life insurance which provides coverage for a limited period of time, the relevant term. After that period, the insured can either drop the policy or pay annually increasing premiums to continue the coverage. If the insured dies during the term, the death benefit will be paid to the beneficiary. Term insurance is often the most inexpensive way to purchase a substantial death benefit on a coverage amount per premium dollar basis."

This one's pretty straight forward, and probably the one most people think about when they hear "life insurance" - IF you die within the timeframe alotted, your beneficiary gets the amount you took out the insurance for. Nice and easy.

You basically have to pick 2 things:

1. The amount of money you'd like/need it for. We chose $350k, each. The main, and only, real thing we'd need covered would be our house, and this would pay it off in full.
2. The timeframe you'd like it for. We went with 30 years, figuring it would be the most "needy" time of our lives should anything scary come up. We're both young, just getting started really in the work force (and now grad school for her), and we just bought a house. So if anything should happen in the near-to-sorta-near future of 30 years, our main debt would be covered - of course, if we'd even want to pay it off instead of just selling it, etc, but that's a whole other ballgame :)

And the costs? Well, that'll fluctuate depending on a whole mess of variables: your health, age, family history of diseases, smoking habits, crack habits, skydiving habits, eating habits...you get the point. And they give you some sort of medical test, so you can't trick 'em! We're both pretty healthy (knock on wood), and fairly young, so it cost me $30/month and the Mrs. $25/month - lucky bastard.

Regardless of the type you choose, however, it's best to pick it up when you're nice and healthy! This way you qualify for lower rates and will be covered God forbid something happens to ya shortly thereafter.

And the best part is that once you actually take the time and set it all up, you're pretty much set for years to come! Of course, as time passes and you start aquiring more assets, babies, and more toys, you may need to adust it accordingly, BUT for the most part you don't have to think about it again. And that's some GREAT peace of mind that you'll pick up as well :)

Labels: insurance, life

The summer is winding down, but we sure as hell aren't finished with Wedding Season.

You'd think the one we just had on Labor Day woulda been the end to it, but crazily enough we're only half way there! We have THREE (3) more this month (in a row, mind you) and then the last grand finale mid-January in the Bahamas - which i'm not complaining about at all.

But while i have enough ammo to turn this post into a wedding rant, i shall not. Considering the Mrs. and I wed back in May, we really dont' have any room to talk. haha...plus, 4 out of the 7 other weddings are for super close friends and we're delighted we get to spend $700 in presents share in their love and joy together :)

(we've decided to give $100 as wedding presents from here on out since we know how much we appreciated $ over gifts ourselves! So 7 weddings = $700...ouch)

I'd actually like to explore "Travel Insurance" a bit and see if it's worth it or not. And apparantly to us, it isn't because we turned it down! haha...but neither of us have ever used it, nor had any crazy issues that would have ever stopped us from going. (HUGE knock on wood here please, my goodness!) So we're naturally pessimistic about spending another $200 for the chance of something getting in our way.

Here's what this "Cancel For Any Reason Travel Protection Plan" covers:

- Trip interruption should clients need to return home early for a covered reason.
- Protection against addional expenses in the event a covered weather delay.
- Reimbursement for lost or stolen baggage.
- Reimbursement for medical expenses incurred overseas. Many group health or primary medical insurance plans do not cover medical expenses incurred outside of the United States or the plan's covered territories.

Maybe we've never heard of, or used it, before though because this is the first time we went through a travel agent? We're pros at using Expedia.com and the internet to get flights and hotels and such, and rarely do we get a pop up or extra check box to pay for insurance of any type.

The whole trip cost us $1313.20 for all airfare, hotel & tax costs, airport xfers, etc. Everything except for food basically, which lucky enough will be covered by the wedding events :) And we're only going for the weekend (crazy, i know!), so spending an extra $89 a peice is really the last thing we wanna do.

Of course, our realtor travel agent (i always get those 2 mixed up) was blown away that we'd turn down such a thing. In fact, not only did she mention 98% of her clients take it every single time, but she made me email her back explicitly stating that we do not want it so that she can have it in writing "just in case". And this is after the 3 emails spelling out exactly what the policy covers.

I know she means well and all, but seriously - she has got me all 2nd guessing myself now! I mean, look at this last attempt to sway us:

"If you choose NOT to purchase the protection I need to advise you that the airfare is FULLY NONREFUNDABLE once ticketed, it cannot be used for another travel date and it cannot be transferred to another person... "

Have strong feelings, much?! After all was said and done, we kept firm and declined the $200 addition. It was our initial gut response, and we feel good about it. We also don't do well with "scare tactics", so the more they came, the more we were fighting back.

But are we idiots? You can tell me the truth, we need some un-biased opinions. You could even be anonymous if you're afraid i'll come over there and find you ;) I'm pretty sure it comes down to personal opinion and experience anyways, but that little F'er has really got me thinking now...

Labels: insurance, travel, wedding

I've been nibbling on this question for the past 3 weeks, and it seems that I still don't have a 100% sure answer on it ;) Mrs. Budgetsaresexy and I had already agreed that we should NOT renew it, thus letting the expiration date come and go, but they JUST sent us another friendly reminder - sneaky marketers!

It's hard because I usually go w/ my original instinct, which in this case says to renew it and have the peace of mind that comes along w/ warranties. But then the practical side kicks in and asks, "Will you actually recoup the costs?" I mean, it's a valid question and one to definitely consider for things like this.

Last year it costs us $360, and we used it once for our leaky ceiling ordeal. While we tried to use it another time when our dryer went bonkers, we didn't, and all in all we ended up spending a total of $460 (warranty itself + $100 deductible) for this one plumbing issue. Now, i'm not sure how much the actual costs would have been w/out the warranty, but i seriously doubt it would have come close. All they really put in was some new rubbery stopper thingie and told us what to watch for.

This year the warranty renews at $465! Same deductibles, and same coverage (quoted from their site):

"breakdowns in major systems like plumbing, electrical, heating and air
conditioning as well as washer, dryer, oven, refrigerator and other items."

So what's a brother to do, right? If 3 things happen (or 1 major thing), we're pretty much covered. But realistically we'd be spending money "in hopes" something happens, and then shelling out another $100 each time it DOES. I dunno, it really just gives me a headache thinking of it all ;)

With the wedding coming up, and w/ sites out there like Craigslist & ebay to pick up new appliances, we have decided to pass (again) and keep this money in our Emergency Fund.

What would you guys do, though? Does anyone else use a home warranty of any sort? I'd be interested to see how others handle this little ditty...and unless we change our minds at the last second, fingers crossed that it all works out!

Labels: home ownership, insurance, warranties

OMG this is hilarious!!! I've seen pics like this around, but NEVER in a million years did i expect to find it in any form of marketing, especially promoting LIFE INSURANCE?!

W-O-W. Seriously, they are insane.

On the flip side, at least i found it on Readexpress.com (a mini-paper from The Washington Post crew for a quick read). It's pretty obvious they're aiming for the younger generation, and i bet they'll even catch a few of those older ones trying to be "hip".

I mean, i don't blame them for trying. Anything "ninja" is super trendy, and these days even extremely viral. $hit, i'm talking about it right now and spreading it even further!

I guess i just can't take the ad seriously. Or should i say the actual company being promoted by it...i know NOTHING at all about the company itself, it can very well be legit, but it just reeks of a fly-by-night organization to me. Oh well, it sure did make for a good laugh :)

Labels: cockamamy indeed, insurance, randomness 3000

Although yesterday's "Zero Spend Day" was a success, i have to admit it took wayyyy too much brain power :) But, mission accomplished and joy to all! i'd be lying if i said it wasn't tough though. not that i expected it to be super easy, but even w/ it scribbled on my hand i still forgot.

Almost-slip-up #1: A co-worker was running out to grab some lunch, and asked around if we wanted anything. Naturally, i would have handed him a 10'er and given my order BUT it just so happened i was called into a impromptu meeting right before and never heard him! Whew. it would have been all over by noon.

Almost-slip-up #2: Our visit to Kohls after work. Mrs. Budgetsaresexy was feeling pretty down after hearing some shoddy news from 2 of her grad schools she applied to (thankgoodness for the great grad school news a while back!), and needed a quick shopping pick-me-up. As she was searching for some goodies, i perused the store and happened across this framed art that i've wanted for MONTHS. not only was it on sale, but it was 90% off!!!! out of all the day for me to walk in there. BUT because of this blog, and ONLY because of this blog, i walked away w/ more money in my pocket ... i may walk back in this weekend though ;)

So, mission accomplished indeed. And to reward myself, I will allow myself to do as i please on this beautiful day. I'm already keeping my eyes on Woot.com today (it's a woot off!!!!), and I just sent in a payment to renew our Pest Control warranty.

Speaking of which, do any of you have one? It mainly covers termites, and as long as they come out once a year to inspect it, they'll cover costs associated w/ getting rid of those little boogers. It's only $88.00 a year, so figured it's worth it. We had them come out prior to closing last year, and they found some! it's since been cleared up, but i'd like for them to be gone forever....well, as much as we can. $88 has to be worth that, right?

Alrighty fellow bloggers and blogees, I'm off to do "work" work now. May all your money dreams come true today, and stay away from those wooden nickels! (whatever that means)

Labels: insurance, warranties, zero spend day

The other day my girl and i were chillaxin' around the living room when all of a sudden i get a "Honey, why is our ceiling dripping?". In a split second I went from totally relaxed to completely freaking out. Why WOULD our ceiling be dripping? How does that even happen? In case you couldn't tell, we are new homeowners.

After gathering my wits and taking a few seconds to actually think about it, we realized that our master tub is directly above this sneaky ceiling. I jolted upstairs and started analyzing the situation. I checked for holes, cracks, missing tiles, leaks, you name it. While i did notice the need to brush up on my caulking (what a funny word!) skills, there was nothing awry that the human eye could see.

As with all sticky situations, i immediately called my mom....just like 3rd grade all over again :) Something you also didn't know, was that i was even a realtor for 3 months a cple years back, so i should have DEF. known what to do! At any rate, mom was much more calm and collected, and brought up two major points which never crossed my mind:

a) Did i check the crawl space behind the tub to see where it's leaking? What a novel approach! To my credit, i never knew these existed as normally i'd just call management to get 'er fixed up. But apparently most master bathrooms have a section cut off, and blocked off, to easily access the back of the tub. So i grabbed my handy screwdriver and flashlight, and took a peek. And voila, there it was! the space between the tub & the tube had water stains. So now i at least knew where it was coming from.

b) The second thing she asked, was if we had a home warranty? This one immediately calmed my nerves just by listening to the words come out. I had TOTALLY forgot we picked one up right before closing! Of course, this could have had the opposite effect if I had rejected my realtor knowledge and didn't spend the extra money for one :) How awesome right?

We called a preferred plumber from our warranty company (HMS Warranty. I highly recommend!), and within 48 hours we had it all fixed up. Luckily enough the damages to the house were almost nil, and it didn't cause much ruckus to our wallets either.

It costs us $360 for the year, with a deductible of only $100. Any costs on top of that are totally covered by HMS. Besides plumbing, it also covers the following (quoted from their site):

"breakdowns in major systems like plumbing, electrical, heating and air conditioning as well as washer, dryer, oven, refrigerator and other items."

Talk about peace of mind! Warranties like these *might* only be picked up when purchasing or selling a house, but it's definitely something to consider. All i know is, i'm definitely renewing it when it comes around next month!

Labels: home ownership, insurance, warranties