Cheap insurance policies and a few problems drivers should watch out for

When you still believe in the tooth fairy and the probability Santa will deliver something you had on your list come Christmas, you guard the feeling life is usually fair. It’s only when you enter the foothills of old age around seven or eight that you learn the hard way about all the pitfalls standing between you and justice. As an adult buying your first insurance policy, there’s one particularly hopeful myth. It says, simply, that if you’re not at fault and your insurance company does not have to pay out on a claim, your premium will not shoot up when it comes around for renewal. As an example, you leave you car safely in the garage while you jet off for a little R&R. When you return, you discover that during a deluge of Biblical proportions, your garage was demolished and your beloved car swept away in a flash flood. You decide to sell the rusting wreckage for salvage and buy another heap. Why not trouble the insurer? Well, your third party, fire and theft policy is not really relevant to this situation so there’s no claim to be made.

Even though there’s no claim to be made, you have to notify the insurer your car is gone. A new cheap car insurance policy will be required for the replacement. At this point you discover many insurers increase the premium rate even though the company has not suffered a loss. The explanation is one of these statistical quirks. It seems being involved in a no-fault situation is often followed by a claim in the next two years. The same thing will happen if you’re involved in an accident and you recover all your losses from the other party. This is not fair but it’s the way many insurers manage their policies. Whoever thought the no-claims discount was gold-plated is still there with that old belief in the tooth fairy. So to protect yourself, you should always shop around for the cheapest car insurance rates annually. To get your business, one of the other insurers will offer you cheap auto insurance. All you have to do is give up the thought of loyalty and go where the premium rate is lower.

Be emotionally prepared for possible problems with cheap auto insurance

Buyying your first insurance policy, there’s one particularly hopeful myth. It says, simply, that if you’re not at fault and your insurance company does not have to pay out on a claim, your premium will not shoot up when it comes around for renewal. As an example, you leave you car safely in the garage while you jet off for a little R&R. When you return, you discover that during a deluge of Biblical proportions, your garage was demolished and your beloved car swept away in a flash flood. You decide to sell the rusting wreckage for salvage and buy another heap. Why not trouble the insurer? Well, your third party, fire and theft policy is not really relevant to this situation so there’s no claim to be made.

Even though there’s no claim to be made, you have to notify the insurer your car is gone. A new cheap car insurance policy will be required for the replacement. At this point you discover many insurers increase the premium rate even though the company has not suffered a loss. The explanation is one of these statistical quirks. It seems being involved in a no-fault situation is often followed by a claim in the next two years. The same thing will happen if you’re involved in an accident and you recover all your losses from the other party. This is not fair but it’s the way many insurers manage their policies. Whoever thought the no-claims discount was gold-plated is still there with that old belief in the tooth fairy. So to protect yourself, you should always shop around for the lowest annual premium rates. To get your business, one of the other insurers will offer you cheap car insurance. All you have to do is give up the thought of loyalty and go where the premium rate is lower.

Tricks for Getting Cheap Flights

In today's economy, everybody is looking for a bargain. Cheap flights are one area that fluctuates a lot, but there are big savings to be had. Here are some tips for getting the best deal on your flight.

Timing

Research has found that the cheapest day to find a flight is Tuesday in the afternoon. This is when the most sale seats are available. Also, while this can vary due to last minute and early bird specials, in general, the best time to purchase your tickets is three months before departure for domestic flights, and five months for international. Prices go up drastically about 2 weeks before lift off.

Credit Cards

If you are a frequent flyer, you might consider an airline affiliated credit card. These cards might not be worth it for the occasional travel, as they typically come with membership fees. However, miles can add up quickly and they often include extra benefits such as no baggage fees or priority boarding.

Fare Watchers

Many websites such as Bing Travel and Airfarewatchdog.com will allow you to set a fare alert which will email you when they find the lowest price on airfare. This process can take awhile, so it probably isn't for last minute shoppers, but if you plan in advance you can find some good deals. Some sites also have a price match guarantee, which will refund the difference if your fare goes down.

Schedule Flexibility

If possible, consider being flexible with your travel dates. Some websites automatically check multiple dates for you, others you will just have to experiment. Traveling on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Saturday, or choosing flights with one or more stops, is usually cheaper, so if you can adjust your trip accordingly you might save some money.

Packaged Deals

Usually hotel/airfare combinations are cheaper than if you were to buy individually. Expedia.com and Travelocity.com can help you find packaged deals, but many hotels will set one up for you as well. Not every flight and hotel qualifies, but you can potentially save $500 or more.

Hidden Charges

Taxes and fees are required to be advertised in your fare, but there are extra expenses you might not consider. Checked baggage and seat selection are two that people often don't think about. Outside of airline credit cards and promotions, there isn't a lot you can do to get rid of these fees, so include them in your budget.

Cheap air tickets are less cheap when you add in the hidden costs

When the air industry was desperate to find that extra dollar to tip it from loss into profit, it discovered we passengers were prepared to pay for "services". This unbundling really hit the big time with the decision to charge us for checking in bags. It's estimated this generated an additional $3 billion last year. Then airlines decided to levy a penalty if we decided we wanted to cancel and rebook a ticket. Curiously, the domestic airlines only raised $2.4 billion out of that last year. If you add up all the hidden costs from all the airlines around the world it's estimated they added about $22 billion in additional profit. So what exactly are we now paying for?

You may thought the airlines were just in the people carrying business, but these entrepreneurs have decided they are retailers of seats on airplanes. Everything else is an extra and liable to be charged separately. So do you have a preference as to where you sit, e.g. would you like an aisle seat, do you want priority when it comes to physically getting on to the plane, would you like to use one of the overhead bins for your carry-on bags, if you want to use your computer, do you want a wi-fi connection? And that's before you ask for a drink of water or, if you're really feeling brave, something to eat.

All this leads to considerable frustration because, until you go through the process of getting on to the airplane, there's no way you find out what the total cost of the flight is actually going to be. If you're trying to work to a budget, this is really annoying. When you're looking for cheap air tickets, the airlines should be obliged to publish an all-in price. That way, we can all compare like with like to find the cheapest seats. Even more interesting is that the federal taxes are payable on the price of the seat. No taxes are payable on the extra fees. This is a legal tax avoidance scam by the airlines to avoid paying tax on their income. Getting cheap air tickets should not be like this. Booking and billing should be transparent.

Auto Class Types Rented by Cheap Car Rental Companies

There are several different classes of auto provided by cheap car rental companies. This allows for a wide range of prices and options when renting your car, whether you’re on a budget or have a ton of people and luggage. Although each company will vary slightly as far as selection goes, there are a few basic categories which are pretty common.

The Economy Car

If you’re looking for the ultimate in cheap car rental, the economy size is your new best friend. Not only are the rental prices lower for economy cars, but the gas mileage is usually outstanding compared to larger vehicles. Economy cars may also be called compact cars, although some companies may offer compact cars as a separate rental category. If this is the case, compact usually costs a little more than economy.

Standard Size

The next level up after economy/compact are the midsize or standard vehicles. Again, some companies may separate these into two separate categories (or more) while others include all mid size and standard vehicles under one “standard” rental category. These cars seat more passengers than economy/compact cars, and also have more cargo room.

Cars to Avoid

If you are aimed at cheap car rental, you should definitely avoid larger vehicles. Trucks, vans, minivans and SUVs will all cost quite a bit more to rent than either economy or standard vehicles. The larger class of rentals also get worse gas mileage, so you’ll be paying more at the tank than with other rentals.

 

Luxury rentals are another no-no if you’re trying to save money. Forget the brand name cars and look for something that’s more budget-friendly.

 

Making Your Choice

When it comes time to decide which rental car will work best for you, don’t forget to take into consideration more factors than just price. For example, you have to have enough seating for everyone in your party, and room for any luggage you may have. The family who needs to rent an all-wheel drive vehicle in order to get to their campsite will have very different needs from the single businessman who’s just using the car to get from his hotel room to his conference and back again. If your goal is cheap car rental, take a look first at the economy and compact cars, and go from there.

Rental companies let you choose any vehicle from standard sizes to sports cars

There are several different classes of auto provided by cheap car rental companies. This allows for a wide range of prices and options when renting your car, whether you’re on a budget or have a ton of people and luggage. Although each company will vary slightly as far as selection goes, there are a few basic categories which are pretty common.

The Economy Car

If you’re looking for the ultimate in cheap car rental, the economy size is your new best friend. Not only are the rental prices lower for economy cars, but the gas mileage is usually outstanding compared to larger vehicles. Economy cars may also be called compact cars, although some companies may offer compact cars as a separate rental category. If this is the case, compact usually costs a little more than economy.

Standard Size

The next level up after economy/compact are the midsize or standard vehicles. Again, some companies may separate these into two separate categories (or more) while others include all mid size and standard vehicles under one “standard” rental category. These cars seat more passengers than economy/compact cars, and also have more cargo room.

Cars to Avoid

When the goal is cheap car rental, you should definitely avoid larger vehicles. Trucks, vans, minivans and SUVs will all cost quite a bit more to rent than either economy or standard vehicles. The larger class of rentals also get worse gas mileage, so you’ll be paying more at the tank than with other rentals.

Luxury rentals are another no-no if you’re trying to save money. Forget the brand name cars and look for something that’s more budget-friendly.

Making Your Choice of a car rental

When it comes time to decide which rental car will work best for you, don’t forget to take into consideration more factors than just price. For example, you have to have enough seating for everyone in your party, and room for any luggage you may have. The family who needs to rent an all-wheel drive vehicle in order to get to their campsite will have very different needs from the single businessman who’s just using the car to get from his hotel room to his conference and back again. If your goal is cheap car rental, take a look first at the economy and compact cars, and go from there.

Auto Class Types Rented by Cheap Car Rental Companies

There are several different classes of auto provided by cheap car rental companies. This allows for a wide range of prices and options when renting your car, whether you’re on a budget or have a ton of people and luggage. Although each company will vary slightly as far as selection goes, there are a few basic categories which are pretty common.

The Economy Car

If you’re looking for the ultimate in cheap car rental, the economy size is your new best friend. Not only are the rental prices lower for economy cars, but the gas mileage is usually outstanding compared to larger vehicles. Economy cars may also be called compact cars, although some companies may offer compact cars as a separate rental category. If this is the case, compact usually costs a little more than economy.

Standard Size

The next level up after economy/compact are the midsize or standard vehicles. Again, some companies may separate these into two separate categories (or more) while others include all mid size and standard vehicles under one “standard” rental category. These cars seat more passengers than economy/compact cars, and also have more cargo room.

Cars to Avoid

If you are aimed at cheap car rental, you should definitely avoid larger vehicles. Trucks, vans, minivans and SUVs will all cost quite a bit more to rent than either economy or standard vehicles. The larger class of rentals also get worse gas mileage, so you’ll be paying more at the tank than with other rentals.

 

Luxury rentals are another no-no if you’re trying to save money. Forget the brand name cars and look for something that’s more budget-friendly.

 

Making Your Choice

When it comes time to decide which rental car will work best for you, don’t forget to take into consideration more factors than just price. For example, you have to have enough seating for everyone in your party, and room for any luggage you may have. The family who needs to rent an all-wheel drive vehicle in order to get to their campsite will have very different needs from the single businessman who’s just using the car to get from his hotel room to his conference and back again. If your goal is cheap car rental, take a look first at the economy and compact cars, and go from there.