Saves Money

How to Fix Anything in Your House

The Basics: 

Black Couple Home RepairHaving a house is the American dream, but when things start breaking it feels like the American nightmare.  Garbage disposals breaking, doors that won't shut, and washing machines that destroy your clothes can drive you crazy plus straight to the poor house.  You can pay hundreds of dollars to specialty repairmen to fix each item, but if you are mechanically inclined you might want to try to fix some of these things yourself.

Below are two resources that can greatly assist you with your do-it-yourself repair efforts and hopefully save you a lot of money in the process.

You Can Combine Money Saving Techniques for Additional Savings

For example: If you need to travel, use Kayak.com to find the best deal on airfare, then use your AAA card to save an additional 5% to 10% on your ticket price.

source: 
Kayak.com, CSAA.com

Almost Every Major Clothing Store has Online Coupons

Before you go clothes shopping do a quick Google search for coupons (ex: “Nike Store Coupons”) before you go to the Nike Store.  You may be able to save an additional 10% or more.

source: 
Personal

iPad Apps to Help You Save Money

The Basics: 

iPad iPhoneIn just a few short years Steve Jobs and Apple have transformed the way we get our information thanks in large part to the iPhone and the iPad.  Both devices are great for communicating, watching videos and sharing information, but the real benefit is the additional 100,000 or so third party applications (apps) that you can download and enhance your user experience.

By far the most popular apps are the game apps that bring back the oldies like Pacman as well as the newer iBasketball, but since this is a Survival Guide we thought we would present a few apps that are a little more practical.  Below we feature some iPad/iPhone apps that will save you money.   There are many more than these cash saving apps so please share your favorites in the Comments section.

Members of AAA can usually get an additional 5% or more discount on car insurance

AAA is one of the best deals on the market today and offers you thousands in savings.  To find out more see this article: “The best $50 you will ever spend

source: 
American Automobile Association (AAA)

How to Get the Best Deal on Car Insurance

The Basics: 

GeicoGetting your first car is great, but don’t think about driving it without car insurance.  It is illegal to drive in the US without at least liability insurance, and if you hit somebody and have no insurance you can destroy your finances and even end up in jail.  Since car insurance companies know that you need insurance the bigger companies spend millions of dollars bombarding you with ads to make you buy their insurance over the other companies.  Talking lizards, pigs on skateboards and other silly ads are all designed to make you ignore the facts and instead buy insurance based on the funniest ad.  This article will help you ignore the marketing foolishness and get the best deal based on what insurance you really need.

There are over 450 Car Insurance Companies in the U.S.

You don't have to go to Geico or State Farm to get insurance.  There are over 450 choices.  To shop for a better deal check out our article "How to Shop for Car Insurance"

The SCHIP Program provides Health Insurance for kids

SCHIP provides health insurance to uninsured, low-income children 18 years of age or younger, including those who are homeless. Each state operates SCHIP using its own name. For example, in New Mexico, the program is called New Mexikids, and in Georgia, it’s called PeachCare.  SCHIP Link to Website, Health Insurance for Adults.

source: 
CMS.Gov

How to Get Health Insurance if you Don't Have a Job or your Employer Won't Provide It

The Basics: 

Health InsuranceBy far the most common and inexpensive insurance is the insurance you get through your boss (employer sponsored healthcare), but many working people don’t have this option because they work part-time or are freelancers who don’t qualify. 

If you are one of these working people, or if you don’t have a job at all, there are other options to get your health insurance coverage.

How to Get Internet and TV - WITHOUT a Landline, Contract or a Cable Company

The Basics: 

Comcast TruckAnybody who has spent more than 5 minutes on this site knows that we have no love for mega-corporations that dominate our economy.  We especially have no love for those mega corporations that have a monopoly over an industry, and use that monopoly to toake advantage of consumers with high prices and poor service.  One of our least favorite mega-corporations are the cable companies that force you into long-term contracts for overpriced services just because they are the only game in town.

We are always looking for alternatives to these mega-corporations, as having basic Internet and TV should not cost hundreds of dollars each month.  Below is one of those alternatives that allows you to have Internet and broadcast television without the long-term contract from Comcast or a similar corporate crook.