I drive a 2005 Chevy Aveo that I bought new. In case you have never owned one, they were made with sub-par parts. For example, the thermostat housing was made of plastic. Thermostat housings are near the engine, so within 3 years, it had gotten so hot on and off that it cracked in two. Amazingly, the replacement part was metal. Long story short, I have looked into what problems can be ignored and what problems can’t when it comes to a car like mine. Please keep in mind that I am not an auto professional – I just own a cruddy one and am sharing my experiences.

(Click to continue reading…)

With gas prices being so high, I have been thinking about how to save at the pump for the last few months. I realized that becoming self-employed was going to help since the commute to my day job was causing me to need to fill up every 5 or 6 days. Since quitting your job isn’t an option for everybody, I also tried to think of other ways a person could kill their need for a car. I have come up with several main options. You too can save yourself some money on gas and vehicle maintenance by opting for alternative forms of transportation. Here are a few of the ways I can think of that you can kill your car.

(Click to continue reading…)

I have been working with a car dealership software company for 6 years.  In that time, I have seen thousands of deals from a dealership’s point of view.  The only difference between making a good deal and a bad deal is what you know before you step onto a car lot.  Here are a few tricks I have figured out to get a great deal on a car if you will be buying from a dealership.

(Click to continue reading…)

Long time readers of Bargaineering probably recall that I don’t have collision or comprehensive insurance on my car. It’s a decision that paid off with my first car and one that I’ve stuck with on my current car. While it helps that I don’t drive very often (I work from home), it’s a financial risk that I’ve decided to take on and certainly not an insurance policy I recommend you skip.

There are, however, plenty of insurance policies out there that I am comfortable suggesting that you skip. Here are just three of them:

(Click to continue reading…)

When you purchase a product, you assume that it is safe to use. After all, we expect that companies (and the regulatory system) will ensure that products are rigorously tested for safety and sanitation before sending them to stores. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Every year there are hundreds of recalls. It is important for you to consider whether or not there could be a problem. You can get the latest news on recalls from the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Sometimes unsafe or unsanitary products slip through the cracks. When that happens, you might find yourself bitten by spiders, chewing on worms, or having to amputate your child’s finger.

Here are five weird product recalls that might make you pause before making your next purchase:

(Click to continue reading…)

When it comes to saving money in this economy, it appears that many people are dropping or lowering their auto insurance policies. It’s a bit of a gamble but adjusting your insurances, whether it’s homeowners or auto or anything else, can be a way to save a few more dollars if things are looking tight. However, the subject of how to lower your auto insurance costs has been covered a near infinite number of times already and everyone knows the basics – shop for alternatives, increase your deductibles, drop comprehensive and collision on older vehicles, package together policies for a discount, etc.

I would like to that think you all know that you should shop around for insurance, just as you would shop around for anything else. I would also hope that you understand the relationship between your premium payments and your deductible. Hitting those points really just smashes the some tired old ideas back into your brain and, honestly, wastes your time. So, this post will be about the more novel ways to lower your car insurance costs. Chances are you may not use any of these ideas but it may spur you to think of some clever ideas of your own (that you can share!).

(Click to continue reading…)

The best kind of benefit is a fringe benefit, right?

As it turns out, the IRS has a guide for Federal, State, and Local Governments (FSLG) governing the tax rules of fringe benefits and the reporting of fringe benefits! We ran into this the other day as my lovely wife was signing up for a parking pass at her school. As a graduate student, she’s technically faculty and an employee. Since it’s a public university, the University of Maryland, that makes her a government employee.

So she’s signing up for this parking pass and one checkbox surprised her:

I understand and agree that by giving authorization to have automatic parking deductions taken out of my paycheck the deduction will be on pre-tax basis and will not be included in my Federal, State or FICA wage base.

That’s when she asked me if she was reading it right – “Does that mean I’m paying for my parking pass with pre-tax money?”

(Click to continue reading…)

My wife and I bought our house five years ago. I remember looking over the list of closing costs and seeing a line for title insurance. Title insurance, which costs in the neighborhood of a few thousand dollars, is something that boggles my mind even to this day. It’s an example of something that is a 100% legal and 99% rip off. There are some things in life that are obvious rip offs, like pay day loans, and then there are others that aren’t so obvious. Today, I wanted to point out a few of the biggest legal ripoffs in the financial world. Some of them are completely avoidable. Others, however, are not.

In this article, we take aim at bank fees, extended warranties, title insurance, college textbooks, and car rental insurance.
(Click to continue reading…)