Windshields

If you are one of the unlucky people to have had your windshield broken, you know how unpleasant that can be because it is usually not the driver's fault. Because, it is likely not be your fault, you shouldn't have to pay for the replacement.

In fact, did you know that if your windshield is cracked or damaged by a rock falling from a truck, you can call up the truck company if you can get the name off the side or the back of the vehicle and some identifying information like the license plate. You can tell the company what happened, and often, the company will pay for the replacement of the windshield for you.

Also, if you woke up with a broken windshield or something hit you on the roadway, you may contact your state's Department of Transportation and explain the situation. The DoT should have a budget for this. I recently called the DoT for this issue and although, they had no specific person I could talk to, I spoke to the person who makes the budget and he asked that I submit all information to him directly for review.

Also, in many states such as Florida, if you have comprehensive insurance, they will cover the windshield replacement for any purpose.

Don't Skimp on Things that Matter

I'm looking for a new used car and yesterday I needed to run a CarFax report, however, CarFax no longer has an unlimited option. Therefore, I decided it would be best to run another report for $3.75 from CheckThatVin. However, that report only let me know that the title was issued 4 times and the title is clean. CarFax usually gives service information, the amount of owners, accident details, etc.

Therefore, I ran another report for $6.99 because it was supposed to be comparable to CarFax, however, that had similar information. I did find out that the car was never in a collision, but I knew I could get more information.

I wanted to see the service records and ended up going with CarFax nonetheless. Therefore, the first two checks were a waste of time and money since I ended up with the company I knew was good in the first place. I wanted to know as much as I could before I spent a large amount of cash on a used car.

Moral of the story: don't skimp on the things that matter like used cars.

Investments and Holding On

A lot of people hold on to bad investments that they know they want to sell simply because people want to recover any losses that might have happened.

I've been skimming through Suze Orman's Young Fabulous and Broke and bumped into some common sense knowledge that not everyone follows. You must learn how to let go of investments that are no longer working. Once in awhile review your stocks and mutual funds and see if you would still buy them today. If you wouldn't buy them today, why are you holding on to them now when you can be making a profit somewhere else? It might be difficult to loose money in the stock market, however, the missed opportunity cost and the potential for further losses is too great so get out of the investments that are no longer working for you today!

Library Benefits

I recently joined the local library because it's now a 5 minutes walk from my new apartment. The obvious benefits of joining a library and using it is to borrow books for free. However, I did not realize that libraries provide much more for their communities.

I'm guessing every library is different, but mine has started a new program where you can 'check out' a museum pass for ten popular museums in the city. The museum admission fee is waived with this pass.

Also, this week I picked a flyer that advertised free admission to a history museum that is across the street on the opening day of a new exhibit. On that day, if you RSVP, you may also attend a happy hour sponsored by local restaurants. The happy hour is free and will have beer, wine, and appetizers.

Joining the library has been paying off greatly so far.

50-30-20 Budget Calculator

In my earlier post, I talk about the Liz Weston Budget. Now, MSN Money has put up a calculator on their website see how your budget breaks up in percentages and if you are on track if you follow this budgeting method. Please click below for this budget calculator:

50-30-20 Budget: A simple spending breakdown.

There are so many ways to budget out there, however, you know hat you are on track if you fit the definition of a strong budget for each personal finance expert such as Liz Weston, Suze Orman, or Gail Vaz-Oxlade.

How much house can you afford?

MSN money has a useful tool to see how much house you can afford. Before, going to get pre-approved, have an idea of how much you really want to and can take out in a mortgage. Use this tool to find out:

How much house can I afford?

Mutual Funds Trading

Unlike stocks, mutual funds do not trade in the middle of the day. The stock market is open 9-4 eastern time and you can only buy and sell mutual funds at the end of the day. Therefore, even if you place an order during the day, it will not be executed until the end of the day. Also, if you want to see the value of your mutual fund, you must wait until the end of the day.

Mutual funds consist of a variety of stocks and it would be too difficult to compute the value of all stocks in a given mutual fund at a specific time as stock prices can change every second.