Recent Car Wreck? 3 Steps To Financial Stability

Car accidents are jarring and traumatic experiences. Even if you are able to walk away unscathed, you must deal with the car wreck aftermath, an undertaking that can take a serious toll on your bank account. 

These three tips can help you remain financially stable after you have been involved in a car accident.

Use Your Insurance

Some car owners make the mistake of not utilizing their car insurance coverage. They do not want their rates to go up. They also want to avoid paying the deductible for towing or repairs.

However, your insurance is there to save you money and hassle when dealing with the aftermath of a car wreck. The deductible will probably be less than the repairs made to your car or the vehicle of any other involved party. 

Rather than pay for these costs out-of-pocket, you can spare your budget by filing a claim with your insurer and allowing your policy to handle the expenses.

Cut Your Losses

You may love your car. However, when it has been totaled in a car wreck, it is no longer an asset to you or your bank account.

Most states will not allow you to insure or drive a totaled car. You can spare your budget and get a little bit of cash in return by scrapping or selling it for cash. When you sell it to a reputable Cash for Cars dealer, like City Auto Wreckers, you can save money on the tow and get some much needed post-wreck money to put down on a new car or pad your bank account.

Hire A Lawyer

When you are not the driver who caused the car wreck, you have several legal options available to help you recover both physically and financially. For example, if you are not able to go back to work right away after a car accident, you have the right to file a claim against the person who caused the incident.

A personal injury lawyer can make the claims process easier for you and handle the negotiations, settlement, and other court action on your behalf. Your lawyer can help you recoup lost wages, medical bills, and other money you have lost or spent because of the car wreck.

These simple tips can be important when you want to recover your finances quickly after a car wreck. They allow you to protect the cash you have on hand and also use legal means to recuperate expenses that you may not be obligated to pay out-of-pocket.

Auto Savings: How to Compare and Contrast Car Insurance Quotes

Today, it is easy to get a quick car insurance quote on an insurer's website or a collection of quotes from several different insurers on a comparison site. However, there are several important tips to remember when comparing auto coverage quotes.

Research the Company

If the company is offering an especially low rate, research it on third-party unbiased review sites. When you are researching a company that you never heard of, be wary of signing up for coverage. 

If there are more negative than positive reviews about the company's operating policies, it is worth your time and money to pay a little more to work with a reputable insurer. Damages and lost money from scams and fraud wind up costing all policyholders more money. 

According to the FBI, insurance fraud costs American families between $400 and $700 per year in higher premiums. Know what to look for to avoid scams.

Know the Deductible

When talking to an agent from one company and getting a lower price quote than another company, be sure that the deductible is the same. 

Some companies, like United Security Agency, know that you should ask how much the difference would be to switch to a lower deductible. With some companies, the price to choose the lower deductible is not much different than a higher one. 

However, this is not always true. Choosing a deductible is a matter of how much risk a person wants to take and can afford in the event of having to file a claim.

Research Discounts

Not all companies factor in every discount when they provide a quote. Some insurers offer telematics devices, which measure driving habits when people use their vehicles. 

If a person drives carefully at a safe speed and does not ride the brakes in a way that indicates frequent distractions, he or she can qualify for a premium discount after several months. Some companies also offer military, student, and other discounts.

Learn About Customer Service

Find out if the company has a good reputation for serving customers promptly and resolving issues. The company should be good at resolving issues such as emergency roadside assistance, general questions, and especially claims. 

If there are more complaints about the company not honoring legitimate claims, beware of the insurer.

Try to compare at least five to seven insurance companies before making a decision. There are hundreds of smaller and larger insurers to consider in the United States.

Bad Credit? What It Takes to Up Your Score

Having a poor credit score could make it harder to get low interest rates on loans or find a job. It may also make it harder to find an apartment or get approved for a cell phone plan. Let's look at some ways that you can improve your bad credit no matter how bad it is now.

Make Your Future Payments on Time

Depending on your current credit situation, it may not be wise to pay old late or missed payments. This is because creditors generally can't pursue them after a certain number of years. 

One exception is if you choose to pay the debt off or make a partial payment as that restarts the statute of limitations clock. Ideally, you should focus on making your future payments on time as the most recent information on your report gets more attention than older information.

Nothing Gets Reported Forever

Except for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, information on your credit report remains there for seven years after is first added. If you do file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, it will remain on your credit report for a decade. 

Therefore, simply making better decisions today and avoiding any future missed payments or black marks will necessarily lead to better credit.

Monitor Your Credit Report

If you were to ask credit repair professionals their top 10 ways to improve a credit score, credit monitoring may be on those lists. This is because an error on a credit report could reduce a person's score by dozens or hundreds of points. 

If a person is a victim of identity theft, it may be months or years until he or she realizes what has happened. By then, the problem may be much more difficult to solve.

Talk With Your Creditors

It may be possible for one or more creditors to agree to accept less than what you currently owe to settle a debt. If debt forgiveness is not an option, it may be possible to get a lower interest rate on future payments. 

This may help you reduce your debt balances, which could lower your debt-to-income ratio. Ultimately, reducing your debt can help improve your credit score.

If you have a bad credit score, there is no time like now to start improving it. In as little as a few months, you may notice that efforts to increase your score are starting to pay off. 

Over the course of 12-24 months, it may be possible to go from having subprime credit to being labeled as a responsible borrower.

The 4 Easiest Ways for Burglars to Get Into Your Home

Your worst nightmare is having your home broken into. It’s an invasion of privacy and can make you feel like nothing in your life is safe and that everything is falling apart. These feelings are incredibly valid.

Everyone always feels like it won’t ever happen to them. It’s an invincibility complex like bad things can’t happen to you, whether it’s a car accident, the death of a loved one, or someone breaking into your home.

That sort of invasion of privacy shakes your entire world. Because of this fear, you can never be too safe or careful when protecting yourself from having your home broken into.

Carelessness that comes from time

Of course, there are the obvious things you can do to keep intruders out of your home: lock your doors whether you’re home or not, install a security system in your home, and be wary of who you welcome into your home.

These are easy ways to make you feel more comfortable at home. It’s surprising how many people forget these simple things, though. Again, you never think it could happen to you, so you get a little bit too comfortable in your environment.

When you move into a new area, you won’t dream of leaving without locking your door. But after a while, if you forget to lock your door upon leaving, you figure that it isn’t a big deal, you know all of your neighbors at this point, and you trust them. This is a mistake. You should never let your guard down like this.

Insecure garage doors

One of the most common ways for someone to break into your home is through your garage. A garage door company in King of Prussia can ensure your garage door is working properly. Additionally, make sure your garage door is closed. Even if you’re just home for a quick lunch and will leave less than an hour later.

While it’s not very likely that during that hour, someone will break in, it gives potential thieves a chance to case it out and figure out the easiest way to get in and what they’d like to steal.

Don’t leave your garage door opener in a visible spot in your car. Many people leave theirs on the visor in their car. However, if it’s visible, someone could break into your car and steal it, take a photo of the address on your vehicle registration, and then break into your home while you’re away.

To avoid this, leave the remote in your console or another concealed place in your car.

The back yard and back door

Your backyard is another way that thieves will get in. You’re less likely to keep your back door locked than the front door, and thieves know this.

So not only do you need to make sure you keep people out of your home but also your backyard. When you’re getting a fence installed, ensure it’s tall enough that it cannot be easily jumped over, as long as your city regulations allow a fence at least six feet tall.

And always make sure that the gate to your fence has a lock on it on the inside, so it can’t be picked by passersby. And, of course, keep your back door locked at all times.

Doggy doors and hidden keys

A lot of people keep keys hidden outside their house in case they lock themselves out of the house. This seems like a harmless idea. If you tend to lock yourself out of your house often, then you obviously want to be able to get back in easily without having to call a locksmith.

When trying to break into your home, however, this is one of the first things a thief will look for. Never leave your key in a fake rock, under the mat, in a potted plant, or any other obvious places.

Another way to gain easy access to your home is through a doggy door. Make sure that your doggy door is far enough from the lock that it cannot be unlocked by reaching through the doggy door from the outside.

At night, ensure your doggy door is locked so no one can access it. Also, ensure that the door is too small for anyone to fit through. If you have a large breed dog, a doggy door may not be safe.