4 Ways to Cut Costs on Common Car Repairs

Getting your car fixed doesn’t always have to be an expensive endeavor. There are many ways that you can get the repairs that your vehicle needs without having to pay an exorbitant price. You’ll be doing yourself a favor by keeping these four cost-saving tips in mind when your car needs certain common repairs.

Get Oil Changes for Free

The dealership where you bought your vehicle may offer free lifetime oil changes. This can save you a significant amount of money each year that you’d normally have to pay at auto mechanic shops or quick lube places every few months. 

Your dealer may even provide a high-quality oil that’s formulated to be better on vehicle engines without charging you extra. In addition to changing your oil, your dealership might offer free brake checks and minor maintenance services each time that you get your oil changed through them.

Wait for Specials on Windshield Replacement

The best auto glass shops are known to offer frequent deals on replacing windshields, and waiting to take advantage of one of these deals can give you a price break. Windshield replacement may not need to be done right away if yours is still in good condition or has only a few minor dings or scratches, and waiting for the right special could pay off handsomely.

Buy Your Own Brake Pads

Dealerships and auto shops will charge you for both parts and labor when making repairs, and you can save money by buying your own brake pads. It’s possible to find these parts online or in stores for significantly less than what you’d pay if you were to purchase them at the time of your repair. 

After buying your brake pads, you can take them to the place where your vehicle is going to be repaired to have a mechanic put them on for you without charging you for the parts.
Keep Jumper Cables in Your Trunk

Your car could lose power at a moment’s notice, and keeping jumper cables in your trunk will give you a way to restart your vehicle and keep driving it until you’re able to get it fixed. 

Whenever you have trouble starting your car, you can hook up the cables to another vehicle that will give your car the power that it needs to run again. This isn’t a great long-term solution, but having your car jumped will allow you to delay getting the repairs that it needs until you have more money or find the right special deals.

Saving money on car repairs can be done if you’re willing to think outside the box. By finding the best ways to save on repair work, you’ll be able to keep your vehicle running while also keeping some extra money in your pocket.

How to Save Money on a Newly Built Home

If you want to live in a home that was recently built but are worried about the extra expense, there are many ways that you can save money on a new property. A new home doesn’t have to cost much more than an older abode, and keeping some important details in mind will help you buy for less. Here are a few of the best ways to save money on a newly built home.

Avoid Costlier Building Materials

Some new homes are built with expensive materials to try to ensure better quality. You can cut the cost of your home purchase by buying a new house that was built with standard materials and then upgrading the materials at a later date. 

To save yourself some additional money and stress, you may choose to upgrade sections of the house so that you can make gradual renovations instead of trying to upgrade the entire home all at once.

Buy from a New-Construction Neighborhood

Entire neighborhoods that feature homes that were recently built can sometimes be the best places to go to find the best deals. Real estate developers often put these homes on the market at a lower rate so that they can get more people to move into the neighborhood quickly and not leave any homes sitting vacant. 



New houses for sale in the Greater Toronto Area and other regions where new-construction neighborhoods are often developed usually come with lower price tags.

Go for a Smaller Yard

Choosing a home with a smaller yard can also yield better savings. If you don’t have a big family with kids or don’t plan on entertaining outdoors very often, a new home with a small yard can be a better option.

Along with saving money on the house purchase, you won’t have to worry about investing as much in yardwork and other ground maintenance if you have a smaller yard.

Shop During Discounted Selling Seasons

House prices are generally lower during certain times of the year, and you can potentially save a lot of money by buying during one of these discounted selling seasons. January is known to be one of the best months for finding homes at reduced prices. 

Buying a home on Easter Sunday or Christmas Day can also save you money. You should avoid trying to buy a home over Memorial Day Weekend since prices tend to be much higher this time.

You can have the new home of your dreams without having to pay a fortune if you’re savvy with your purchase. Knowing what to look for and when to buy will make it easier for you to save money without having to give up a lot of the things that you want in a newly constructed home.

How to Prepare for Sudden Unexpected Expenses

No one can predict the future. Just because things have been going well for a long time does not mean that couldn’t all change at a moment’s notice. Something that often suddenly goes wrong for people is the appearance of unexpected expenses.

Whether it’s the cost of sending your car to the shop, calling a plumber, or bailing your friend out of jail, we all experience expenses we did not know we would incur. Overall, you need to prepare for unexpected expenses. They will happen at some point after all.

Budget for Unexpected Expenses

One way to handle unexpected expenses is to budget for them. You can do this by setting aside a certain amount of money each month for costs that cannot be predicted. This money shouldn’t be used for eating out or going to the movies either. If it’s not spent that month, you should save it for even larger unexpected expenses that could be down the road.

Open a New Savings Account

That money you budget for unexpected expenses should be placed into a savings account if it is not spent each month. While what your budget may be enough to pay for certain unexpected expenses, others could be much more than that and cost four to five figures. It’s always good to have a financial cushion in savings. Many people go without one and end up buried in debt as a result.

Consider Ways to Lower Legal Expenses

Legal expenses are one form of unexpected expense people have a high likelihood of encountering. Lawyers and court matters have a reputation for being expensive. While that reputation is warranted, there are strategies you can use to save money to bring those costs down. 



If you live in Riverside, California, for example, make sure to get information on rates and fees from Riverside lawyers. You may be able to find a lawyer that would accept a flat fee arrangement to lower your legal fees.

Lower Other Monthly Expenses

If you want to make space in your monthly budget for the unexpected, one good strategy is to work on lowering your monthly expenses in general. Consider different costs you could lower or eliminate. Do you pay for multiple entertainment streaming services? 

Consider canceling the ones you don’t actually use. Could you use more coupons to save on groceries each month? Could you run your heating less while your family is out of the house? Taking steps like these can make a big difference in your budget.

Calling them unexpected expenses is perhaps not the best descriptor. It is certain you will experience them at some point. It shouldn’t be completely unexpected that you will be forced to change your budget during different months of the year. As such, you have plenty of opportunities to plan for these costs, so you’ll never have to go into debt.

Leaving the Military? Time to Get your Finances in Order

Whether you are being discharged or are retiring from the military, it is important to use the organisational skills that you picked up during your service when it comes to sorting out your finances.

When leaving the military, you will probably fall into one of three groups; you may have joined during or after high school and therefore don’t have any real financial education, or you may be retiring after completing your 20 years of service. 

Alternatively, you may have been discharged following an injury during service. For each of these groups there are different things that you may want to consider in order to help secure your finances.

Discharged due to injury?

If you have been discharged following an injury, then you may feel daunted about what is to come. If you have lost a limb or are suffering from PTSD, then the idea of getting a civilian job may make you extremely anxious.

If you have been left with a lasting injury or condition as a result of your service, then you may be eligible to claim VA disability benefits. The best place to start is by heading over to the Chisholm, Chisholm and Kilpatrick website to use their VA compensation calculator. 


The math behind VA disability benefits is a little more complex than you would expect, so if math isn’t your strongpoint, then this calculator will quickly identify your “efficiency level” which will dictate how much you may be due in compensation.

Retiring after your 20 years’ service?

Retirees who complete their service will be due a lifetime pension plan – the amount you will be paid is determined by your years of service and final rank, and regulations can differ depending on which service branch you served.

If you are intending on continuing to work a civilian job then you may want to consider rolling your pension over to either an individual retirement plan or the retirement plan of the company that you go on to work for. 

Whilst most veterans would prefer to start receiving a steady income as soon as they retire, there are many advantages of utilising a stretch IRA or Roth IRA, as this will help your money grow without incurring any tax.

Leaving the military as a young enlistee?

If you enrolled in the military out of high school, then you may have missed a lot of financial education which will have benefited you in the future. As a result of this, many young enlistees rack up debts and end up taking out emergency loans when they leave the military, not to mention they have little to no savings.

To avoid falling foul of the same fate, it is important to quickly learn how to budget your money and consider which things in life are necessities and which are luxuries. There will also be services available to you locally that can help you learn how to manage your money effectively. Don’t feel a loss of pride for having to use these – they can be the difference between you thriving financially and falling upon hard times.