Attention Garden State! Think you have no control over the cost of your auto insurance? Think again. Here are great ways New Jersey drivers can save big.
*Choose your plan wisely Shopping around for your plan will guarantee optimum savings. Some insurance companies offer more savings than others, so make sure you do your research before settling down on one company.
*Own a home Some insurance companies offer discounts if you are a homeowner. If you are a Consumer United member, High Point offers up to 15% off your insurance if you're a homeowner.
*Multi-car discount If you are applying more than one vehicle for an auto insurance policy, some companies are bound to give you a discount. High Point Auto Insurance offers up to 10% off multi-car policies.
*Drive safely Safe driving is bound to get you a discount. If you have been violation and accident free for over three years, High Point Auto Insurance offers up to 12% off your policy. You can also receive a $100 reduced deductible each year for having no "at-fault" accidents with High Point.
*Bundle your plans Insurance companies that offer other kinds of coverage, like home or life insurance, can be a source of additional savings.
*Join a group Are you a member of a credit union or civic organization? In recent years, many insurers have offered discounts to groups to attract new customers.
*Paid-in-full discount Shoppers who pay in full will most likely receive a discount on their policy. At High Point Insurance, a paid in full premium will save up to 13%.
*Insure your kids With High Point Insurance, you can receive a discount if your child in the household drives, is insured, and is under the age of 19. The policy must be inforced at least two years for the discount to apply.
Click here to learn more about Consumer United's deal with New Jersey's High Point.
A video featuring two buddies preparing to carpool who get fuel-efficiency tips from a literal backseat driver snagged the top prize in the Drive Smarter Challenge video contest.
David Markus, a California-based freelance videographer and aspiring film director, walked off with the $5,000 prize for his "Backseat Smart Driver" short while taking a humorous approach to serve up driving tips to help motorists spend less on gasoline.
"At an early age, my father gave me tips to drive more efficiently -- accelerate slowly, inflate tires -- so when I started filming, I already knew most of the tips," says Markus. My friends actually tease that I 'drive like a grandma.'"
Click here for the lowdown on the Drive Smarter Challenge.
Say "bye-bye" to the old-school way of measuring household energy usage. At least 18 million American homes will turn on the national switch of electronic "smart meters" that show customers how much their power use costs them at any given time, allowing them to adjust that use accordingly.
Armed with the new gadget, utility companies will be able to know when a meter is in need of repair. Also, the new meters eliminate the need for meter-readers and automatically notify energy providers when the power goes out.
With 18 million more smart meters, the nation's total will be up to 40 million, thanks to $400 thousand to $200 million dollars in stimulus grants according to the Department of Energy.
On Tuesday, 100 utility projects were named that will share $3.4 billion in federal stimulus funding. The goal? To lower energy use, make the electric power grid more robust and speed deployment of advanced technology, a Wall Street Journal article reports. President Obama firmly believes in automating utility substations and installing advanced digital meters throughout the U.S.
How will smart meters help the consumer? According to Department of Energy officials, they'll automate the energy consumption process. The new meters will instantly tell customers how much it costs to consume power at peak times - such as hot summer afternoons. And they will be able to interact with smart thermostats and other household devices to reduce power use automatically.
Also, advanced digital meters are slotted to handle the ups and downs of uneven bursts of energy from solar power systems or wind turbines, allowing greater efficiency of electricity.
In California and Texas, however, millions of smart meters have already been installed by utility companies. Will these states be penalized because they have advanced in smart meters before the stimulus grants were offered?
U.S. home prices rose in August for the third straight month, indicating housing recovery after a steep three-year decline. But, will it last?
The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index shows a dramatic turnaround. For three months straight--June, July and August--home prices in 15 metro cities were on the rise. San Francisco, Minneapolis and San Diego led the turnaround.
However, prices are still extremely low compared to 2006. For example, an Associated Press article reports that Miami's prices have climbed for three months in a row, however they're still only half the price of an average price for a Southern Florida home in 2006.
What does this mean? Zach Pandl, an economist at Nomura Global Economist believes prices are still destined to bottom out before they begin to recover for good in 2010.
"We need to see flat to rising prices in the winter months," Pandl says. "That would be a very encouraging sign that prices have bottomed out." This is likely to be true. As foreclosures and unemployment rise, and a tax credit for first-time homebuyers expires next month, home prices may fall once again.
An expired tax credit due next month has caused congress to consider prolonging the tax credit into next year. An increase of the credit is in the works as well. The increased tax credit will help first-time buyers, by saving them 10 percent of the sales price, up to $8,000. What's backing supporters? This month of October, the U.S. economy has declined once again, and the Consumer Confidence Index fell 6 points from September, now down to its lowest level since May.
Although the rising home prices are widespread, they're certainly not everywhere. Seattle, Las Vegas and Charlotte N.C. have fallen to their lowest levels since August. The largest feast-to-famine city? Las Vegas. After the city's peak in August 2006, home prices have since fallen 56 percent.
Willing to play host to a ghost? A recent survey commissioned by Wakefield Research on behalf of Rent.com found that 11 percent of renters believed that their home had ghostly guests, while others insisted they would endure paranormal activity to save money.
Here's the lowdown from the Rent.com press release:
In fact, 69 percent of renters would be willing to crash with Casper for the right price. More than half (51 percent) of renters would share their home with a ghost in exchange for free rent, and over one quarter (27 percent) would do it for half-price.
Three in 10 people who have rented (30 percent) said they’d bunk with the boogeyman if they received free utilities, while nearly one in four (23 percent) would do it in exchange for a free flat-screen TV with cable.
Overall, 31 percent of renters said no deal. Nothing, “not even a million bucks,” would convince them to conquer their phasmophobia (fear of ghosts). However, a greater percentage of males than females are willing to live with ghosts for any given tradeoff (74 percent vs. 64 percent).
Parents with college-bound kids may get a Halloween-inspired spook that will leave their hair standing on end. Tuition is climbing faster than financial aid. Now, that's scary.
According to a report released by the College Board on Tuesday, Oct. 20, tuition and fees to private four-year universities rose 4.4 percent to $26,273 while charges to public four-year universities spiked 6 percent for both in-state and out-of-state students.
In contrast, financial aid isn't keeping up with the spike. Grant money only grew 4.7 percent during the 2008-2009 academic year.
Over the past decade, college costs increased on average by 4.9 percent at public colleges and 2.6 percent at private universities. The survey suggests that the swell in fees is a direct result of the economic downturn with private school endowments plummeting and state funding for public schools dropping 5.7 percent per student this year.
"Every sector of the American economy is under stress and higher education is no exception," says Terry Hartle, senior vice president of the American Council on Education. "It's regrettable, and it's yet another piece of disappointing economic news that affects families.”