One area where you can sometimes save a few bucks is auto insurance. Car insurance is a necessary evil, but you can save a few dollars while maintaining coverage. Car insurance premiums are based in part on cost of car, the cost to repair it, its overall safety record and the chance of theft. Many insurance companies offer discounts for features that lower down the risk of car theft or personal injuries in accidents, or for cars that are known to be safe.
The first area I found when saving on insurance was when I switched to insurance offered through my auto club. Not only can the auto club tow your car in an emergency, they can also save you a lot of money. I found that in my case a switch to the auto club was good for dropping my monthly bill by around $30 (paying your insurance in a lump sum for the year can also save you money).
Of course that is not going to be the case 100% of the time, so it is good to shop around.
The second way I found I was saving money was by having my home and auto insurance with the same provider. The auto club gave me a 10% discount for having multiple products.
The third way I found was to increase my deductible. The funny thing is that a lot of people will take a low deductible, then realize that they don’t want to claim on anything below a higher number to avoid their premiums going up. If you are the kind of person who would not claim on anything below $1500, why do you have a $500 deductible? Raise your deductible, lower your monthly premium, and put the difference in your emergency fund (which will eventually be big enough to cover the deductible anyway.
The other two things that I found lowered my premiums was turning 25 and getting married, but I would not recommend getting married just to lower your car insurance payments.
