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Home > Car, Work, Credit

Car, Work, Credit

March 29th, 2012 at 02:25 am

• Car

The most popular blog post currently is the one I made about asking for opinions on giving up the vehicle.

While we absolutely want to do this, it is looking as though we will not be able to. I only made it up half the monster hill. If we sold the car, and did not shop at the grocery store at the top of said hill, we would be doing all of our grocery shopping at Target. Umm... No, thank you.

Edit: However, keeping the car also means not getting health insurance for the wife and I. (Never mind vision or dental, which were both need.) It really saddens me that we have to choose between two fundamentally necessary things...


• Auto Insurance

Turns out that we got a better rate with State Farm. So, we are switching... Again. In order to avoid the sales pitches from Geico's money-hungry agents, I simply told them we sold the car because we no longer felt the desire to support the murdering of the earth. It worked pretty well...


• Promotion

There is a chance that I may be getting a promotion in a few weeks. This would mean a $2/hr raise, as well as learning more valuable skills. Smile

It is not, however, set in stone. Keep your fingers crossed for us!


• Credit score

My credit score has dropped DRAMATICALLY since charging all those expenses for moving. 26 points, or something like that. How unfortunate. Frown Still, our payments outweigh our spending, but I hate having a balance on these cards. >.

5 Responses to “Car, Work, Credit”

  1. jewels3 Says:
    1332993454

    It depends on your area (as far as shopping @ Target for groceries). We have Super Target down here, and they are the cheapest for the staples and some dairy items. Plus 5% off when you use your redcard. The Market Pantry brand is fairly good, surprisingly. But I'm not overly fond of their meat, and their bread stinks. I can sympathize with not wanting to buy all your groceries there.

    We've been with State Farm for 13+ years, with no complaints. Thought about switching to see if we can get a lower rate, but not sure its worth the hassle.

  2. Frügal Says:
    1332994915

    We have a Grocery Outlet up the hill. Closer expiration dates, but mostly organic and all-natural foods.

    We absolutely LOVE Market Pantry's breads! Smile
    Also, keep in mind, we are still receiving EBT benefits.

    I had State Farm when I was a new driver. When I turned 18, I wanted to be as independent from my parents as possible, so I went out and got an entirely different insurance agency (Allstate). Which served me well for almost six years.

  3. Jerry Says:
    1333130898

    I have no qualms about checking insurance rates from time to time, and it often occurs that the calls lead to a better rate. It's worthwhile to me, usually. Nice going! I liked your story for the GEICO people... made me smile. Wink Jerry

  4. Frügal Says:
    1333131102

    If only we could afford insurance at the same time. Frown Maybe with that possible promotion... Though that doesn't leave much for savings... again.

  5. I Pnch Pnys Says:
    1333562585

    The reason that post was so popular was because it was such an insane question. Asking if you should trade in your newer model sedan for a ridiculous giant old VW bus?

    I wouldn't read much into the popularity of that post beyond that...

    I still think that you should consider getting rid of your car, especially if it's a choice between that an insurance. You really can't walk, what was it, 2 miles up a hill? It'll be downhill on the way back. Get one of those little wire rolling baskets. And before you say again that you can't take the baby for a walk on the road, remember that one of you can stay with the baby and the other one can walk to the store.

    Or shop at Target. I'll bet the few extra pennies you might spend on groceries will be more than offset by all the money you save by not owning a car. You'll save enough money that you can take a cab or rent a car or use a car-share service if you need to go somewhere that isn't walk able.

    I also agree with others that have suggested that your wife work a few evening shifts while you're with the baby, or that you get a second job. If you can do this for at least a little while you can keep the car AND pay for insurance AND get back on your feet.

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