Unexpected Savings: Car Insurance

I live in a high insurance state. I'm not sure why, but family members in other states pay substantially less than we do.

The high cost of insurance has kept us from springing for a new car. Well, that and pathological frugality. And Mr FS's desire to have the totaled 1998 Camry live to be 20. Oh well.

The somewhat scuzzy rep who tried (?) to tack on the $695 Accessories Fee the other day also mentioned that the safety features of the new Accord would lower the insurance rates. To wit: the camera that shows what is BEHIND you as you back up. He was right.

Our insurance was $460 (or $406? can't remember) for 6 months! That's half of what we expected it to be.

Something to think about when choosing between new or used. Let's hope this car makes it to 20 years....and does not come into the path of a speeder who was driving without license or proof of insurance. And sped away after showing a state ID.

Buying a Car: Do You Still Have to Beware of Tricky Salespeople?

Last time we bought a car (2002?), we actually purchased something from Consumer Reports which gave you "behind the sticker price" info and suggested target prices. I think the info cost $30 and this was a big improvement over previous modes of negotiation.

Now, there is a lot more transparency and everything is pretty much free on the internet. In fact, Mr FS emailed a bunch of dealers with info about what we wanted and waited for offers to come in. Eventually, he got the price we wanted at the local dealer; the salesperson was a friend of a friend, so all was good.

When we got to the dealership to pay up, our guy David was "busy" so we had a substitute for the preliminary paperwork. He brought a contract for signature and Mr FS noticed that, while the price was the one we had negotiated, there was also a $695 "Accessory Charge." He pointed out to substitute sales guy that David had waived that fee. "Oh, so sorry. I'll fix it."

Question: Was the substitute salesman a ruse whereby such a "mistake" would we made and--perhaps--not noticed by the tired customer? Would David himself have "forgotten" that he had waived the fee and included it on the contract?

Thank heavens Mr FS kept his wits about him and was paying attention.

Interestingly, we got a 2014 Honda Accord for $1000 over the cost of our beloved 1998 Camry. Pretty amazing.

Getting Rid of Stuff and Getting Your Money Back: Return Items Within the Rules

My late father, who studied market research, was interested in consumer behavior. And he loved stores that stood by their wares. So part of being a good consumer is to return things you don't want. I can't tell you how many items with tags I see at thrift stores. I enjoy getting such things, but think the purchaser should return--and maybe donate the full price to charity!

Miss Em and I just boxed up a few things and sent them back to our usual retail sites: Garnet Hill, LL Bean, and Nordstrom. We kept the good things and returned the rejects. We love that these shops have no-questions-asked returns and we are careful not to take advantage of their policies.

So far, we have donated a bunch to the Food Bank thrift, taken books to 2nd and Charles, sold 2 things on Tradesy, and returned mistakes to stores, But the biggest declutter....

So What Is It I Want? Not a Handbag!

The last few whirlwind weeks have been instructive. Teachers know that the last six weeks or so of a semester are a nightmare of exhaustion. Students start yelling at teachers (I had that happen yesterday). Seniors lose momentum and you have to keep them on track to graduate. Piles of papers teeter. Excuses and requests for extensions roll in. Meanwhile--we have been looking at houses. An hour away.

During this ordeal--which I hope will be oever soon, appraisal and inspection willing--I realized that my desires had shifted. No longer am I thinking about which handbag I should buy for my upcoming 60th birthday in January. No, I am thinking about how to help Frugal Son set up his house. And how to save some more so that we can similarly help Miss Em when the time comes (probably not for a while; she has a different trajectory of ambition).

There's nothing wrong with buying a nice handbag. Or anything really (though I hope I remain more attentive to the human and environmental cost of things). But I see that I get sucked into the consumer maelstrom as much as anyone--though I sometimes don't think I do.

The thing is: it's hard to figure out what you want! Really want.

Can You Return Anything to Walmart? Kettle and Chicken!

I hardly set foot in the dreaded WM as we call it chez nous. That is because I suffer a nervous collapse after each visit and have to lie down for an hour. But last year we bought Frugal Son an electric kettle there for his final year of college. He wanted the WM version because it was made by GE, of which he is a partial owner (i.e. he owns a few shares of stock).

Imagine our annoyance when the appliance stopped working! Less than two years old. One of my former colleagues used to say "You can return anything to Walmart." So, since we were passing by, we put it to the test.

Even though we had no receipt, we were able to exchange for a new one lickety-split. WOW.

Meanwhile, an older fellow at the adjacent register was returning a giant package of partially frozen chicken breasts. From the looks of things, he had forgotten to freeze the meat in time and it was rotten. Seemed to me like he may have been negligent in the chicken department. Nevetheless, they gave him his money back (and he did have a receipt).

So I suppose I must add Walmart to my list of stores with good customer service.

Would you return chicken?

My Summer (Financial) To Do List and Scary Financial News

At the end of the summer, I am always filled with sadness over things left undone. There are always many. But as I was cleaning up--as we prepare for our last family visit for the summer--I found a list.

RETURN STUFF TO LANDS END
RETURN STUFF TO LL BEAN
TAXES!!!!!!

Yes, I did all those things. Thanks to the American Opportunity Tax Credit, which covers college textbooks, we got a hefty refund, all of which is going to our next summer's travel. Returning unsatisfactory items to LE and LLB is being a conscientious consumer, something my Frugal Dad would have been proud of.

The scary financial news coming every day is reminding me of the dreaded year 2008. Honestly, all I can do is focus on my little frugal ways.

Are you scared by the news these days? How's your To do list?

Things I Completed, Some Involving Money Back

Before I left for Nantes--how I love deadlines--I completed three things that have given me back some cash.

--returned unsatisfactory items to LL Bean. Love their guarantee. Miss Em wanted a pricey backpack from the Signature line and found it uncomfortable (as did others in comments).

--returned unsatisfactory items to Lands End. This took several phone calls, but I finally worked things out. The CS reps must take nice lessons, because I was always smiling after the calls. I really should take nice lessons.

--Filed my taxes, which will result in a refund. Part 2: I owe state taxes as a result of the refund. Oh well.

While the tax refund is the big ticket item, the returns total around $200. Nothing to sneeze at.

Do you return unsatisfactory items or do you let them languish (as I did)?

Customer Service and two bits of Consumption News

MAny moons ago, I wrote about writing to the Asics shoe company about some shoes my son had that fell apart. Then I wrote about how they never responded (neither did the other company--Asian Food Grocer--I had a gripe with about short-dated food).

Eventually, Asics did respond. The rep invited me to return the shoes for inspection with the caveat that the company is the sole and final arbiter on the issue of whether the shoes fell apart too quickly. And no, they would not send me a pre-paid mailer. And no, they will not return the shoes (shredded as they are) if my plea is turned down.

Well, of course I am wary of spending $8-$10 to ship the shoes under such conditions. Companies set such terms so that you won't return an item.

So, in memory of my good consumer father, I'm sending the shoes back. What do you predict Asics will do?

Just in case you want to spend some money, the OTHER company that gave me bad customer service is having a good sale via a code. I am, of course, talking about Chico's. With code 4505, you get $25 off $50 and FREE SHIPPING. I don't think I'm getting anything, but they may have some of their ponte left. You can use it on sale items too, which makes for a tempting deal.

LL Bean is trumpeting its free shipping to US and Canada. I've gotten free shipping with their Visa--the visa lets you return for free.

That's it on consumer news for the day. I'm going to do a little spring closet cleaning instead.

Unconditional Guarantees: Worth It?

Reading Funny About Money's budget-busting travails with her vacuum-cleaner made me think about guarantees, of the unconditional sort. Funny bought a vacuum from Fry's, which she hates, and replaced it with a vacuum from Costco. I breathed a sigh of relief, because I know that Costco has an unconditional guarantee: if Funny hates THIS vacuum, she will be able to return it. Sadly, Costco does not have a branch in my state.

It occurs to me that perhaps I should try to limit my buying--aside from thrift store purchases, of course--to such stores. It might be worth the extra cost--if there is an extra cost. My late father, an astute consumer and analyzer of marketing and consumer behavior, used to say: You pay a lot for an unconditional guarantee, so you should use it. (Of course, he wasn't talking about ABUSING* it, which some people do.)

I don't buy that much in the regular retail market: my own vacuum, for instance, was a purchased from Goodwill; we bought it as a stopgap when our previous vacuum broke. That was more than 10 years ago. And, unlike Funny, I will never be annoyed with this vacuum, because I NEVER VACUUM. (Mr. FS does this task.) But I have spent a fair bit of time in enraged conversation with stores over defective products: a former car repair shop, Virgin Mobile, and others I will not dredge up from my memory.

Perhaps it's worth buying appliances and the like from Costco (and I think I can do that, even though there is not one in my state), and the various goods from LL Bean, and Lands End simply to reduce future stress. Here are the guarantees of those stores.


Lands End: Guaranteed. Period.

LL Bean: Guaranteed. You have our word.

Costco: We guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell with a full refund. The following must be returned within 90 days of purchase for a refund: televisions, projectors, computers, cameras, camcorders, iPOD / MP3 players and cellular phones.

*Example of abuse: I saw a woman pick up an LL Bean item at a thrift store and exclaim to her companion, "I can return this and make some money!"

Do you know of any other stores that offer good guarantees? Do you think they are worth the extra cost?