Tip #14: Use self-persuasion to share how much you’ve saved so far

November 21 12 Comments latest by David

This is Tip #14 of of the Save $1,000 in 30 Days Challenge. (See past tips.)

Today’s tip is to write down how much you’ve saved so far, AND how you would motivate others to save money. (Skip to the survey here.) If this doesn’t seem like an obvious savings tip, let me share an experiment that social psychologist Kurt Lewin did to change behavior.

In World War II, the United States was facing a serious shortage of meat. The Committee on Food Habits was charged with figuring out how to keep Americans healthy without the same meat they’d been accustomed to — and instead eating intestine and kidneys — so they asked Lewin to help.

Lewin’s approach was brilliant. As Eliot Aronson writes in Age of Propaganda, Lewin convened groups of housewives, who at that time were the chief decisionmakers about food. He then split them into two groups:

Group 1 received a 45-minute lecture, which “emphasized the importance of eating these meats for the war effort; it stressed the meats’ health and economic advantages…the lecture concluded with a testimonial from the speaker about her success in serving intestinal meats to her own family.” 3% of the attendees ended up serving intestinal meats to their families.

Group 2, by contrast, spent the same amount of time discussing the problem of a meat shortage, but in this experimental condition, Lewin did something extraordinarily clever: He asked them, “Do you think that housewives like yourselves could be persuaded to participate in the intestinal meat program?” The women then discussed how that might happen. In this group, “32% of the housewives who had engaged in self-persuasion served their families intestinal meats.”

That’s an astonishing difference, and I want to apply it here. Tell me how much you’ve saved, and how, together, we can persuade other people to save money. Please fill out the 3-minute survey here:

Click here: How much have you saved so far in the 30 Day Challenge?

As a thank-you, 10 random people who will out the survey will get to pick any book from the Giveaways section of my book site. I’ll ship it to you for free.

(2 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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12 Comments latest by David

Tip #13: How to negotiate your car insurance

November 20 42 Comments latest by Peggy

This is Tip #13 of of the Save $1,000 in 30 Days Challenge. (See past tips.)

Today’s tips is to negotiate your car insurance. Most of us pick a rate once, then never go back again. But if you do, you can save hundreds of dollars each year.

First, check to see if you have the right amount of coverage. Nobody teaches us about this stuff, so when you bought car insurance, you may not have known which coverage options to choose.

Second, figure out what kind of coverage you currently have and how much you’re paying. Don’t be lazy — do this. If you don’t have your current info in front of you, how can you hope to save? Either call your car insurance company or use their website.

Third, it’s time to start shopping around. I prefer the phone because I can usually sweet-talk the rep into telling me about other deals that the websites don’t offer. Computers, however, seem to be immune to my charm.

I made it easy for you. Here are the phone numbers of the big insurers:

Geico: 1-800-861-8380

AAA: (866) 539-8033

Allstate: 866 704 9900

Progressive: 1-800-776-4737

State Farm: Sorry, despite getting good ratings in the comments below, THEY OFFER NO PHONE NUMBER. Anyway, you can get to their auto insurance site here.

21st Century Insurance: Don’t use this worthless insurance company. I used to use them, but they sent me multiple envelopes in the mail EVERY SINGLE WEEK until I finally canceled them. The rates were great, but the hassle wasn’t worth it.

Fourth, be an expert caller by asking these questions.

With each call, you should say, “AAA (or whoever) is offering to insure me for $XXX less” (silence). See what they do. (Note: Getting lower rates using this technique is much harder to do with car insurance companies than banks, so don’t expect very much from this.)

How much would I save if I insure my car and house with you?

What about renewal discounts? How long have I been a member with you? What can you offer me as a discount for long-term membership?

Can I save money by pre-paying my entire year up front?

Let’s check my car. I know other firms offer discounts for features like anti-lock breaks. What about you?

What kind of low-mileage discounts do you offer?

If I enrolled in a defensive-driving course, what kind of discount would you offer? Oh, really? Which courses qualify?

What about discounts for my employer? (Tell them the specific name of your employer?)

Some insurance companies offer discounts for low-risk occupations (engineers). What kind of competitive rates do you offer?

Am I paying for roadside assistance? What other additional “benefits” am I paying for? (If you already pay for AAA, you don’t need roadside assistance through your car insurance. Also, check your credit card: They may offer roadside assistance (but call them and ask how much it really costs if you have to use it – some of their offers for “roadside assistance” really mean “we will assist you by calling someone for you and then charging you out the ass”).

Can you walk me through the deductible changes I could make to save money? (Deductibles are what you pay before your insurance policy kicks in. By requesting higher deductibles, you can lower your costs substantially. For example, increasing your deductible from $200 to $500 could reduce your collision and comprehensive coverage cost by 15 to 30 percent. Going to a $1,000 deductible can save you more than 40%. Before choosing a higher deductible, be sure you have enough money set aside to pay it if you have a claim. More details here.

AAA, Costco, credit cards, large employers, associations (AARP, teachers’ union): Many of these offer discounts on car insurance. Log onto their website and browse to “perks.”

Read more ways to save on car insurance.

It seems like a lot of work, but the savings are substantial. I took screenshots of the different rates that different insurance companies were offering me:

Well, as you can tell, that slideshow is completely worthless since you can’t see anything — but the difference between the lowest quote (Geico, which I use) and the highest (Progressive) is $734 per year. That’s a lot for a few phone calls.

Don’t forget: Insurance is not a commodity. If you pick the cheapest provider to save $50/year and they end up not fulfilling your claim — which you could have reasonably known by searching out reviews for the company — it’s your fault. Pick a good company because it can be worth thousands of dollars.

As you’ve seen, “negotiating” your car insurance is mostly about keeping up with the changing rates and making sure you’re wringing every last benefit from your policy, so set a calendar reminder to do this once per year.

Try it out and let me know what you find in the comments.

Total savings: $25 to $100 per month

Last thing to do
1. Check out the other tips in the Save $1,000 in 30 Days Challenge
2. Leave a comment on this post describing how much you’re saving with this tip and any unusual techniques you use to make this tip work.
3. Want to submit your own savings tip? Submit a money tip here. Most of the tips you guys submit are absolutely horrible, so if I use your tip, I’ll send you something cool.

(5 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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42 Comments latest by Peggy

Tip #12: How I’m saving $2,000+ on eating out in 2009

November 18 45 Comments latest by hungryelmo

This is Tip #12 of the Save $1,000 in 30 Days Challenge.

Today’s tip is to save money on eating out using services that offer incredibly steep discounts. I eat out a lot, so this one is saving me tons of money.

You can get big discounts on eating out if you plan ahead and are willing to use coupons at a restaurant. If you live in a city and restaurants tend to be more expensive, saving 10% or 25% or 50% per meal — even once a week — can add up quickly. Here are the tips I’ve started using for a huge drop in my monthly spending on eating out.

1. Restaurant.com is offering 80% (!!) off its gift certificates. Note: This expires on 11/20/08 11/24/08.

• Get $25 Restaurant.com gift certificates for $2 (no joke)

• Get a 12-month Dinner of the Month Club membership for $24

Remember, those deals expire on 11/24. Use code “SURPRISE” to get the discounts.

2. The 2009 Entertainment Book
Remember these from elementary school? They used to cost $40 and seemed unreasonably expensive…until I started having to buy my own food. I bought a copy of this a couple days ago after checking out the site to make sure their coupons were good for my area. I’m forcing myself to use at least two coupons per month — so if I’m planning to grab dinner with someone, I’ll consciously grab a coupon from this book (which I’m going to keep on my desk) and try to pick a restaurant that applies. Note: This works if you already eat out, but if you buy the book and then force yourself to use it — spending more than you normally would have — that’s probably not the best way to save money. Duh. These are $25, so check the coupons to see what it will take for you to save money.

I ordered mine a couple days ago.

Check out the Entertainment book site.
3. Along the lines of involving your friends in the 30 Day Challenge, here’s a tip I’m using to save money on eating out. The other day, one of my friends was talking about she loves to cook, but hates cleaning up. My eyes lit up because I don’t mind washing dishes, but I’m horrible at cooking. Could there be a win-win situation here?

Everybody wins: We all get to hang out, eat food instead of letting it go rotten, and my friend doesn’t have to worry about cleaning up. If each meal saves a $20 dinner out and you do that three times/month, that’s $60/month.

There are also a bunch of other coupon / eating services out there, so if you have suggestions, leave them in the comments. It depends how much you eat out, but to share my friends’ biggest expense, it’s eating out by far, so this tip alone will save most of them over $1,000 over the next year. If you eat out a lot, it’s even more.

Total saved: $50 to $3,000

Note: If you were subscribed to this list, you just got a special bonus tip from me about saving more money on eating out.

* * *

Last thing to do
1. Check out the other tips in the Save $1,000 in 30 Days Challenge
2. Leave a comment on this post describing how much you’re saving with this tip and any unusual techniques you use to make this tip work.
3. Want to submit your own savings tip? Submit a money tip here. If I use your tip, I’ll send you something cool.

(12 votes, average: 3.17 out of 5)

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45 Comments latest by hungryelmo

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