October 6, 2009
Given the recent local break-ins, and a belated sense of general responsibility, it seemed like time to check out the world of renters insurance. After all, I did just successfully shop around for my auto insurance and saved a good chunk of change. If I were willing to tackle health insurance this week, we could call this an Insurance Trifecta! But I still have subsidized COBRA for another 5 months, so I might not be that ambitious.
Renters insurance is one of those things *everyone* says you should have, but most people I know don’t. Logically, it makes a lot of sense because I would absolutely hate to have to replace my belongings out of pocket.
The big ticket categories are: electronics, comic book collection, clothing, furniture.
- As a rough estimate, my personal gadgets probably cost in the neighborhood of $1500 and I can’t begin to calculate how much my comic books would cost to replace.
- My wardrobe, humble though it is, contains just enough pricier items that it’d be difficult to rebuild in less than 2-5 years. That’s how long it took to accumulate a couple good coats, a high quality leather bag, two suits, and a few really nice dresses (>$1500). That’s without considering all the daily wears which are more numerous than quality.
- All my furniture is old, I haven’t got anything less than 7 years old in here and most items are well over fifteen years old, but when you have to replace it, age doesn’t matter.
Of course, renters insurance will cover the entire household, not just my stuff, so that puts in perspective the value of the insurance.
I requested my first rate quote from Geico. As a renter, I find some of the questions odd: do most renters know the year their home was built or the construction/build type as a matter of course? I had to look it up on Zillow, and I’m still not sure what sort of build this is. Perhaps that’s a dunce cap question if you can’t answer it, so just call me a construction dunce. (We do have an excellent Walk Score, by the by.)
Geico coverage limits
| Personal Property (includes personal items such as clothes, furniture, appliances, linens, even toiletries and cleaning supplies.) |
$30,000 |
| Personal Liability (protection in the event an insured is found liable for unintentional bodily injury or property damage, occurring on or off of the property, not related to automobiles or business. For example: a slip and fall on the premises, or even if you should accidentally injure someone with a golf ball at the driving range.) |
$50,000 |
| Deductible |
$250 |
| Medical payments to others |
$500 |
| Property damage to others |
$500 |
| Replacement Cost Coverage |
included |
| Earthquake Coverage |
included |
Cost: $435/year
State Farm coverage limits
| Personal Property |
$30,000 |
| Personal Liability |
$100,000 |
| Deductible (lowest option available) |
$500 |
| Medical payments to others |
$5000 |
| Property damage to others |
n/a |
| Replacement Cost Coverage |
n/a |
| Earthquake Coverage |
Must purchase separate policy |
**State Farm only offers online rate quotes, not online purchase.
Cost: $212.
Spending all the money I just saved by changing auto insurance makes me grumpy, though.
Does anyone out there have renters insurance? Do these quotes seem reasonable to you? (These quotes include coverage of a full household with two large dogs on the “special” list.)
And if insurance shopping bores you, My Pretty Pennies went shopping for much more fun stuff: bathing suits!
And Fabulously Broke bought delicious boots!
Mapgirl went to New York and bought clothes! And food, yumm….
Stacking Pennies has a clothing buying plan!
All of which should provide the color against my boring and DebtHater’s car troubles.
October 5, 2009
Turns out that the tagline isn’t such a gimmick after all.
Rather than waiting for my current insurance term to end, the new policy’s scheduled to start midweek. Even with only a little more than a month to go, it’s worth it to get a small refund from Mercury and put it toward the new policy now. Why pay 1/6 of a $1000 policy when I can use that to start a new $600 policy?
The deductibles are lower, and the coverage is actually a little better, too! I did a bit of research and it seems like there’s an even split between people who love and hate just about every insurance company that it’s worth taking the chance on Geico. My other choice was Progressive but for every kind of coverage, they were $200+ more costly than Geico.
June 30, 2009
Contributions for health, dental, other insurances, and supplemental retirement accounts are not taken from your final check; your contribution to the Retirement Savings Program is taken, and the university’s matching contribution is made. Other deductions such as parking citations, charges on your ID card, wage assignments, applicable taxable tuition assistance benefits, etc. will be deducted automatically from your final check.
Here we are!
After weeks and months of build-up, mood swings, job hunting, and all the other associated mumbo jumbo, we have survived until the final day without experiencing bodily harm (this was actually a little bit of a concern), completely losing my mind, or going stark raving mad. The latter two seem the same, but they’re not. The last option seems more permanent.
Happily, we’ve arrived. But there’s still work to do! Namely: deposit checks!! [oooh yes, *rubbing hands* I’ve been waiting for this moment.] By 3 pm of this day, I ought to receive my (a) final paycheck as detailed in the above quote, (b) a severance and vacation payout, and (c) quarterly supplemental income. I also sort of expect a (d) supplemental check to match the severance and vacation payout, but am not sure when and if that will appear. The HQ hasn’t exactly got their you-know-what in order, most of the time.
Secondly, investment accounts! My 403(b) and 401(a) are both with Vanguard, and I’ve accumulated enough to just leave them be. No rolling over, no cashing out, no losing about 40% of it.
There’s one more investment account coming due. In my first two years of employment, non-exempt employees had access to the We Think You’re Stupid Plan. I’ve spoken to the folks responsible for dealing with the now-obsolete WTYS Plan, and have found that they will roll the account balance over into my existing Vanguard account. Since they froze the plan, everyone was immediately vested! She wouldn’t tell me what the balance was at the time, but it’ll just be a nice surprise, whatever it is.
Thirdly, benefits! I’ve stocked up on my prescriptions for now, and should have enough to last me until September. Unless I have to do it sooner, I’m going to wait until about 40 days before signing into COBRA. If there’s no immediate need, and I manage to land another job, why waste the premiums? Reduced or not, that’s cash. There’s no problem with waiting since you can activate it retroactively so long as you pay the premiums for both months.
Also under this heading: life insurance. The life insurance policy I settled on is a measly $200k policy that I can port from my employer. It was the easiest option available to me, and while I’m no fan of PF guru-isms and simplifications, sometimes I just have to take the easier path so that the job gets done.
There you have it, folks. As prepped as a person can be, I’m walking out of this home away from home of the past 4.75 years and grateful that I can.
“What’s next?”
–Jed Bartlett, West Wing
April 24, 2009
Or was that just my family?
I didn’t even score an A- on this CNN money quiz, I pulled down a whoppin’ B+ but I’m not ashamed. They dinged me on diversification, but frankly, it’s because my allocation used to be 90/10 and the stock market changed it to 75/25 just for me.
I was just working out, with pen and paper, how to reallocate but instead decided to dump a whole bunch of money into the stock side of my retirement funds. That’ll make up for the low contributions throughout the year and increase my exposure to stocks. That’s a quick fix and easier than selling off some of my bonds in the Roth IRA and buying stocks with it. Probably. Yes? No? Whatever, I’m taking the path of least resistance for now. Until I start sleeping through the night again, I’m not making life any harder than it needs to be.
As for life insurance? I got sick of dealing with private insurance brokers and enhanced the term life insurance that I get through work after making sure of its portability. It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing and will serve as a safety net until I buy private life insurance. (Which I should do while I still have an income!)
March 10, 2009
Sometimes, I think I’ll never understand my parents. In some ways, they seem just like kids.
Our lines of parenthood and daughterhood have become blurred, redrawn, fuzzed over, drawn again and scuffed up. That happens with most relationships, I think, over time, so I’m not worried that it’s happened. It’s just a little whelming to try and prepare for the future only to hear my dad tell me that they’ll be fine at this rather subsistence level of living because, “Everyone else does it, and what would we do with luxury anyway?”
Uh, having basic health needs met in a timely manner is a luxury? Having to wait 4-6 months to have your general physician get back to you about rescheduling a follow-up is acceptable? Therefore, long term care insurance is a luxury? Maybe I’ve become spoiled, but my idea of basic health insurance does not mean the same thing as it does to them. They’ve become accustomed to the kind of care available to the indigent, and I don’t want that to be the rest of their lives.
Aside from that, let’s be honest here: the insurance is helpful to me and my sanity. We come as a pair, you don’t want us separated. As I’ve pointed out before, my dad is mom’s primary caretaker. I bring in the income. So if anything happens to dad? This already precarious house of cards come tumblin’ down.
I get that he doesn’t want me to be paying out more money, I get that he doesn’t want me “risking” any more. But I don’t get the logic of “don’t create a cushion for later on by spending a small amount now.” Talk about penny-wise, pound-foolish. Either he’s simply lost all perspective and today’s dollar is worth way more than tomorrow’s ten (and sanity, and breathing space) or he just doesn’t want to quit smoking.
At this point, I just hope it’s the latter.
Related reading links:
Lazy Man and Money’s Helping Parents Cope with Damage to Their Retirement Nest Egg
March 4, 2009
Clearing up the insurance details:
Auto insurance refunds:
$115, check received
$153, check requested
Policy Premium increase:
$142, lovely
Still to be determined:
Car payout, less the $500 deductible, less any assessed decrease in value, less the remaining loan amount.
The check should be arriving sometime this week, and we can begin car hunting in earnest. Sharing is caring, but sharing a car all the time makes for crazy.
February 2, 2009
to announce: THE TRUCK IS SOLD.
I’m actually sad that I didn’t say goodbye to it myself. But I was determined to a) relax this weekend before I imploded, and b) let my dad handle all the necessary dealings. Not ’cause I’m a wuss, or because I’d be pissed that I didn’t get a better deal and it’s easier to blame it on him. I just didn’t need one more thing on my plate.
So the payoff amount was reimbursed, as were about 8 months’ of payments that I hadn’t signed up for. No, I didn’t break even, but whatever, I’m not even thinking about that anymore – it’s a done deal. The truck is gone. The payment is gone. No more registration fees, no more maintenance. The insurance can be reduced.
“O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
