Tag Archives: car

Where You Live Influences The Price of Your Car Insurance

Perhaps you live in a state that requires all drivers to purchase auto insurance. If so, then you are aware that car insurance can be extremely expensive. There are a lot of different factors that can influence the price that your car insurance premiums will be. One of these factors happens to be the state that you reside in. Most of us realize that the amount of money that an insurance company is going to charge a person on his or her premiums has to do with how big a risk the insurance company perceives that person to be. Ideally, … Continue reading →

Don’t Sit Idle

Yesterday, I decided to go to the drive-thru of a new hamburger place here in Jacksonville, N.C. Because it is “new,” the line was long and traffic was backed up. As I sat there waiting and idling, I remembered how bad idling is. Why is sitting in an idling car bad? First, there is the emission it releases into the air. It can be so bad that if your city is in a basin like Salt Lake City, the car emission can become trapped, causing smog and unhealthy air. Students in Salt Lake City recently drafted an anti-idling resolution, which … Continue reading →

Long Trips at Seven Months

Spring Break snuck up on the town like higher gas prices and egg shaped pastel candies. Once again my wife and I prepared for the overly lengthy trip back to Iowa. Our near thousand mile trek was certain to be different than our previous trips. It was also, certainly, going to be more difficult now that our son is more mobile than he has been previously. Strangely, the trip went extremely well and I can’t quite reason out why. One of the smartest decisions we made was to split the trip over two days and bite the proverbial bullet of … Continue reading →

How to Clean Out Your Car

Isn’t it amazing how messy the car can get. The inside of your car can be a dirty little secret. I know that I am embarrassed more times than not about the state of my car. From errant Cherrios to empty drink cups, from printed directions to magazines, the stuff tends to pile up, doesn’t it? When it is time to clean it all, such as when you are going to carpool, here are some tips to help you clean out that car quickly and efficiently. The first thing you have to do is to get everything out and put … Continue reading →

Get the Best Deal on a Car

Unless less you live in a major city, then chances are pretty good that you will need a car. But how can you get the best deal on a car and be frugal about your purchase? Keep reading. New versus used I am a big believer in buying items used, especially big ticket items, such as cars. They usually depreciate in value quickly, making the price drop while they are almost new. So it might surprise you to know that when it came time to buy a larger car to safely fit our family of three children with those wide … Continue reading →

Photography Week in Review for May 19-25, 2008

Do you use all of your camera’s features or do you stick with the AUTO mode? And once you do snap keepers of your loved ones, how long does it take for you to print them out? Do you still have photos from Christmas sitting in your digital camera? These were just some of the questions I posed to readers in the PHOTOGRAPHY blog over the past few days. This week we focused on printing: How to, how often, and how it all works. If you missed any of our discussions now is the time to catch up. May 19th—–Megapixels … Continue reading →

Tips on Buying a New Car

Posted on by

I bet many of you are considering trading in your older gas-guzzling car with these rising gas prices. If so, you will want to consider many financial implications of a vehicle and not simply the purchase price. A car is a purchase that will keep costing you money. Therefore, you can’t just compare automobiles based only their purchase price alone. When deciding which make and model of car to buy… remember to evaluate the following: 1. Sales Tax – Yes, in most states you will have to pay a tax on your vehicle purchase. You will also have to pay … Continue reading →

Frugal Car Repair and Maintenance Tips

Cars are a place where saving money is not always possible. They are also a place that quality should not be compromised. However, there are a few ways you can save money on car repairs and car maintenance. Here are a few tips. Oil Change/Regular Tune Up – A regular oil change can add to the life of your automobile. A healthy car is a long lasting car. A good rule of thumb is to change the oil every 3000 miles or so. This tip comes from our local oil change store. The manager confirmed that a car with regular … Continue reading →

Your Cell Phone Can Warn You of Speed Traps

What do you think of the practice that motorists have of warning each other that there are upcoming speed traps? When you see an oncoming car flashing its lights at you do you think there must be a hidden speed trap, and do you suddenly slow down? Do you warn other motorists if you see police waiting to catch speeders? Well, if you do engage in the process, getting and giving those warnings just got a whole lot easier. All you need is a cell phone or a personal digital assistant to warn about speed traps, red light cameras and … Continue reading →

The Downside of Owning a Honda

Honda owners don’t need me to tell them that their vehicles are in high demand… among car thieves. In previous blogs I shared the sad tales of my Honda owner brother’s repeat rip offs. He’s learned his lesson the hard way and is now looking to get rid of his Honda and invest in a new Nissan Titan truck. And not a moment too soon. If you own a Honda or know someone who does then you might be interested in this next true story. Police in Yakima, Washington are currently investigating a case where 11 Hondas were stolen in … Continue reading →