About 2 weeks ago, there was a pretty nasty hail storm in my area. I started in the afternoon with a bit of rain when I was at work, so I wrapped up what I was doing and left the office. I got home before the hail started and it picked up soon after. Pretty soon we were getting golf ball sized hail and the street was flooding (as usual). The hail probably lasted about an hour, and had varying size hail and intensity. The whole time the storm was going on I was thinking “I cant wait for the insurance check” or “Is this going to break a window”? I called my insurance company, and told them the deal and they scheduled me a time to get the car looked at. I just got back from that today, and they said there was over $6,000 worth of damage to the vehicle, and they would have to replace quite a few parts. They cut me a check on the spot and gave me two options:
- I could take the check the wrote (to me and the title holder, Ford Motor Credit) and get the car fixed. If I did that, they’d have to cut a new check to the body shop that did the work and I’d have to cough up my $1,000 deductable.
- I also have the option of sending the check straight to the loan and using it to pay down the principal balance.
I sent the check straight to ford. It will knock down my loan balance approximately 33%, and is equal to about 16 payments. Not only will this knock off over a year of the loan, I’ll save more because of interest abated! A clear no brainier to me. No more about that, and on to the best links of the week.
SP at Stacking pennies has an interesting article on
hair cuts in the workplace. I’ll be honest, this is something that I’ve never thought of being a guy. I dont have to deal with the issues she mentions, and I dont have long hair either. Interesting read, though.
Paranoid Asteroid has an article about
still acting broke. I definitely do this with most things. I got a smartphone long after they came out, I work hard to pay off debt, and when I hear people say “who has XX amount of money laying around” I just agree. I’ll happily dole out advice with my friends, but i’m not comfortable telling people what to do with their money. Some dont want to hear it, and if they did and didnt follow it, I’d get annoyed anyway.
Suba at Broke Professionals has a good post on
Why She works for the Government. I think this is a great summary and the writer gets good benefits. I
also work for the government in my state, and one of the chief reasons was that it was probably going to be the best bet for me to find a job where I lived. There are other places most likely, but not with the benefits I currently get. Also, I enjoy my job (most times), so there’s no reason to leave.
SPF Has an article on how to use the
dividend yield formula. I dont have much money to invest, but I am really interested in dividend investing.
Jason at Live Real, Now presents
how much is your pet worth. Personally, I couldnt put a price on it, but from one side, I couldnt fathom putting an animal through so much pain at the end of their life for my own selfish reasons.
About the author
Jeff is the founder of sustainable life blog and has been interested in sustainability for most of his life. After realizing in 2007 that his finances were a total wreck, he started reading financial blogs and quickly realized that what is best for your wallet is typically better for the earth, and is usually healthier. On sustainable life blog Jeff shares his journey to a more sustainable lifestyle. For updates, subscribe by email, rss or like us on facebook.
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Thanks for including us. Retweeted your tweet!
Wow it sucks that your truck got damaged, I’m surprised you got these options from your insurance company – def a no brainer!
Andrea – It does suck, but that’s life. The whole time during the storm I was just seeing dollar signs (and my street flooding). I was happy to get the options, and must say that I was impressed with how smoothly things worked out.
Sorry about your truck. I would send the check straight to the loan as well unless there are some mechanical issue.
Thanks Joe – It happens, and there was nothing I could do about it. As far as I know, there is only cosmetic damage to the vehicle, and It doesnt bother me that much, mainly because I never drive it anymore.
I would have done the same thing with that money, no way I’d pay to fix cosmetic damage. And any mechanical damage would get fixed by yours truely…:D
Great decision.
Thanks Jonathan – I’m glad I got the option. I was wondering if they were going to make me get it fixed or not. It’s all cosmetic damage, and I’d rather be 5,000 closer to being debt free than having an undented hood on my truck.
Sorry to hear about your truck. Auto damage is always a pain. Glad to hear you have made progress on your loan though. That must feel good. We are in the process of getting rid of one of our cars that really isn’t worth a lot. Getting anything for it is a bonus.
Thanks Miss T –
Good luck with the sale, I’ve never sold one of mine before. After I got the check, I was just happy to send it to the loan.
Couple of interesting selection in your round up. I am able to understand one thing. You sent the check to ford. But still there are damage to your car that you need to fix..how much the fix was?
Hi SB –
I sent the check to ford, but I’m not getting the car fixed. I dont drive it enough to make me feel like it’s a worthwhile expense. I’d rather have the debt paid down.
Jeff,
Thats a nice chunk to knock off your loan. Just make sure they apply it to the principle and not make makes out for 15 months.
Thanks – I sent them a note saying to apply to principle only.
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