In a financial bind, need help finding assistance programs.

[Kerberoz]

Why the fuck is rent so expensive on the tundra? Damn. They should pay you to live there.

[Weltall]

This thread has taught me that Detroit is spreading throughout all of Michigan and into Ohio o.O;;;

[Kerberoz]

This thread has taught me that Detroit is spreading throughout all of Michigan and into Ohio o.O;;;

Been here for decades..

Spoiler: show

[Kalmado]

@Kalmado - Can you save me money on my car insurance <3? I am just about to pay mine next week for another 6 months

If you're in Michigan I can quote you. Otherwise I can try my best to give advice. Some general things about auto insurance is things are different for every single person. Just because your friend gets x-rate on x-vehicle doesn't mean you would, even if both are same age, sex, etc etc. The big difference nowadays is how you're insurance score is, which is dictated somewhat by your fico. The second biggest is if your health insurance pays your bills from auto related accidents. Michigan gets boned in this department. There are many other factors, but it will vary from company to company.

There isn't one specific company that is the cheapest or even the best. State Farm has cheap rates but they want your first born in some cases. If your insurance score is good to great Allstate is very very competitive. AAA, Farm Bureau, Farmers, and some other middle of the pack companies can go one way or another. Geico, Progressive, and Esurance generally have cheap rates, but you get what you pay for, which is a head set jockey in a call center that couldn't give two shits about you because they never see you personally. Yes I know, blanket statement, but every client I quote from Geico or Progressive say they will leave them regardless of price because their customer service is terrible. Also, you can check out Independent Insurance Agencies that sell multiple lines with multiple companies. They offer an array of options and also have access to other products your One Stop Agencies(allstate, sf, etc) may not have.

Biggest piece of advice I'd say is do not let your insurance lapse even one day. I'm disgusted on how much the rate goes up if someone doesn't have continuous coverage. If anyone has any other questions or concerns feel free to PM me and I'll do my best to help out.

[Kalmado]

Also:

[Tyche]

I've had progressive for 12 years and never had an issue with customer service. I'd go as far as to say it's been excellent in the two accidents we've had. When my wife was hit by a drunk driver in a hit and run, we gave progressive the plate number. After the police found the driver, progressive sued, got us our deductible back (they were uninsured and we had full accident/collision), and even bought us new carseats for the new vehicle, which were Britax and pretty damn expensive (car seats are rendered unusable after they've been in an accident). All this was pretty hassle free, I just drove to the local office and picked up the check. The only issue we've had was a lack of rental car insurance, but that was our oversight, and one that was quickly corrected.

[Kalmado]

I too have heard wonderful stories regarding Progressive. I can just say what I've personally dealt with regarding clients calling in for quotes. Progressive, Geico, and Esurance are also mainly for self efficient people that don't care about having an agent or an office they can go into and talk w/someone face to face. Works for some, doesn't work for others.

On a personal note, I too have Progressive because 1)I have a DUI and for some reason Progressive doesn't count (hides) it. 2) Even w/out the dui my insurance would be almost triple with Allstate vs. what I pay with Progressive.

Also, do yourselfs the favor and check your bodily injury limits. Make sure you have at least 100/300. That means you have $100k worth of coverage per person and $300k per accident total. This is the protection that takes care of you if someone tries to sue you. If you do not have adequate coverage and say a judge awarded a large payout, your assets and wages would be taken to take care of the penalty if the award is more than your insurance provides. And make sure you have Uninsured coverage. That's what took care of you Tyche. It's the coverage that picks up the tab for medical if someone doesn't have any insurance or it's a hit and run. I've been quoting people $250k/$500k because it's usually only a few dollars more a month and it's superior coverage. I can always afford say $5 more a month for something, but could I afford thousands of dollars for medical bills or if someone sued me?

[bungiefan]

Why the fuck is rent so expensive on the tundra? Damn. They should pay you to live there.

They do pay Alaskans to live here. http://www.pfd.state.ak.us/ It's not enough compared to the higher cost of living in general though. We average ~60 cents per gallon of gasoline higher than the national average in my city and it is worse in rural Alaska. Part of that is that much of the state is only accessible by plane, since there's only one highway through the state to connect to Canada, or by dogsled and iceroads when there is enough snow and the rivers are frozen over thick enough. Even our state capitol is on a coast between a steep mountainside and the ocean, so it is only accessible by an airport runway that ends in a cliff face, or by the Alaska Marine Highway ferry system.

The reason rent is so expensive is because of how Alaska does taxes. There is no state income or sales tax, and my city also doesn't have those. Instead, they have very high property and tourism taxes.

On the car insurance front, I have Progressive myself and have been very happy with them. They also have a physical office in my area I can walk into to talk with my agent. Geico and State Farm also have offices and agents here. GF had USAA on her car before her parents sold it when they moved her out of state. Since the car is in my name, I had to put her on my insurance until she can get her own car again, and it doubled my insurance rate.

Anyway, we're cutting expenses and paying better attention to what we are doing on food and such. The aforementioned Alaska PFD will pay off the loan from the bank when they pay it out in the next few months. School is letting her enroll again and her benefits should kick in by October, but the loan made her able to enroll before the the spring semester, which would have been after dividends.

Our roommate just got an out-of-town job offer and he's leaving next month, so we're also looking for a smaller place with a lower rent cost.

[Kalmado]

On the car insurance front, I have Progressive myself and have been very happy with them. They also have a physical office in my area I can walk into to talk with my agent. Geico and State Farm also have offices and agents here. GF had USAA on her car before her parents sold it when they moved her out of state. Since the car is in my name, I had to put her on my insurance until she can get her own car again, and it doubled my insurance rate.

That is one company I don't think any company can beat on rate. My understanding of USAA was if a family member served, any direct family member was eligible to receive the benefit as well. Also, you mentioned you are eventually marrying your gf. I assume then you trust her 110%. A way to cut insurance costs then would be to add her to the title of your car and have her get the insurance and you be a secondary driver. It usually costs around $20 to add someone to the title of a vehicle. Just some food for thought.

[Acevalefor]

That is one company I don't think any company can beat on rate. My understanding of USAA was if a family member served, any direct family member was eligible to receive the benefit as well. Also, you mentioned you are eventually marrying your gf. I assume then you trust her 110%. A way to cut insurance costs then would be to add her to the title of your car and have her get the insurance and you be a secondary driver. It usually costs around $20 to add someone to the title of a vehicle. Just some food for thought.

This is weird to me. I have never had to prove ownership of a vehicle to get insurance in my name on it. I have even insured vehicles that were registered to non family members. I just call up our not-so-local Esurance call center operator and give him/her the VIN. They add the car then send us a letter confirming that we want to insure a vehicle that we do not own. We sign the letter and fax it back.

So, the point is; couldn't bungiefan's GF just insure the car herself and add him as a secondary without going through the title change?

[Kalmado]

They can, but in the case of an accident where a claim would be paid, it is possible an insurance company would deny the claim because there would not be insurable interest to the policy holder. When it's a direct family member it's a non issue. They have permissible use of the vehicle anyways(goes w/out saying they can use the vehicle).

In the situation you described of insuring a non-owned vehicle(say your friend's vehicle), you have no insurable interest whatsoever in the vehicle itself. You do not own that piece of property.

I understand you have done this in the past and many others have as well. It's a way to get a cheaper rate for some or to even get insurance on a car when someone has too many points, DUI, etc etc. Some insurance companies do not investigate who is the titled owner. Some do. This is more so for the owners own safety in case of a claim situation. It's really just taking the risk and if you are comfortable with that.

[Acevalefor]

They can, but in the case of an accident where a claim would be paid, it is possible an insurance company would deny the claim because there would not be insurable interest to the policy holder. When it's a direct family member it's a non issue. They have permissible use of the vehicle anyways(goes w/out saying they can use the vehicle).

In the situation you described of insuring a non-owned vehicle(say your friend's vehicle), you have no insurable interest whatsoever in the vehicle itself. You do not own that piece of property.

I understand you have done this in the past and many others have as well. It's a way to get a cheaper rate for some or to even get insurance on a car when someone has too many points, DUI, etc etc. Some insurance companies do not investigate who is the titled owner. Some do. This is more so for the owners own safety in case of a claim situation. It's really just taking the risk and if you are comfortable with that.

I never thought of that. I guess in my view, if I am paying an insurance company, they are obligated to cover the vehicle I am paying for regardless of ownership. But I can see the liability of the insurance company not paying. Not really worth saving the $55 it costs to change the title when you put it that way...

I'm going home to fix the titles on my two vehicles that are registered to my grandparents...

[Synbios]

While it sounds like the OPs situation is at least headed in the right direction (got a loan for the student loan), it amazes me that no one suggested to start his own business. I keep reading in this thread how there are no jobs out there and no one is hiring or they are only paying shit wages, what ever happened to going out and doing it on your own? Too many people today are relying on others to give them their break instead of going out and making it for themselves. My guess is people don't want to invest the time it takes to start something from scratch. Sure it's a fuckton of work but it will pay off in the end.

[hey]

but it will pay off in the end.

Or it could fail miserably in the first month, and he could find himself in large amounts of debt, both from not making any money, and losing all the money he invested (that he doesn't even have) in the business. After which he probably wouldn't be able to get his current job back.

[Kalmado]

Gotta weigh risk vs. reward on that. I personally would love to start my own independent insurance agency, but I have no where near the capital to make that happen. It has nothing to do with time and everything to do with capital. This goes the same for many that have the same notion to be an entrepreneur.

On a side note, I registered for fall classes yesterday for my associates degree. Felt good.

[Synbios]

Or it could fail miserably in the first month, and he could find himself in large amounts of debt, both from not making any money, and losing all the money he invested (that he doesn't even have) in the business. After which he probably wouldn't be able to get his current job back.

Not all businesses require much capital to start. There is potential to be out at most $200 and some time if things don't pan out.

[Weltall]

Those Cleveland videos are pure gold...bahahaha

Shit, it would suck to live there.

[hey]

Not all businesses require much capital to start. There is potential to be out at most $200 and some time if things don't pan out.

Of course "and some time" is just a roundabout way of saying lost wages. It's insanely risky to do anything that would require him to quit his job, and trying to a run a business in your spare time, with almost no investment is typically not a very good way to make a profit.

[bungiefan]

While it sounds like the OPs situation is at least headed in the right direction (got a loan for the student loan), it amazes me that no one suggested to start his own business. I keep reading in this thread how there are no jobs out there and no one is hiring or they are only paying shit wages, what ever happened to going out and doing it on your own? Too many people today are relying on others to give them their break instead of going out and making it for themselves. My guess is people don't want to invest the time it takes to start something from scratch. Sure it's a fuckton of work but it will pay off in the end.

There's a lot of independently owned small computer repair shops in this town. It's a bit crowded to jump in on my own, and having worked for one of them, I know some of the issues involved in running one, such as insurance. I was bonded and insured while working for one of those shops, but only for machines worked on inside the shop. I wasn't covered if I had to go out of the shop to work on a machine, so that was forbidden. Our on-site technician had to find and pay his own insurance out of the $45 an hour he was keeping from the $110 an hour the shop was charging to send him out. The owner of the business was worth at least $1 mil. I saw enough of what he had to deal with that I don't want to jump into that right now, and I don't have enough experience to do everything on my own.

The GF has plans for a business she wants to start, but clearing school and her debts related to it is primary in her priorities.