I'm usually pretty good about sticking to my monthly household budget. I try to calculate fixed and variable expenses as accurately as possible, and then weigh those figures against the salary I expect to earn. Most of the time, I come out okay, with a little left over to put into savings. Recently, however, things have been a heck of a lot tighter, especially since my company has forced us to take a furlough day every week. I'm earning less, which means I have to cut corners wherever possible -- including finding inexpensive car insurance to replace my current policy.
I was always under the impression that if I got inexpensive car insurance, I would somehow receive less coverage. After all, everyone has heard the old adage "you get what you pay for", right? But that's not always the case. It turns out there some companies offer excellent protection at very low rates. The key to finding inexpensive car insurance is to check around and compare as many different rates from as many different providers as possible. There are lots of good deals out there for those willing to put in the legwork.
I started my own search for inexpensive car insurance by calling my current agent and asking him what kind of discounts he could give me. I was already receiving a "good driver" and "loyal customer" rate reduction, but was still paying more than I should have been. When my agent couldn't bring the price down low enough, I began shopping around for comparable policies at cheaper prices.
To help in my search, I went to a couple of websites that allow consumers to compare inexpensive car insurance policies based on a number of factors. On these sites you can plug in your personal details (age, accident history, model and year of vehicle, etc.) as well as the features you want in your policy (deductible amount, liability and personal injury protection, theft, etc.). The site will then crunch the numbers and spit out all the policies that match your criteria. From there, you can choose the most inexpensive car insurance offered, then contact the carrier to get signed up. There might even be an electronic form for you to fill out right on the site, which makes the process a whole lot easier. Just input all the requested info, and wait for an agent to get back to you.
Using this method, I ended up saving more than 40 percent on my monthly premiums -- without having to sacrifice any coverage! I had no idea that finding inexpensive car insurance could be this quick and painless, otherwise I would have tried this a long time ago! At least I got it done, and am now able to stretch my paychecks just a bit farther thanks to the extra savings.