Live Debt Free

Pay off debt. Save. Give. Live your mission.

  • Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Credit Scores
  • Spending
  • Investing
  • Earn Money

Repair or Sell a Wrecked Vehicle

05.01.2012 by Matt Jabs //

The Question:

DFA reader Sara asked:

My car was just in the shop and likely will start needing maintenance due to its mileage and age. If I don’t fix the vehicle can it be sold as is, and how do I figure the trade-in value of post-accident repaired vehicle?

It’s a 2004 Lexus RX 300, with 120,000 miles. My deductible cost for the $7,700 repair cost is $1,000. The car is paid for free and clear. The private party Kelly blue book on this car in” good” condition is $13,000, the trade in price in ”fair” condition is $9,000.

Should I have the car repaired or take the $6,600 from the insurance company for use as a downpayment on another pre-owned certified Lexus?

The Answer:

Hi Sara, thanks for your question.

As I see it you have a couple options:

  1. take the $6,600 in insurance money, sell the vehicle as is, and put the money toward a new car.
  2. repair the vehicle using the insurance money and continue driving (or sell) it.

Let’s compare the two:

Do Not Repair The Vehicle

Before considering this option you need to see if your insurance company writes check to you or the vehicle repair company.

If they address the check to you, you can cash and use it how you like. If not, you’ll have to skip to option two – repair the car to keep or sell.

If they write the check to you you’re free to put the money toward another vehicle. If you can do this I recommend figuring out your selling options for the wrecked vehicle so you can best decide how much money and trouble going this route will be.

If the combined total of insurance money and proceeds from selling or trading in a wrecked vehicle are less than the total for selling a repaired vehicle, you should repair it.

Your options for selling a wrecked vehicle are limited. You can trade it in, call a salvage yard, or put it up for sale on Craigslist and other similar publications. Either way you’ll be disappointed in the price these markets bring, and I’m guessing none will not exceed $1,000. Added to your $6,600 this gives you between $7,000 and $7,500 for the wrecked vehicle.

Now let’s consider fixing it.

Repair The Vehicle

If you use the insurance money to fix the car you can keep it or sell it.

If the repair is complete and done well the KBB value isn’t really affected. However, if the buyers perform a title search (carfax), or you tell them about the accident as an honest seller, which I recommend, you’ll have to adjust the asking price a bit but not much since it’s in excellent working order. I recommend following the golden rule of doing unto others as you would have done unto you (see Matthew 7:12).

Repairing the car will cost you $1,000.

When it’s all said and done can you buy another vehicle for less than $1,000? Probably not, which is why I recommend you fix the vehicle and continue driving it.

Another solid option is to fix it and sell it for KBB value. This will give you a sum of money suitable to purchase another solid vehicle, but to me that’s a lot of unnecessary trouble.

Conclusion

I recommend you fix the car and continue driving it. Your second option is to fix it, sell it, and use the proceeds toward a new vehicle. Your least attractive option is to leave the vehicle wrecked while trying to sell it as is to add to the insurance money (if that’s even possible to get in your name).

Good luck, God bless, and let us know what you decide.

*******

Do you have a finance question?

Ask us about it.

Categories // Spending Tags // vehicles

Thoughts On Spending and Saving Money

03.02.2012 by Matt Jabs //

Just a couple interesting things I’m investing in or saving money on lately.

Investing in the right shoes

I have weak ankles from years of playing full-court basketball.

Rather than isolate and weaken them further by wearing ankle braces, I’ve been looking for ways to strengthen them.

Enter barefoot trail running.

I hate blowing money on anything, but since I’m a proponent of investing in yourself (health, skills, etc.) I have no problem investing in a great pair of utility shoes that get me back to more natural movement while building ankle strength. That’s why I’m going out to buy these shoes as soon as I publish this article (did the research and love what I see).

I’m excited to see how these handle all the hiking and trail running I’ve been doing lately.

I’ll keep you posted.

MovNat.com – explore your true nature

MovNat.com is a website dedicated to something I have known to be right all along: natural exercise in lieu of gyms and a bunch of expensive equipment.

Much of it is done simply in shorts and bare feet (I’ll be doing it in my new shoes).

The MovNat website describes it as “an effective fitness system based entirely on using the full range of our natural human movement abilities such as walking, running, balancing, jumping, crawling, climbing, swimming, lifting, carrying, throwing, catching, and self-defense.  MovNat is for everyone, it is progressive and safe, and supports physical competency and conditioning for any area of life.”

They teach 13 basic movements that exist within 3 basic movement categories.

Simple, basic, natural, and inexpensive. I love it.

Owning vehicles

A few days back I made the announcement that we’re going down to one vehicle.

Originally we were going to sell both the 2000 Jeep Cherokee and the 2002 Grand Prix to purchase a used Pontiac Vibe.

We changed our minds.

Now we’re just going to sell the Grand Prix, keep the Jeep, and rent cars for long trips.

Keeping the Jeep instead of buying the Vibe will save us around $4,000.

Renting a high MPG car for trips will save us tons of money on gas, and save us from having the expense of owning 2 vehicles. We’re going back to Michigan in early April and plan to rent a Ford Focus or similar vehicle with great gas mileage, then just turn it in when we return.

Owning just one vehicle will save us hundreds every month on insurance, repairs and maintenance, fuel, and plates/registration costs (taxes).

What changes are you making?

What things are you doing to change your life for the better?

What purchases investments are you making in yourself?

What are you doing to earn more and spend less?

*******

Categories // Investing, Savings, Simplify, Spending Tags // ideology, Investing, save

Grocery Hacks – How We Save Money on Groceries

01.20.2012 by Matt Jabs //

How we save money on groceries

This is the story of how we reduced our grocery budget from $400/month down to less than $250/month!

My wife and I have very different personality types… and what a blessing that is!

  • I am the eternal optimist – the visionary – the idea guy – the spontaneous one – the encourager – the free spirit.
  • My wife is the responsible one – the realist – the finisher – always keeping things on track – always grounded.

Our different personality types definitely combine to make us into a better whole, and we have learned that each of us is particularly strong in certain aspects of every project.

For example, when we need to go grocery shopping we sit down together and combine our gifts to come up with our best grocery shopping plan.  If it wasn’t for my wife, there would be no plan!  If it were not for me, we would not be eating nearly as healthy.  If it were not for her, we would spend more money due to not planning a menu.  If it were not for me, we would not have a specific budgeted amount of money for groceries to stick to each month.

As you can see, both of us have different gifts and we work to combine our gifts to yield the most beneficial result for our family (which is currently just her & I.)

The other night we sat down — together — and compiled a list of ways we have successfully reduced our grocery bill over the last 7 months.

Jabs Grocery Hacks

I am including this awesome list of Jabs Grocery Hacks in a printable .pdf format that you can print and keep in your purse and/or stick on your fridge. Enjoy and happy hacking!
  1. Plan a menu – 2-3 dinners for the week and eat leftovers the other nights.  Base meals on what needs to be used up in the refrigerator.
  2. Make a list – only purchase items you will need to add to the recipes you’re making from #1 Plan a Menu.
  3. Stick to the list – once at the store, DO NOT deviate from the list.
  4. Use coupons – when available use coupons… but ONLY for the items on your list!  Do not buy things just because you have a coupon. In fact, here’s a resource to teach you how to coupon properly.
  5. Stock up – on your favorite/frequently used items when they are on sale.  Clear out space in your cupboards, pantry, basement to store overflow.
  6. Grow a garden – use your own produce in all of your recipes and if it is harvest season – plan your recipes around what you are harvesting.
  7. Pick your own – when it comes to fruit and veggies, pick your own and preserve them by freezing, canning, etc.  Use these frozen goodies to make your own jam, add to muffins, ice cream, breakfasts, etc.  We picked strawberries and we picked blueberries, we saved a boat load on both.
  8. Make your own – use fruits and veggies you grew/picked to make homemade jam, tomato sauce, salsa, etc.  You can also make your own bread, crackers, cleaners, etc.  We decided to use up a lot of what we already have in our pantry, then when we run out of something we decide if it is something we can make ourselves instead of purchasing new.
  9. Preserve food – Even if it is not something you grew, buy large amounts of in-season produce then go home and preserve it.  I have already made mention of this in a few of the other tips, that’s how important it is… this tip permeates so many of the other tips.  You can freeze, can, dry, smoke, cure, etc.  The predominate methods are freezing and canning.
  10. Use more beans – this has been a HUGE change and a HUGE benefit for us.  You should definitely increase the amount you use.  Beans are cheap, healthy and delicious.  They are much healthier and less expensive than meat.
  11. Frequent local farmer’s markets – my wife and I have switched to a predominately fresh, healthy, and organic diet.  We have found a farmer at our local market who sells organic produce, honey, maple syrup, butter, cheese, meats, etc. for cheaper than the grocery stores!
  12. Check “price per unit” – despite popular belief, when at grocery stores sometimes it’s actually cheaper per unit to buy 2 smaller items than it is to buy one larger portion.
  13. Pack breakfasts and lunches – do this everyday so you are not tempted to buy these meals “on the run”.  Make this part of your nightly routine every night so it becomes habit.  My wife & I pack our healthy delicious breakfast idea every week day.
  14. Pack healthy snacks – place these in small containers early in the week.  Keep some in your car, purse, office, man bag, etc.  This will keep you from purchasing unhealthy and expensive snacks form vending machines, gas stations, or other places.
  15. Do more baking – this kind of fits in with #8, but deserves it’s own description.  Set aside a little time each month to bake bread and healthy cookies then freeze them for the consumption throughout the month.  The ingredient to bake cost much less and will go much further than purchasing pre-packaged cookies and breads.
  16. Make fruit salad – using some of your pick-your-own fruits from number #7, combine delicious, fresh, snackable fruits into a Tupperware as a “salad”.  This is a great way to keep family members from purchasing and eating unhealthy/expensive snack foods.
  17. Eat more nuts – another great snack food.  We get an organic trail mix blend from our health food store for $3.79/pound.  This is another healthy and cheap alternative to expensive snack foods.
  18. Test generic brands – persistent and clever advertising has tricked us into thinking we need certain brand name foods.  Make sure you try generic brands at least once — with an open mind — before you decide how much you dislike them!  My wife and I eat predominately generic/store brand foods.  Also, generic health and beauty items, along with medicines, are often made up of the exact same ingredients as name-brand items.
  19. Organize your pantry – this is VERY important.  Most people waste a lot of food and money because it simply gets lost in the black hole that is their pantry!  I’m lucky because my wife and I are both pretty organized when it comes to our food stuffs, so we excel in this area and it is a blessing.
  20. Work together – like my wife always says… “Teamwork makes the dream work!”  Just like any other good thing in marriage/family life — saving money on groceries is much easier if both spouses are working together to reach the common goals of physical and financial health!
I am including this awesome list of Jabs Grocery Hacks in a printable .pdf format that you can print and keep in your purse and/or stick on your fridge.  Enjoy and happy hacking!

Using these tips and principles me and my wife have been able to cut our grocery budget from $400/month down to less than $250/month on average!  We have also lost a combined 60+ pounds and have never felt better.

Categories // Expenses, Money Management, Spending, Tips Tags // food, groceries, reduce, Reduce Expenses

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • …
  • 17
  • Next Page »

Popular Posts

  • Understanding & Improving your Cash Flow
  • Credit Card Debt Reduction Handbook
  • Our Monthly Debt Reduction and Savings Statements
  • Pay off Credit Cards VS Build Emergency Fund Savings - Me VS Suze Orman
  • Credit Cards - Close 'em Shred 'em & Forget 'em!
  • More Reasons to Pay Off Credit Card Debt
  • Wise Use of Paid off Credit Cards? You Decide.
  • The Whole Armor of Personal Finance
  • One World Currency - New World Order
  • Debt Testimonials - Encouraging Success Stories!

Disclaimer

Content on Debt Free Adventure is for entertainment purposes only. Rates & offers from advertisers shown on this website may change without notice: please visit referenced sites for current information. Per FTC guidelines, this website may be compensated by companies mentioned through advertising, affiliate programs or otherwise. We respect your privacy. Privacy policy.

Popular Posts

  • Lending Club - My Review of Social Lending
  • Understanding & Improving your Cash Flow
  • Credit Card Debt Reduction Handbook
  • Our Monthly Debt Reduction and Savings Statements
  • Pay off Credit Cards VS Build Emergency Fund Savings - Me VS Suze Orman
  • Credit Cards - Close 'em Shred 'em & Forget 'em!
  • More Reasons to Pay Off Credit Card Debt
  • Wise Use of Paid off Credit Cards? You Decide.
  • The Whole Armor of Personal Finance
  • One World Currency - New World Order
  • Debt Testimonials - Encouraging Success Stories!

Disclaimer

Content on Debt Free Adventure is for entertainment purposes only. Rates & offers from advertisers shown on this website may change without notice: please visit referenced sites for current information. Per FTC guidelines, this website may be compensated by companies mentioned through advertising, affiliate programs or otherwise. We respect your privacy. Privacy policy.

Copyright © 2023 · Modern Studio Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in