How I Saved $643 in One Day

So I have to share a short story about how I saved $643 in just one phone call. I was actually giddy about this! (Yes, it's true. I am a frugal geek.)

I'm currently reading Your Money or Your Life, which I plan review once I'm done. Essentially, it gives you different steps on how to change the way you look at money. How to save it. How to stop obsessing about it (an area where I could use some help).

I keep telling my husband how great the book is and the different steps involved, etc. One area the book discusses at length is really assessing how you spend your money. It involves taking a hard look at fixed expenses and seeing where you can cut back and drive your costs down.

I had just received our auto insurance bill in the mail and was appalled that we were paying $1,200+ per year for our two cars. Granted, we live in New Jersey and pay some of the highest insurance rates in the country, but it still bothered me. My husband and I are both in our mid-thirties, never had a claim, have had the same insurance carrier for 10+ years and both cars are modest vehicles (2001 Hondas, a CRV and an Odyssey minivan). After carefully reviewing our bill, I realized that we were still paying for comprehensive insurance and collision (aka comp & collision) even though we paid off both cars. (As you may know, if you have a car loan, you normally must be insured for comp & collision.) Both our auto and home policies are with the same company, MetLife Auto & Home, which also happened to be my first job out of college.

I called MetLife and told them that I wanted to drop the comp & collision on both cars. That saved us more than $443. Then I asked if I could remove my engagement ring from our homeowner's policy (much to my husband's dismay). That move saved another $200.

Not too shabby for one phone call! Let's see what other hidden savings I can find in our bills...