Money Tips Network

Home insurance policies offer protection for the insured home, the possessions within the home and the homeowner’s liability.

If the home is damaged or the homeowner faces liability, the insurance will cover the cost up to the limits defined in the policy. Understanding what your insurance covers is important in case you ever need to file a claim.

Learn how to read your declaration page to understand your policy.

Find the Best Home Insurance

Enter your ZIP code below and be sure to click at least 2-3 companies to find the very best rate.

The rent is due on the first, and there’s no way you can pay it. It doesn’t look like you can pay it for a while, either, unless you start skipping out on food. You’re at a point where some tough decisions are going to be made. What do you do?

It’s a frightening situation to be in. While I’ve never been in a truly desperate situation, Sarah and I in our earlier years faced a period where we struggled mightily to pay the rent and found ourselves late a couple of times. We found that having a plan, knowing our rights and talking openly to our landlord made all of the difference in the world.

Let’s start at the beginning.

1. Know your lease — and your rights.

The first thing you should do is dig out a copy of the lease you signed and find out what exactly it states regarding late payments. What are the penalties listed for late payment? What are the guidelines for eviction in your lease?

Last year, I issued myself a challenge to read 52 challenging books I already owned. I made up the list in advance and made it my goal over the course of that year to read every one of them. I read Capital in the 21st Century by Thomas Piketty, Debt: The First 5000 Years by David Graeber, The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and a whole bunch of other books — 49, in fact — that I had accumulated in paper and e-book form.

“When you try to stay on the surface of the water, you sink; but when you try to sink, you float; and that insecurity is the result of trying to be secure.” – Alan Watts

One idea that seems true in many other parts of life but seems to fall flat on its face in personal finance is the “backward law,” as described above in the quote from Alan Watts.

In short, the backward law is the idea that the more you try to grab ahold of something, the more it slips through your fingers. Watts explains it above through the lens of swimming — the harder you try to float, the harder it becomes, but if you just let go, you float.

Many people have already felt the ripple effects of COVID-19 on their finances — job loss, business closures, retirement funds or investment rates. But what about the cost of actually getting the virus? Testing, treatment and vaccines have to be paid for by someone. Hopefully, it’s mostly paid by your insurance. But there’s no simple answer.

A lot of price points will vary depending on whether you have insurance, who that insurer is, your insurance plan benefits, where you get testing or treatment and what state you live in.

What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to summaries of five or fewer words. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question.
1. Career change during uncertain times
2. What if everyone stays home?
3. Chasing yield on savings accounts
4. Food dehydrator versus using oven
5. Thoughts on “Money in Excel”?
6. On cleaning ovens
7. Waiting on possible job return
8. What is a “good skillet”?

What Is Personal Property Insurance?

Homeowners insurance doesn’t just cover the exterior of your home, it also covers your personal belongings. In the event of a covered peril, like fire, theft or extreme weather, your personal property insurance will reimburse you to repair or replace lost items. 

Find the Best Home Insurance

Enter your ZIP code below and be sure to click at least 2-3 companies to find the very best rate.

There are multiple factors that go into determining the rate you’ll pay for car insurance: the make and model of your car, its age, where you live and more. 

One of the biggest factors in determining your premium cost is your age. Since certain age groups — mainly the very young and very old — are statistically more likely to experience accidents, insurers charge higher premiums for their auto insurance. 

In this report, we’ll look at average car insurance rates by age, and answer some important questions: At what age does car insurance go down? And how can I get the lowest price possible for car insurance for my age? 

It’s a huge question weighing on the minds of many of us. What will happen to the economy as states start to reopen? Will we quickly return to the economic normal we enjoyed just before coronavirus? How long will that take? How will the various outcomes impact my life?

Those are tough questions to answer because there’s a lot we simply don’t know yet. Will there be another wave of coronavirus? What if there’s a small coronavirus mutation that brings on another round of the disease? How will businesses respond? How will governments respond?

We just don’t know all the answers yet. Given what we do know, however, we can make some educated guesses and then do some basic planning according to those guesses.