pwfm Men & Money

Budget Cuts You Shouldn't Make

When money’s tight – you need to cut corners, and right now, everyone’s trimming their budget. Don’t be so quick with the scissors. Certain cuts might save you $25 or $50 today - but cost you thousands later. Here’s what NOT to cut, under any circumstances, courtesy of Bankrate.com.

• When it comes to YOUR CAR, a cut that’ll cost you big time in the long run is skipping your regular oil changes. Sure, it’ll save you $25 to $30, but those savings are only temporary. In fact, it can severely damage your engine, which could cost upwards of $5,000. When old oil turns to sludge, you have restricted oil movement through the engine, and that can do serious damage.
• HOME INSURANCE. With a lower appraisal, you may be tempted to save money by reducing the insurance on your home and your belongings. However, even if the value of your home has gone down, the cost to rebuild it has not. Wood and other building materials will still set you back the same amount. So, if you have a loss, you want your insurance to be solid.
• Car insurance. If you remove a family member from your car insurance, yes - your premium will go down. Even though a lot of policies cover a friend or neighbor who drives the car in a pinch, family members who drive the vehicle should be named on the policy. Hollcraft says failure to list someone who’s a regular driver could mean the loss of coverage - because you weren’t honest with your provider. Besides, she says the money you save when you drop them from your policy isn’t that significant anyway. Also, if you have a minor fender bender, but you aren’t hurt, you may be tempted to leave your insurance agent in the dark so your rates don’t go up. However, that other driver - who first said he was OK - could come back later and claim to be hurt. Hollcraft says you never know when someone might sue you. So make sure you tell your insurance company about any accidents you have.