Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

When I earned my driver’s license at the age of 16, my parents gave me two items: an emergency $20 bill and my own AAA card.

If I got stuck in traffic with a low gas gauge, then I was to use the $20 bill to get gas and go home. My parents took care of filling up the gas tank. (I appreciate it more now than I did then.)

The AAA card provided roadside assistance. If I had a flat tire, locked the keys in the car, or the car would not start, I was to call AAA for help. Though I did not need the services of AAA, I proudly carried my card through high school, college, and into marriage.

Fast-forward a few years into our marriage when Paul and I purchased our first new vehicle. As a perk, our vehicle came with a 5-year roadside assistance package. Since our AAA membership was up for renewal and we did not need the roadside assistance, I counted the cost of keeping or losing these AAA benefits:

Maps

When we traveled, we requested the maps from AAA. With the easy to follow directions, we enjoyed our commutes to and from our destinations. Without AAA, we would not have this access. But, I could find this information within a few minutes through the Internet.

State Guides

In planning our stays, we found the state guides so helpful. With admission times and prices, we could design a trip that fit within our time frame and budget. If we dropped AAA, then we would miss the new additions to these books. With or without AAA, I could search online for entertainment in that area and find the same information, but AAA would save me time.

Discounts

By showing my AAA card, I received discounts at lots of establishments. Without my card, I would lose these savings. Though I would have to plan ahead, daily deal sites (i.e., Groupon, LivingSocial, etc.) offer savings of 50% or more which are better than the 10-20% discounts received with my AAA card.

Notary Services

With free notary services for legal or official documents, AAA signed and sealed those documents without charge for members. Though I did not use this option often, I needed it for authorizing an insurance change, selling a vehicle, and submitting a court affidavit. At the time of our decision, I was not sure if other providers we used had this service.

One day when I stopped by our State Farm insurance office, I asked our agent if they had notary services. To my surprise, they offered free notary services to their customers. Yeah! I had every area covered for which I needed AAA.

Roadside Assistance

Upon hearing that I was considering dropping AAA, our State Farm agent offered to add roadside assistance to our policy.  Though I did not need it, I wanted to know more and asked for details. Discovering that this option was less than $10 annually, I filed this information away for future use.

When we purchased our second vehicle, we added the roadside assistance to that policy. We then waited to add this coverage to the new vehicle until our 5-year roadside assistance ended through the dealership. Now both of our vehicles have roadside assistance coverage through our insurance company.

Though each insurance company is different, our roadside assistance option works this way:

1. Need assistance

2. Get the help you need – call a tow truck, pay him, and get the receipt

3. Submit the receipt to my insurance agent, who immediately writes a check for the service amount

Cons

• Find your own help
• Pay up-front
• Visit the insurance office

Pros

• Get help sooner than 45 minutes to an hour
• Quick reimbursement
• Receive temporary AAA cards to entice me back into a membership

With our decision upon us, we weighed the pros and cons of our AAA membership. Realizing we could stretch our dollars further and gain similar benefits through other means, we allowed our AAA membership to lapse and did not renew. That decision occurred almost 7 years ago, and we have not regretted our decision.

Now, some insurance companies automatically offer each customer roadside assistance. If you hold a AAA card just for the roadside assistance, then check your insurance policy. You may be overprotected. In using time wisely and stretching your dollars, you might save $50-$100 by adding a roadside assistance option to your auto insurance policy and dropping your AAA membership. You have a choice.

A simple question about notary services ended up saving our family around $60. If you are looking to tighten your budget to reach your financial goals, then check your insurance policy. You might be overprotected. Happy savings!

Question: Does your auto insurance company offer a roadside assistance option?

Photograph Credit: Amazon.com

Oh, the value of our $43 personal articles insurance policy! Paul and I have insured my wedding rings and our 2 cameras on this insurance policy. Our cost is $43 per year to fully insure these items and worth every penny.

The Incident

When the girls and I attended a Valentine’s Day party, I was taking pictures of the exchange of cards. One of the attendees backed into my insured point-and-shoot camera and jammed the lens.

At first, I was upset. Not because of the accident, but because here was a fantastic photo opportunity, and my camera would not work. Realizing that I would need a new camera, I did not panic at the cost because the accident was a covered incident. By using time wisely and insuring our expensive property, we hold a personal articles policy to protect our budget when accidents occur.

Replacing our Camera

Since the camera would not take pictures, I put it away. Later, I called our insurance agent and explained the situation. Our agent looked at our policy and determined that he could reimburse us up to $160 for a replacement camera.

With a $160 budget, my husband went looking and found a great camera, retailing for $249, on sale for $183.98 with a case and memory card. Realizing that this camera was a great product, on sale, and we would receive reimbursement of $160, we purchased the camera.

Making a Claim

Upon receipt, we worked with the camera to make sure it worked properly. When it did, we took our broken camera and receipt for the new camera to our insurance agent.

The agent confirmed that the old camera was the insured camera model and wrote us a check for $160 (the retail value of our old, broken camera). He then deleted the old camera from our policy and added our new camera with a replacement value of $249 (listed on the receipt).

Though we paid $183.98 for our new camera, we received a $160 check bringing our camera replacement cost down to $23.98 which included a camera case and memory card. Our personal articles policy covered the accident and allowed us to upgrade to a new model without breaking our budget.

If you have valuable cameras, electronics, jewelry, or collections (i.e., coins, stamps, etc.), you might consider a personal articles policy. A little research and protection now can save you money, energy, and time in the future. In using time wisely, a personal articles policy can help in stretching your dollars. I know, because it saved us $160. Happy savings!

Question:  What items do you or would you add to your personal articles policy?