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As part of learning to manage our finances in recent years, my wife and I have also learned when to spend. We do not like paying out large amounts at one time very often, but some things become necessary. Auto insurance is one of them. In addition, roadside assistance coverage has proved vital to us financially and given us piece of mind and security during a break down. In January 2012, we found a much less expensive alternative for roadside assistance through our new auto policy holder.
Strange need of assistance
We have had plenty of instances in which we needed roadside assistance. Even new cars can break down at any time. Flat tires happen, batteries die down, and spark plugs burn out. All of those and more have happened to us. In late 2010, the most unusual - at least for us - happened. As I drove my wife's car one Sunday night, I started smelling smoke. Fortunately, I was on a small side road and had not yet turned onto the highway. I looked over the hood but saw nothing. I smelled smoke again and finally noticed it coming out of the steering wheel shaft! A wire inside had caught fire. I had never seen or even heard of that before.
Naturally, I pulled over and called my auto club for help. The club membership saved me $100 in towing expenses, and I had the car repaired the next day. I am thankful that it happened to me while I drove it on Sunday night rather than my wife on her way to work on the highway on Monday morning.
Auto club membership costs
When these types of events happen, I feel very glad that I paid the annual fee. The $137 per year annual payment to cover both of us becomes worth the cost when breakdowns happen. However, when the payment comes due in December right during prime shopping time, it somewhat dampens the spirit. We used to have it automatically charged to our credit card, but we avoid using the credit card much more now. I canceled the automatic payment, figuring that I could write a check when the December 2011 payment came due. Then, when the bill came, I just did not want to write that check. I postponed it until after the shopping season and received a second and then a final notice to renew or lose coverage. Then, I wondered if our new auto insurance policy contained coverage for roadside assistance.
New auto insurance offers assistance coverage
I called my policy holder to ask about roadside assistance coverage. The representative told me that we did not currently have it, but we could add the coverage, effective immediately, for $9.10 per six-month period for both cars and drivers. This equates to $18.20 per year or $1.52 added to our monthly bill. Considering the drop from $137 to $18.20 per year, we did not hesitate to add the coverage and let the old auto club membership expire. In so doing, we saved $118.80 for the year and did not have to write a check. We will never notice the extra $1.52 each month as we prepare our biweekly budgets. We received an updated policy within four days, so we know the coverage addition went through.
Another successful implementation
Once again, my wife and I found a way to save money without losing an asset. We continue to search for money-saving techniques, and as we find them, we implement and maintain the strategies. We can then use these techniques to teach our son financial management skills while he is young and avoid the mistakes we made in the past. Our financial past did not go well, but our future looks much better.
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