Today, we’re continuing the TSD writers series with car insurance insider, Jeff Rieger. Be sure to read Jeff’s articles on classic car insurance, DIY car maintenance, or car insurance after a DUI. Feel free to share your experiences in the comments, or reach out to the writers via their contact info. -Trent ___________________________ Every driver

I still fondly remember my first semester at college. I was the first person in my family to go to college, and I was attending a reasonably prestigious university far enough away from home that it wasn’t feasible to go back with any regularity. I knew no one at all when I moved into my

I’m excited to introduce you to another Simple Dollar writer, Frank Addessi. Frank has written about funeral insurance, whole life insurance, fire insurance and more — be sure to take a look at all of his articles. Feel free to share your experiences in the comments, or reach out to the writers via their contact

Today, we’re continuing the TSD writers series with health insurance insider, Jennifer McCarthy’s costly health insurance disaster. Be sure to read Jennifer’s guide to health insurance and her articles on student health insurance, health savings accounts and health insurance loopholes. Feel free to share your experiences in the comments, or reach out to the writers

This is the second installment of The Simple Dollar writers’ personal stories. Take a look at Karla’s story about naming her baby the beneficiary of her life insurance policy over here. Today, I’m excited to share Randy Woods’ experience with home insurance claims and how much of a Catch-22 they can be. Be sure to

For more than six years, I’ve shared my financial mistakes and successes on The Simple Dollar. I know the information that’s out there can seem dense and impersonal to everyday consumers, and I started TSD because I wanted to change that. That’s why I’m excited to introduce a series of posts that will highlight one

There’s already a ton of great information from Jeff in The Simple Dollar’s guide about shopping around for auto insurance – how to choose it and how to optimize it. Rather than just rehashing my own experiences with auto insurance, I wanted to look at it from a different angle. Obviously, my choices helped define

Up until now, I’ve only occasionally dealt with a major component of monthly finance: your insurance. If you’ve got a family, like me, you have to know how your insurance works. For that matter, if you’re financially stable or you’ve got valuable property, grasping your coverage is just as necessary. When something unexpected happens, insurance

Life insurance is a topic that has danced in and out of my life over the years. Here are three little tales about the times when life insurance has impacted my life and what valuable lessons I’ve taken away from those experiences. A Childhood of Ill Health I don’t know how often I’ve mentioned this

A few weeks ago, I put out a call on Twitter and on Facebook for detailed posts that people would like to see. I got enough great responses that I’m going to fill the entire month of July – one post per day – addressing these ideas. On Facebook, Andrea asks “What kind life insurance

A few weeks ago, I put out a call on Twitter and on Facebook for detailed posts that people would like to see. I got enough great responses that I’m going to fill the entire month of July – one post per day – addressing these ideas. Update: With the passage of the Affordable Care

In April 2010, my wife made the choice to step away from her job for the rest of the year in order to be a stay-at-home mom. She chose that period because she knew that she loved her job and that she would be itching to return after nine months. Her employer made it possible

This is a question I hear all the time from readers who are parents – and it’s a question that comes up in our own household as well. Should our children have life insurance policies? I’ve done a lot of research and soul-searching on this topic. What follows are the conclusions I’ve come to on

Kelli writes in: My husband and I are sitting on a thirty year mortgage (with twenty six years left to go). We still owe $330,000 on our home. A week ago, a very similar home to ours two blocks away sold for $220,000, so we’re under water by at least $100,000. We are thinking of

One common, painful bill that we all face is the insurance bill. Whether you’re talking renters insurance, home insurance, or car insurance, the bill feels painful because it’s not something we can often directly see the benefit from. It just comes in handy when something goes wrong. One of the most common tactics that you’ll

This is part of an ongoing series about how to trim the budget of the average American. As this series focuses on such broad-based tips, some will work for you and some will not. You’re invited to mention in the comments the tips that you found to be the most useful for inclusion in a

I can’t tell you how often I’m contacted by readers who tell me the story of their lives, then ask the big question: how much life insurance do I need? I’ll hear from twenty four year old single women and forty year old men with a wife and three children. I’ll hear from people with

I received a long email recently from an utterly despondent woman (that I’ll call Ellen) who was caught in a devastating situation. A year ago, she was a stay-at-home mother with three preschool-aged children. Her husband worked at a high-paying job that seemed to have great long-term potential and it seemed as though their life

A few weeks ago, I decided to spend a few hours looking carefully at all of our insurance policies. I knew in general how most of them worked, but in many cases I was a little fuzzy (or more than a little fuzzy) on the specifics. As I studied our homeowner’s insurance policy, I was