ar insurance is one of the mostcommon bills that most householdsare required to pay. According toInsuranceUSA.com, an online insurancemarketplace, car insurance is the most widely purchased type of insurance coverage becauseautomobile drivers are required to have carinsurance almost everywhere. Below are sometips that may help you save on this expense.

Consider raising your deductible.

A deductible is the amount of money that youhave to pay out-of-pocket before the insurancecompany pays the claim. According to the website of the Insurance Information Institute(www.iii.org), increasing your deductible from$200 to $500 could reduce your collisionand comprehensive by 15-30%. Opting for a$1,000 deductible can save you approximately 40%. If you choose to do this, you should havethe deductible on hand if you have a claim.InsuranceUSA.com deﬁnes comprehensive asinsurance that “covers damages that are causedto your vehicle throughvandalism, natural cause,hit and run, or hittingan animal.” Collisioninsurance “pertains tothe coverage you receivefor accidents, where youactually collide with orhit a vehicle while youare driving.”

Know the valueof your vehicle.

Some drivers choose todrop collision and/orcomprehensive insuranceonce a car depreciatesto a certain value.InsuranceUSA.comrecommends droppingcollision; also known asliability-only insurance, when the market valueof the vehicle is below $2,000. In the event of anaccident, your insurance company will only pay what the cash value of the vehicle is at that time.If your car is worth less than your deductible andyour collision premium, you could be payingmore for insurance than necessary. Realize thathaving liability-only coverage also means that theinsurance company only pays for the damagesof the other parties involved if you are at fault.Damages for your car will not be covered.o help you make a decision, visit Kelley BlueBook’s web site at www.kbb.com to check themarket value of your vehicle. Also, consult yourinsurance company before dropping any coverageso you are complying with the laws in your state.

Drive safely.

Numerous at-fault claims andtraffic violations may increase your insurancerates. You may help avoid the likelihood of anaccident by driving defensively and obeyingtraffic laws. Stay safe by adhering to road signs,driving the speed limit, and resisting the urgeto talk on a cell phone whiledriving. Many insurancecompanies offer discounts if apolicyholder has maintaineda clean driving record for aspecific amount of time.

ake advantage of alldiscounts.

You may qualify for car insurance discounts fora variety of reasons. Mentionto your insurance company if your vehicle has featuressuch as air bags, anti-lock brakes, and anti-theft devices.Keep track of how oftenyou use your vehicle. If yourmileage is lower than average,you may receive a discount. Younger drivers usually costmore to insure. Discountsmay be available for student drivers with goodgrades or college students in the householdthat live on campus for most of the year. Yourinsurance company may also oﬀer you a multi-policy discount if you purchase both auto andhomeowners coverage.

Saving money on

Volume 4 #4

Saving Money on Auto Insurance • FDR Client Reminders Reading the Fine Print • Inspiring Thoughts Save Money on Home Improvements • Spare Change

1-800-655-6303

Welcome to the Freedom Debt Relief monthly newsletter! As part of ourongoing goal to enhance our services, we will be sending you a monthly newsletter filled with interesting articles and helpful financial tips andadvice. We hope you enjoy this issue, and that you find the enclosedinformation helpful as you continue on the road to financial freedom.

Here are some tips provided by Erie InsuranceGroup (www.erieinsurance.com) to helpyou remain calm and gather the necessaryinformation in the event of a car accident.A detailed and accurate report can help youexpedite your claim for repair costs.•Te ﬁrst priority is to make sure yourvehicle is safely oﬀ the road and check tosee if any parties are injured. If so, contactemergency personnel immediately.•Always call the police even if there isminor vehicle damage. A police report canhelp speed up the claims process.•Although car accidents are stressfulsituations, remain calm and do notdiscuss who is at fault. You will have anopportunity to talk to your insuranceagent about the details. Exchangeinformation with the other driver(s),which would include names, phonenumbers, addresses, license platenumbers, and the make and model of eachcar.•You may also want to record informationsuch as date, time, location, and weatherconditions. Most cell phones comeequipped with a camera, so considertaking picture at the scene. In case of anaccident, Erie recommends keeping adisposable camera along with a notepad inyour glove box.

What to do in an accident:

Client Web Site Update

FDR recently upgraded our back oﬃcesystems in order to be able to respondmore quickly to client requests. Youmay have noticed that our client website was down for several days duringthis transition. It is now back up, andif you haven’t done so already, you willneed to create a new username andpassword in order to be able to view youraccount information online. Go to www.freedomdebtrelief.com and click on thetab “Current Clients.” Ten, near thebottom of the page under the heading“Existing Client Login for AccountInformation” click on the button, “Click Here.” Enter your e-mail address, andthen follow the instructions to create apassword and validate your information. You will now be able to view thisinformation online!

American Consumers Union

We have recently partnered with theconsumer advocacy group, AmericanConsumers Union, in order to provideadditional support to our clients withrespect to creditor harassment. AllFDR clients are automatically givenmembership into the AmericanConsumers Union, and are given the fulluse and support of the advocacy group,at no additional charge. Tis is a terriﬁcbeneﬁt for our clients, and we are happy to be able to provide this service to ourclients at our expense. You can visit themonline at www.myacu.org.

***

Customer Service Phone No:1-800-655-6303Hours of Operation:

Mon-Turs:

6:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. PST

Fri:

6:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. PST

Sat:

7:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. PST

E-mail:support@freedomdebtrelief.com

Client Reminders

hen applying for a credit card,most people disregard the smalltype that details the provisions of the agreement. Many applicants will simply signtheir name, stating that they agree to the terms. Although this ﬁne print may be long and tediousto read, we suggest that you review a credit cardagreement in its entirety. Tis task may preventfuture problems or you may decide that this isnot the right credit card for you. Below are somekey points that you may want to focus on as youread the ﬁne print.

Don’t be fooled by low teaser rates and extremely high credit limits

Whenyou receive a credit cardsolicitation in the mail,the envelope may read that you arepre-approved fora low interestrate of 2.9%and a credit limitup to $25,000.Tis impressiveoffer may persuadesome people toimmediately complete and signthe application without reading thesmall print.First of all, consider most verbiageon envelopes of credit card offers to beadvertisements intended to entice you to openthe mail and apply. If you look closely, you may find that there are several asterisks printed by these grandiose statements. Te fine print may state that you may not be “pre-approved” andthat your credit limit and interest rate will bebased on your credit history.

Don’t make the credit card companiesricher by incurring fees.

Consumer Action, a non-profit consumer advocate group,reports that credit card fees cost cardholdersapproximately $13 billion every year. Avoid latefees by reading the fine print to find out thegrace period and due date for your payment.Some companies state that a bill is also due by a certain time on the due date. For example,if your bill is due by noon, you could incur alate fee if the credit card company receives yourpayment at the end of the day. We do not recommend that you keep a highbalance on your credit card because of thenegative effects of debt and you also run therisk of obtaining an over-the-limit fee. A latepayment could also allow a credit card company to impose a late fee in addition to an over-the-limit fee.Reading the fine print may also alertconsumers to the fact that credit card companiesmay charge a no-balance fee if you pay off yourbalance in full or apply an inactivity charge if your account has been inactive for a certainperiod of time.Credit card companies also charge fees forcash advances and balance transfers.

Understand universaldefault.

All of a sudden, anunsuspecting cardholdermay receive their monthly credit card statement andbe shocked to discoverthat their interest rateincreased dramatically.Tis action, knownas universal default,could have occurred for anumber of reasons. If a creditcard company reviews your creditreport and senses that you may become a potential credit risk, they havea right to drastically raise your interest rate. You may have been late or missed a payment with this particular creditor or a totally differentcredit card company. Let’s suppose that you arecurrent with this credit card account, but thecard issuer raises your rate because your creditreport shows that you have taken on too muchdebt or have had many recent inquires.Much controversy has surrounded the issueof universal default. Many consumer advocates want banks to ban this practice. In 2007,Citibank was the first credit card company thatput an end to universal default. Also, legislatorshave outlawed this practice in the state of New York last summer. As you can see, progressis being made and perhaps universal default will not exist in the future. However, a survey conducted by Consumer Action indicates thatnearly half of U.S. banks use universal default,enabling them to legally raise credit cardholders’interest rates as high as 40%. Reading the fineprint in your credit card agreement will indicate whether your credit card company enforcesuniversal default. As you strive to settle your debts, most of you have made a commitment to rely on cash instead of credit cards. After you complete your debt negotiation program, you will probably want to re-establishyour credit. As you probably know, credit cards can cause serious financial problems if they are not usedproperly. Periodically, this column will discuss a credit card issue and give you tips on responsible creditcard use. Tis month’s topic is

the importance of the ﬁne print in credit card agreements.

any people think that if they hadmore money they would be happier. You may have thought that if you won the lottery or received a significant pay increase that you would be more content.More money may allow you to live a morecomfortable lifestyle, but it may not necessarily buy happiness. You may have heard stories onthe news about people who won millions inthe lottery and were broke within a year. Sometelevision programs also feature biographiesabout famous people who squander their entirefortune.Tese examples may seem extreme, but thesame concept may apply when people receivea raise from their employer. Many individualsincrease their standard of living instead of payingdown debt or creating an emergency fund.Once we acquired the amount of money that wethought would make us happier, it does not seemto be enough and we want more. At one time, wemay have thought that if we buy a nicer car orcharged that new state-of-the-art television that we would be content. After the novelty wore off, we may regret the extravagant purchase and feelanything but happy. Why is this? According to an article by LauraRowley, author of the book Money & Happiness(2005), “Scientists have found that while acertain amount of money does indeed makeus happy, once basic needs are met, happinessdoesn’t continue to rise in direct proportion toincome.” Also, Forbes Magazine indicates thatlottery winners return to their previous level of happiness after five years. As you strive to settle your debts, you may yearn for more money so you can move past thissituation. We are not suggesting that your debt was incurred due to extravagant purchases. If you encountered debt as a result of extenuatingcircumstances, additional income would certainly come in handy to pay those unexpected bills.However, spending a lot of time wishing we had something else may delay our goal of financial freedom. If we dwell on the fact that weare in debt, this can create unhappiness. We cannot change the past and we have to realize thatthere are very few lottery winners. As hard as itmay be, making the most of our current situationmay make us less stressed and give us hope forthe future.

f you are a homeowner, you probably realize that your dwelling requires frequentupkeep and various repairs. As you striveto settle your debts, spending money on costly home improvements may not be an option. Yet,there may be some ways that you can save money and still perform necessary upgrades to yourhome.

Learn to do-it-yourself.

Althoughyou may have to hire a professional for somecomplicated projects, you may be able to tacklesome tasks yourself. A wealth of informationalresources exist to teach you how to do homeimprovement jobs such as cleaning yourgutters, painting, and installing a ceiling fan.Visit your local bookstore or library to ﬁnd acomprehensive guide on do-it-yourself homeimprovements.Te Internet and television are also greatsources. DIY Network brings you such cableshows as “DIY to the Rescue” and “DIY Be Your Own Contractor.” You can also visit theirinformation-packed web site located at www.diynet.com. Tis site features a wide array of do-it-yourself projects, with topics that range fromhome improvements to decorating.Home Depot also oﬀers free Do-It-Herself Workshops, Weekly Clinics, and Kids Workshops. Visit www.homedepotclinics.com toregister at a Home Depot near you.

Obtain several bids.

If you do need tohire a professional, obtain bids from variouscompanies and contractors. When you compareprices, you may ﬁnd that costs can vary greatly among companies. Before you make a decisionbased on cost, ask for references on the person orbusiness that you plan to hire. Also, verify thatthey have insurance coverage. Tese precautionsmay prevent you from becoming a victim of ahome improvement scam.



When possible,invest in energy-efficient products for yourhome. Some of these items will be more costly than their counterparts, but you may saveapproximately one thirdon yourenergy bills,according toEnergy Star,a governmentbacked agency that offersconsumersenergy-efficientsolutions.Look forenergy-efficient products when selecting heating andcooling systems, windows, insulation, and walland roof assemblies. Visit Energy Star’s web siteat www.energystar.com for more information. You may also contact your utility company to see if you qualify for the Weatherization Assistance Program. Sponsored by the U.S.Department of Energy (DOE), this programhelps low-income families reduce their energy bills by making their home more energy efficient.

Get Involved.

Habitat for Humanity builds new homes and renovates old homes forlow-income families. Tis organization is alwayslooking for volunteers to help with their buildingprojects. Each work site is supervised by aprofessional that trains and assists the volunteers. You may consider volunteering for your localHabitat for Humanity branch. In addition tohelping your community, you may also learn new skills that may help you with your own home.Visit their web site located at www.habitat.orgfor more information and to search for a localdivision in your area.

•••

Many homeowners have the desire to beautify their surroundings. At this point in your debtsettlement program, you may not be able tofinance every projecton your list. Keepin mind that youdo not have tocomplete every homeimprovement job atonce. Choose thenecessary things firstand finish each task as your budget allows.Good luck on yourhome improvementendeavors and enjoy the end results.

Inspiring Thoughts

Often people attempt tolive their lives backwards; they try to have more things, or more money,in order to do more of what they want, so they willbe happier.~Margaret Young