It's going to sound crazy to some, maybe most, but I don't have homeowner's insurance. Ten years ago, it got to be $6,000 a year on a house that was worth about $125,000, so I paid off the mortgage and cancelled the insurance. Between interest and insurance, I've saved over $90,000.

This isn't the first time I've done without insurance. In 1998 I bought a brand new ZX-9R for under $10,000 out the door. The next day, I called my insurance agent and was quoted $5,000 a year. Wisconsin didn't require motorcyclists to have insurance at the time if you wore a helmet. I still own the motorcycle and spent about $400 replacing scraped body work when I dumped it at a gas pump. I had multiple layers under my AeroStitch Roadcrafter. I looked like the Michelin Man. It was November, 35 degrees. My leg caught the footpeg as I put my foot down and I flopped right over hands frozen to the grips.

And just the opposite of most, I've made out like a bandit on the things I've purchased extended warranties on.

If you think homeowners and auto insurance is bad in Texas, don't come north to Oklahoma. Both are through the roof up here. Property taxes are much lower, but they get us with the state income tax.

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
It's going to sound crazy to some, maybe most, but I don't have homeowner's insurance. Ten years ago, it got to be $6,000 a year on a house that was worth about $125,000, so I paid off the mortgage and cancelled the insurance. Between interest and insurance, I've saved over $90,000.

I'm in the bullseye strike zone from Hurricane Andrew in 92'. Many folks I know did just that, taking some of the insurance monies and just paying off their homes. As rates soon after started sky rocketing, they dumped insurances not having home loan requirements anymore and just banked what they would have spent on their annual premiums. Now they're in a position to self insure the damages if necessary and still have a nice bank sum left over in reserve. The home I purchased right after Andrew had about $25k of damages to make it quite livable so banking insurance proceeds is a great way to go. I will when my mortgage is paid in a few more years.


RHINO- as for my car, I'm almost at a tipping point but the plus column still outweighs the minus. My wife is on the road quite a bit and having the car allows me quite a bit of freedom to get out of the house to travel without having to walk about!

My goal is to self-insure everything, with maybe some kind of umbrella policy to prevent someone from suing and taking all my self-insurance money.

I'm no where near it, but my wife and I are about 1-1.5 years from having everything paid off except for the house we rent out at the beach, and we owe less than 100k on that, and have 50% equity. Once it's paid off we will probably keep insurance until we can save up the value of the house, which is only 1,200 sq feet and was built in 1983...it's the lot that is the main value.

That house has survived a lot of storms, but a real Cat 4+ hit would probably take the roof or put a tree in the living room.

My auto insurance bill just came in, next 6 months only went up 3 dollars. Not too bad, and it's cheaper than the last year's was because my Jeep is cheaper to insure than my Mazda was.

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a $30,000,000 school bond, a taxpayer funded community college, & a taxpayer funded hospital (that loses millions of dollars every year).

But they said all of that is "free" ?????

quote:

Originally posted by chongosuerte:
My auto insurance bill just came in, next 6 months only went up 3 dollars. Not too bad, and it's cheaper than the last year's was because my Jeep is cheaper to insure than my Mazda was.

chongo, sounds like you have a great plan in place, well done! I'm struggling but it takes time especially if I'm doing all the work and planning myself. My wife, although she can save like a miser, doesn't have a great deal of foresight and thinks things wii just take care of themselves..Also, my auto insurance would be very reasonable if my wife didn't have accidents and currently it seems that I cannot have a separate policy based on just my record unfortunately. She came from Russia and never drove a car in her life until she moved to the US. Learning to drive and getting her own vehicle has been quite the experience

quote:

Originally posted by just1tym:

quote:

Originally posted by chongosuerte:
My auto insurance bill just came in, next 6 months only went up 3 dollars. Not too bad, and it's cheaper than the last year's was because my Jeep is cheaper to insure than my Mazda was.

chongo, sounds like you have a great plan in place, well done! I'm struggling but it takes time especially if I'm doing all the work and planning myself. My wife, although she can save like a miser, doesn't have a great deal of foresight and thinks things wii just take care of themselves..Also, my auto insurance would be very reasonable if my wife didn't have accidents and currently it seems that I cannot have a separate policy based on just my record unfortunately. She came from Russia and never drove a car in her life until she moved to the US. Learning to drive and getting her own vehicle has been quite the experience

Thanks, but I hit rock bottom after my divorce a few years ago.

Took a lot of humility, hard work, a few big chances/good luck, and the good fortune of marrying above my head to get me to the right place--or at least to where I can see the right place. And more than one forum member reaching out to me to help pull me up from that bottom.

Having nothing and not knowing where the money for your next meal is going to come from really reorganizes your priorities. Makes one have a whole 'nother outlook on money on their way back up...my wife jokes about me always worrying about money and being a miser, but she's never lived that life, and I don't plan for her ever to.

I sympathize with folks in Texas. I live in Seattle and have the very same problems mentioned here. Keeping up with all this crap has gotten to be a full time job.

What's really going to hurt is when blue collar workers move out of your area. Seattle has always been a left leaning city but is was always tempered by the fact that most residents worked middle class jobs. When they leave, or are forced out, then your politics will go full radical.

V.

quote:

Originally posted by StorminNormin:]

Tejas is Spanish for Texas.

Well, sorta... It's more indian than Spanish.

Origin of the name "Tejas"

This message has been edited. Last edited by: C L Wilkins,

Yeah well property taxes are out of control everywhere. Yeah, maybe not like Commiefornia or Tejas, but all areas are getting worse. We get a break on our federal taxes and the state and locals suck that right up right away. Our prop taxes went up 400$ from last year.
Bad thing is that no matter what the people around here just vote yes on all the school levees.

The real problem is that people who do not own property can vote on these issues.
Yeah, I get that if you rent an Apt, you will end up paying higher rent if a levy passes, but if people who live in govt provided housing can vote, it gets passed.
Old people around here are not exempt from any taxes. They get their asses busted too. The only people exempt are those on the freebie roles.

Our school district got redistricted so we got half of the nearest big cities poor living in free housing. They came in and the school went to hell in a hurry. Discipline problems as well as lack of funding. The state cut funding to all schools so they could balance the budget and the levy dam opened up and they have not stopped.
Shake the money tree and get it any time you shake it.