AARP Bulletin - July/August 2010

Not to mention all that plastic. Eight glasses a day from bottled water could cost $1,400 a year. The same amount of tap water would cost you less than $1.

Bow Wow! Amount that Americans spent on pet food in 2009: $17.6 billion.

lower than posted website prices). These sales reps often have more negotiating room, because commissions are often based on number of cars sold, not value of the deal.

58 Fuel efficiency drops about an average 5 mpg for each 10-mile speed increase over 55 mph. Jackrabbit starts and stops reduce it an additional 3 mpg.

59 Facing car repairs? First visit repairpal.com to find out what the job should cost. The site gives free quotes based on surveys of thousands of shops.

60 For every 100 extra pounds it carries, your car can lose 1 to 2 percent of fuel efficiency. Remove unneeded items from your trunk.

61 Planning a road trip? To estimate the cost, enter the vehicle’s year, make and model at fuelcostcalculator .com or costtodrive.com.

62 To find the price the dealer pays for the car you want to buy, visit truecar.com or the True Market Value section of edmunds.com. When buying new, haggle up from the dealer’s invoice. When buying used, start negotiating at $1,000 to $2,000 below the asking price.

63 To learn about problems and repair costs concerning the car you are thinking of buying, go to car complaints.com. There you’ll find out what owners of that model have to say.

64 An existing car lease may be key to a deal for you. Find a driver who wants to end a lease early without paying the balance due or early termination penalties. If you assume the lease, you can avoid the usual hefty down

Waiting for hot water, I’ll use the cold water to water my plants.” — Pam Grier, actress and author of Foxy: My Life in Three Acts “

payment. Websites such as leasetrader.com and swap alease.com connect the two sides of such deals.

65 “No-haggle” dealerships may ease stress, but experts say their cars typically sell for $500 to $1,000 more than at a dealer who actually deals. Go to a traditional kind of lot and stand your ground.

66 Save $20 an hour and pay less for parts by going to an independent mechanic. Service by a qualified independent is unlikely to invalidate your car’s warranty. But read it carefully, follow the maker’s maintenance recommendations and keep records of service.

TAXES

67 Sell stock and mutual fund shares. Selling equities at a loss cuts your tax liability by offsetting capital gains, but this year you might consider selling winners. After 2010, the maximum capital gains rate is scheduled to go up to 20 percent, from 15 percent.

68 Max out on employer matches of IRA or 401(k) contributions, or you could be leaving money on the table.

69 Free online calcula-
tors can help you make deci-
sions on tough money issues
like retirement, investing and
insurance. At choosetosave
.org, operated by the Employ-
ee Benefit Research Institute,
you can find several special-
ized number-crunchers.

billion of unclaimed stocks, bank accounts and other assets. Go to missingmoney.com or unclaimed.org to see if any of it has your name on it.

INSURANCE 75 Bundle insurance. If you roll your homeowner’s, automobile and any liability coverage into a package with the same company, you may save between 5 and 15 percent of what it would cost to purchase separate policies.

76 Consider dropping collision coverage if you can afford car repairs or replace cars frequently.

77 If you carpool, have low mileage, or commute by rail and park your car at a station, discounts may be available from your auto insurance company. The same is true for teenage drivers who get good grades.