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5 days ago | 
financebuzz.com | Christy Rakoczy |Ashley Donohoe
State Farm and Amica are well-known insurers with many coverage options and strong financial strength ratings. However, State Farm has much cheaper rates and many more local agents for in-person help. Amica earns better marks for customer service and claims handling, though, and provides easy access to an online assistant that can help with most issues.
State Farm is likely your better bet if your main focus is affordability or widespread in-person support.
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1 week ago | 
financebuzz.com | Christy Rakoczy
GEICO and Amica are both trusted insurers with many available coverage options and more than a dozen ways to earn premium discounts. Both companies have solid financial strength ratings and have been operating for decades, although Amica is older, having been founded in 1907 while GEICO started in 1936.
There are important differences between GEICO vs. Amica, though. GEICO tends to be much cheaper for most drivers, so those looking for rock-bottom rates should consider it.
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1 week ago | 
financebuzz.com | Christy Rakoczy
If you have money in tax-advantaged retirement accounts, you will be required to start taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) after your 73rd birthday. That means you must start withdrawing a minimum amount of money from your accounts on a schedule determined by the IRS. When you withdraw the money from these accounts, you will have to pay taxes on those distributions at your ordinary income tax rate. This can sometimes lead to a big tax bill.
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2 weeks ago | 
financebuzz.com | Christy Rakoczy
Buying a brand new car is expensive. Unfortunately, as soon as you drive that vehicle off the lot, it loses around 10% of its value. This isn't a big deal if you're going to keep the car for a long time. You can just enjoy that new car smell without worrying too much about the fact that your car is already worth less than you paid.
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2 weeks ago | 
financebuzz.com | Christy Rakoczy
Upgrade Rewards Checking Plus BasicsUpgrade Rewards Checking PlusAPYN/A
RewardsUp to 2% cash back on common expenses, subscriptions, and recurring transfers with $1,000 minimum monthly direct deposit (up to $500 per year, then earn 1%)Up to 10% back at select stores Minimum deposit to open accountNone
Monthly maintenance feesNone
Overdraft feesNone
ATM access Allpoint ATM features over 55,000 locations nationwide. Joint accounts available?
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2 weeks ago | 
financebuzz.com | Christy Rakoczy
A few years ago, when my husband hit a deer on the way home from work, we turned to our comprehensive car insurance coverage to pay for the repairs. The cost to fix the car was around $6,500, and the insurance company cut us a check for $5,500.
The insurer wasn't trying to skip out on paying the bill. The company wrote us a check for $1,000 less than the repair cost because we were responsible for covering that amount. That was our deductible.
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3 weeks ago | 
financebuzz.com | Christy Rakoczy
When I was home from college one summer, my neighbor across the street backed into my car that was parked on the road. She did about a thousand dollars worth of damage and didn't want to go through insurance, so she wrote me a check. As a broke college student with an old beater, I needed the money more than my car needed the dents out, so I kept it.
But what would have happened if that check had come from an insurance company instead of my neighbor with the poor driving record?
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4 weeks ago | 
financebuzz.com | Christy Rakoczy |Steve Miller
Getting married changed my life in many great ways. Getting a lower price on my car insurance was just one of them.
After my husband and I got married, we combined our auto insurance coverage. Surprisingly, my premiums went down by about 6%, and my husband saved around 8% compared to what he was paying before.
That may sound strange. After all, why should car insurance be cheaper when married than when you're single?
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1 month ago | 
financebuzz.com | Christy Rakoczy |Steve Miller
When my friend leased a car recently, she was surprised when the leasing company told her about all of the different kinds of auto insurance she had to buy. Since she knows I write about insurance all the time, she asked me why there were so many lease insurance requirements to meet.
There's actually a simple reason. You have to buy more auto insurance when you lease a car because you don't own the car — the leasing company does.
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1 month ago | 
financebuzz.com | Christy Rakoczy |MSN Money |Jeff White
Finding ways to save on taxes is one of the best ways to get ahead financially. One of the best ways to cut your tax bill is to take lessons from millionaires, many of whom have spent a fortune working with tax professionals to identify every deduction and credit they can use to reduce what they owe the IRS. Here are eight of those federal tax savings opportunities millionaires take advantage of that might work for you as well.
