Tips like these helped us pay off $127K in debt. You can read our story in  Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After.

Welcome to 31 Debt Free Missions! A new feature this year on Queen of Free, during each day in January, I will provide 31 concrete missions or challenges for you to take on to #SlayDebt and take charge of your finances this year. Each mission will take you less than an hour (some will only require 15 minutes). Whereas, 31 Days to Kick Debt in the Teeth (which I’m reworking this year and reposting in January, too) focused on some of the philosophical changes you need to make in order to be successful with money, 31 Debt Free Missions are action steps to put into place after you have your thinking straight. Even better, during the month of January, I’m revisiting each of these challenges in order to sharpen my money saving and debt slaying skills.

Are you ready? Your mission is as follows:

Day 16: Change Your Car Insurance

So once upon a time, long ago and far away I worked for a small shipping company in the HR department. For me, it was a temp job I worked right after I graduated from college. For the people who worked there, it was their livelihood. In some sort of great mystery of the universe, the company thought I would be the best individual to advise employees who were working on benefits packages to choose their insurance options.

Seriously? A 22 year old with a degree in history, picking and choosing riders with no stinking clue? I am SO sorry people who I ruined.

Insurance makes my head spin. While I was choosing health insurance packages for employees of the shipping company, this predicament applies to any type of insurance. I get a little nauseated just thinking about it. BUT that being said, while we were paying off $127K in debt, I moved beyond my confusion and apprehension.

I am guessing you might be paying more than necessary for your car insurance. If you do just a little bit of leg work, this debt free mission will help you free up more capital to smack debt in the mouth. Here’s where to start.

Read Your Bill

When was the last time you actually evaluated what you are paying and what coverage you have or even require? Pull out the auto insurance policy today. If you don’t understand it call your agent and ask him or her to explain it to you. If your agent can’t explain things in terms that you can comprehend, it might be time to get a new agent (more on that later).

Evaluate How Often You Pay Your Bill

It’s not enough to know how much you pay, you also need to investigate how often you’re paying your bill. For years, I would budget on a monthly basis and rock it. And then every three months when our auto insurance was due, I’d find myself in a panic because we didn’t have enough money to cover the bill. Do you pay on a monthly basis? A quarterly basis? An annual basis? Does your company offer a break in price if you pay once or twice a year? All great questions to consider during this debt free mission.

Find a Local Independent Agent 

When it comes to insurance, you should definitely shop local. Not only will your money go to help a local entrepreneur, you’re more likely to find services and a price that better fit your needs. Local independent agents can shop the rates at a number of companies instead of just one. Sure, the big names have great commercials, but there’s not a lot of variance in how much you pay. A local agent can search regional, smaller companies, all dying to get your business. These companies are much more competitive in their pricing. I had never even heard of our insurance provider (I guess because I was using the internet and TV to do my insurance research, remember it makes me crazy) before our agent landed us a great deal.

Make Sure You Have Enough Coverage

This is more of a front end tip to save. You want to be sure you have enough coverage in case something goes dreadfully wrong. The King of Free (who knows more about insurance than I do) says your magic words you need to ask about are uninsured/underinsured coverage. You need it in the case that someone else hasn’t been as smart as you are to take on this car insurance debt free mission. In case of a wreck, you’ll be able to foot the bill in case someone else made the poor choice of letting their insurance lapse or not having enough.

Here Are a Few Warnings:

• FULL DISCLAIMER: I am NOT an insurance professional (Here’s ours). You need to run everything through your agent or tax adviser before making a decision. I’m simply sharing what has worked for us and your insurance needs may be different.

• Do not and I mean DO NOT incorporate this extra “found” money into your checking account without purpose. I promise you it will vanish into thin air. You must set it aside to put toward an emergency fund, debt, or another savings goal.

Now that you’ve received your mission, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Also, if you want to be sure you don’t miss a single update in this series, go ahead and subscribe! Updates will come to your inbox everyday at 5 PM.

Miss the other missions?

Read:

• 31 Debt Free Missions: The Restaurant Challenge
• 31 Debt Free Missions: Adjust Your Withholdings
• 31 Debt Free Missions: Quit Using Credit
• 31 Debt Free Missions: Go to the Library
• 31 Debt Free Missions: Cutting Cable
• 31 Debt Free Missions: Ditch Your Memberships
• 31 Debt Free Missions: Reorganize Your Pantry
• 31 Debt Free Missions: Make 3 Phone Calls
• 31 Debt Free Missions: Bank Field Trip
• 31 Debt Free Missions: Make Your Laundry Detergent
• 31 Debt Free Missions: Unsubscribe Now
• 31 Debt Free Missions: Stop Your Money Leaks
• 31 Debt Free Missions: Regular Car Maintenance
• 31 Debt Free Missions: The Prescription Switch & Save
• 31 Debt Free Missions: Kill the Fees

My book is now available: Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After. You can also check out Inspiration to Pay Off Debt: 30 Days of Encouragement from the Queen of Free on Kindle.  

This post contains an affiliate link. That means when you get a great deal or maybe even something for free, you also help our family pay off our mortgage early. And for that, we royally thank you!