No matter what the official statistics say, the cold reality on Main Street is that the recession is still with us. Unemployment is only a count of the number of people claiming benefit. It’s not a count of all the number of people out of work. For them and those on the bottom of the pay scales, the challenge is to find affordable insurance to keep driving. Here are a few tips to help in the search.

Shop around

Although there’s a lack of real competition, there are still differences in the premium rates between the insurers, so it pays to shop around and get as many quotes as possible. Since the use of this site is free, you can get multiple quotes with different sets of choices, e.g. low or high deductibles, etc. Only when you can compare the terms on offer and the premium rates charged, can you find the best value for money. Even though some insurers offer loyalty discounts to keep your business, the majority also offer discounted rates to attract new business. You really can save money by changing insurers.

Buy the “right” vehicle

Before you buy, always find out how expensive the make and model is to insure. Some vehicles are more expensive, e.g. because they are too easy to steal or have a poor safety record in crash tests.

Go for a higher deductible

In effect, this is self-insurance, i.e. you are agreeing to pay the first slice of every claim out of your own pocket. So always make sure you have enough money available to pay. If you opt for the maximum $1,000, this can save up to 40% on the premium.

Think about what you need if you drive an older vehicle

If you own your vehicle outright and it’s worth less than $1,000, you should abandon collision and comprehensive cover. Covering third party liability and your own medical expenses will be sufficient.

Bundle car and homeowners cover

Most insurers reduce the premium rates if you buy both your car and homeowners policies from the same company. You can only work out where the biggest saving are by shopping around and getting quotes for the different possibilities.

Low mileage and pay as you drive policies

If you only drive a small number of miles at off-peak times of the day, there are big discounts available. Some of the new pay as you drive policies offer up to 40% discounts if you fit monitoring technology in your vehicle to verify the number of miles and the times of day you drive.

Avoid accidents and tickets

Car insurance is all about the risk of an accident and you making a claim. If you consistently demonstrate you are a safe driver by never picking up a ticket and never making a claim, you will be rewarded by ever lower premium rates. As you get older, check out some of the defensive driving courses. Attending can produce further discounts.

Find out what other discounts are available

If you qualify because of the make and model you drive, the safety features installed or because of your job, the car insurance will grow cheaper. Ask insurers about discounts before you buy a policy.

There’s a set of common mistakes that car owners tend to make in terms of insurance, which all result in wasting the money in vain. These mistakes are rather trivial and it’s a real disappointment to see so many drivers making them over and over again. If you’re one of those drivers who feel that insurance got a little too expensive, make sure to check if you comply with the following list. If any of the following things apply you are on a sure way to wasting your money for nothing:

1. Not doing any comparison shopping

A common mistake for new car owners who don’t know much about insurance. They usually tend to take the first policy they come across and don’t even bother getting into the contents of it. Insurance is a competitive market with lots of offers from different providers that may have different quotes for the same vehicle. That’s why comparison shopping is a must, unless you want to show how you don’t care for money.

2. Not combining insurance policies

Most insurance providers that offer different types of insurance products tend to offer attractive discounts for combining more policies purchased from them. So if you happen to have a home insurance policy it might be a good choice to purchase car insurance and health insurance from the same provider in order to get a good cut in premiums for all the products you use.

3. Keeping the deductibles at their lowest

There’s an inverse relation between the deductibles and the premiums you’re charged with. Meaning that the higher is the deductible the lower are the premiums. But of course, it may seem wrong to pay a lot of money out of own pocket when you have costly car insurance. Who needs cheap car insurance anyway?

4. Neglecting possible discounts

There are many discounts usually offered by the insurance provider in order to stimulate customer activity. But why would you want to ask around for things like discounts? It takes some time and effort, right? And you won’t want your premiums to get lower either.

5. Paying services fees

You’re happy to pay service fees along with your premiums because the insurance provider wants you to. And there’s no problem about the insurer ripping you off with extra cash for the things they don’t have to charge. But maybe it really makes sense paying money just to be able to pay more money.

6. Buying coverage you don’t need

Of course, the more coverage you buy with your policy the better your vehicle will be protected from all kinds of risks. However, each coverage option you include into the policy adds up to the final premium and makes it more expensive. It’s always a matter of compromise between the coverage you really need and the one you can live without. Unless money don’t mean anything to you.

7. Not saving with low yearly mileage

If you’re not using your car too often there’s a special discount available. It usually applies to drivers who have less than 10,000 miles driven per year. If you’re close to this number you may consider driving a bit less in order to comply. That is, if you want to get cheap insurance.

Other than the fact this country is somehow related to Old Zealand, not many people know much about New Zealand except that it’s somewhere over there, perhaps not that far from Australia. Not that talking about Australia is much help with the geography. Anyway, it’s actually an island country and its major claim to fame is that it has significantly more sheep than people. It used to be a British colony but they forgot where it is and so made it independent. The other claim to fame is its legal system which was also left behind by the British. Supposedly that’s based on tort, just like our system. But there the similarity ends.

When you look at all the headlines for a day, you can’t help seeing endless news about legal cases. It seems we live in dangerous times. Cars run out of control when they should stop. Food and drugs should be safe, but they make us ill. Financial companies lend us money on predatory terms or gouge us on fees. Firms like Walmart may be run on the basis of sex discrimination. There are cases about every last possible thing that might cause us harm – including the elections when the Supreme Court had to vote on who had won. It’s hardly surprising the legal profession should have become a political issue. Some argue attorneys are out of control, harassing legitimate businesses with worthless cases. Others see them as the only thing preventing consumers from being even more thoroughly victimized. No matter who’s right, one of the biggest areas of litigation involves drugs and the suggestion that, sometimes, they cause more harm than good.

When any manufacturer launches a new drug, the clinical trials have confirmed it will do more good than bad. But that does not eliminate the possibility some people may suffer adverse side effects. In the case of the most famous treatment for acne, the risks are well known. This did start off life as chemotherapy to treat cancer. It’s hardly surprising it should have a bad effect on some people. Yet people continue to take the drug as if there’s no risk, often deciding to increase the dosage or to take it for longer than is safe. Such is the pressure on people to rid themselves of acne.

There’s new research out of New Zealand. A team of researchers managed to recruit 1,700 participants who all took Accutane at a very low dosage for long periods of time, the team following everyone’s health for six years. All reported a significant improvement in their skin and only 13 stopped because of unpleasant side effects. In other words, there’s no litigation in New Zealand alleging this drug is dangerous or unsafe. Here in the US, there are several high-profile cases alleging Accutane has caused all manner of different adverse effects. Whether this is true hardly matters. The reality is that we may be taking this drug at too high a dosage which increases the risk of harm. There’s no reason to suppose the New Zealand research is defective so the moral is clear. If you want to get clear skin with minimal risk, use this drug at no more than 0.25mg/kg of your body weight.

If you have been trying to lose weight permanently, then these six weight loss tips may be just what you need to kick start your weight loss program. You may have heard some of them before, but if you make them a part of your core goal, you will not have as much difficulty achieving your weight loss goals.

Include exercise in your lifestyle

If you want to achieve long term weight loss, you must not only be careful of what and how you’re eating, you must get off your butt and exercise. It has been reported that 80 percent of those who lose for the long haul make changes to their diets and make exercise a part of their lifestyle.

How much are you really eating?

Americans are really guilty of this – supersizing our meal portions. It’s not what you eat but how much you eat. By eating smaller portion sizes you can eat whatever you like, because you are not overeating.

Sneak in this super easy exercise

Walking is one of the easiest ways to sneak exercise into your daily life. It is easy to do and requires no equipment except your own body. To make walking even more effective, park your car further away from your destination, walk up hills, use the stairs, and alternate walking with brief periods of running. Get in as many steps as possible each day to rev up your internal calorie burning machine.

The best no calorie drink in the world

Substituting water for those artificially sweetened diet drinks and sugary has many advantages. First of all, it has no calories. Plus it’s great for your skin and hair. And drinking water before and during meals helps to stave off hunger and fill you up more quickly. Be careful of those liquid calories in other drinks – they can really add up.

Eat more frequent smaller meals

When you eat more frequently (4 to 6 small meals a day), it helps to keep hunger at bay and stabilize your blood sugar levels to keep from zapping your energy. And when you eat, you will be less inclined to stuff yourself like a pig.

Your weight loss goal is not achieved overnight

Nor is it achieved in two weeks or one month. In order to really drop weight, you must realize that there is no quick fix. You must dedicate yourself to making lifestyle changes that will help you reach your goal. Believe me, your body will thank you and you will be happier in the long run.

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Sometimes it’s hard to know which is the more strange: the way some people behave or the laws that can make some behavior criminal. Take the question of having a drug in your possession. Oakland Raiders wide receiver Louis Murphy is now a qualified expert in the law. A few years back, he was caught with some marijuana in his possession. Everyone knows the dispute over the status of this drug. But many people use this drug for pain relief and, around the world, it’s either not criminal at all or, as in some US states, medicinal use is accepted. So, however you look at it, most people are aware of its status as a “street drug” and therefore are not surprised when they read about convictions. Switch over to prescription medication and more people can be caught by surprise. In many US states, it’s an offense to be in possession of any “legitimate” drug unless you carry a prescription with you to justify the possession. The reason is easy to give. Many prescription-only drugs are derived from highly addictive substances and the US states want to control their use. Whether it’s right to use the criminal law is not the issue. Having decided to control all versions of some drugs, you must carry a prescription to distinguish criminal from lawful possession. It’s the same as having your driver’s license with you when in control of a vehicle. The police are entitled to ask you for proof a doctor has approved your use of these drugs.

This week, Louis Murphy was pulled over in his SUV and, after a brief but violent fight resulting in an arrest, the police officers found eleven little blue pills in an unmarked bottle. Murphy had no prescription. Presumably, like millions of other men, he bought the drugs from an online pharmacy without the need for a prescription. So this should be a warning to everyone who buys their drugs through the internet. No matter what the drug, you can find yourself on the wrong end of the criminal law if you carry the drug with you in a public place. Just to clarify, it’s perfectly alright to have the drug in your bloodstream and, if the drug was sitting in your home, the police would need a warrant to search. Without a warrant allowing a search for drugs, it would be very difficult to get a conviction should the drugs be “found”.

The question arises, of course, as to why a young man like Louis Murphy should have Viagra in his possession. It might be true that he has failing his girlfriend and had become dependent on the little blue pills. Keeping them in an unmarked bottle would keep his secret. However, it’s equally likely that Murphy is one of the many top athletes who are using Viagra as a performance enhancing drug. This drug dilates the arteries and, with its help, more oxygen-rich blood travels round the body to all the muscles. This improves speed and builds stamina. In a game like football where endurance is essential, these pills can be the difference between a great performance and not getting into the team. It’s interesting to note that Murphy’s recent performance has not been that good on the field. Perhaps he was trying a new training aid.

What a world of difference a deep breath can make! It is one thing to know that you need to relax, but how do you find the time? To reach the “relaxation response” at times can seem like you are trying to hit a moving target. Just ask Joan, a 31-year-old full time college student and mother of 2 active preteens. “I needed coffee today just so I could study for my exams, “she panted on her way to a class. Mike, an exhausted engineer is having difficulty sleeping through the night.

Here are some quick tips for relaxing when it seems like you cannot fit in one more thing:

Tip #1. This may require planning, however it will repay you. Eat a breakfast of whole oats or steel cut oats cooked, not micro waved. This will give your body needed fuel. Sprinkle chopped almonds, walnuts, or seasonal fruit on the oatmeal for added variety.

Tip #2. Curve your lips upward into a smile. Smiling is a way to remind yourself that you can handle your life. Practice often. Write notes around your home, office and as reminders to smile often.

Tip #3. Before bed soak your feet in warm water for 5 minutes.

Tip #4. If you are in the habit of multi-tasking, stop. Yes, un-plug the device from your ears and enjoy walking down the street or whatever you are doing. Focus your energy. Develop a habit of doing one thing at a time. It will repay you in increased effectiveness and over time you will accomplish more in less time.

Tip #5. Remember to exhale then inhale again. When we hurry and hold our breath, without awareness, for too long it generates a sense of unease.

Tip #6. Hold your thumb. Wrap your fingers completely around your thumb repeat with your other hand. Do for 3-5 minutes. This position calms anxiety.

Tip #7. Take a trip, in your mind. Sit in your office, car, etc. and visualize yourself calm, smiling and joyful. Take yourself to place that you enjoy and chill there. You did it, you’re calmer.