Knowledge is power

It seems everyone came back from Copenhagen with a simple message to sell. Stop thinking about global warming. The real danger is climate change. So, to prove the point, 2010 has started off with some of the coldest weather we've seen for decades. Take Florida as an example. Miami set a new record for cold - the old record was set in 1927. The last time South Florida saw snow was in 1977. And what was true for the South proved equally true the further North you moved. This had an interesting effect on fuel prices. Natural gas was suddenly more expensive and homes with heating systems using oil got a nasty shock. It's the old story of supply and demand and, guess what, the price of crude oil was lifting gently past $80 per barrel. So, if the natural gas supplies were under pressure and everyone wanted to stay warm, the refineries switched more production away from gas for vehicles. The result? We're back up to $3 a gallon for premium-grade gas and the national average for unleaded is creeping up to $2.88. The economists who predict what's going to happen to the commodities markets over the next six months are predicting the price of gas will keep on rising. Unleaded will soon tip the $3 mark. If we're lucky, we won't get back up to the $4 we enjoyed in 2008. We managed to get through that because it was before the recession hit and the credit crunch took away our easy money. Now the credit limits have been downsized and housing equity plans have dried up, there's no slack left in the household budgets if all the fuel prices stay high.

In "Something's gotta give", Mary J. Blige captures the spirit of the current problem: "But it's a million dollars a gallon for gas to get to work tomorrow... can't swim and carpool, you rob Peter to pay Paul to make due". With everyone still having to get to work and get everything else done, a vehicle is essential for most families. So you take the decision to keep the old car longer. Hopefully, it won't cost too much to repair if it breaks down. That saves a monthly instalment on a loan. The only way of balancing the books on running costs if gas prices keep rising is to save money on the insurance.

That's where the online search engines come into sharp focus. Sites like this offer a completely free service. You can run searches as often as you like and gather information. Why bother? The advantage is you get actual auto insurance quotes from multiple insurers. This is a valuable insight into current premium rates. You can join the increasingly large number of people who churn. These are the people who run with an insurer for one year. Then, when the renewal notice comes in with an increase, you look for insurers offering a discount to encourage you to switch. For four or five years, you can switch on a regular basis to the insurer offering the lowest rates. That's why knowledge is power. If you are following the trends, you can see when different companies make their offers and time your switch to get the maximum advantage. Of course, the insurance companies will notice your strategy and increase your quotes. With any luck, that won't happen until the recession is over and your finances have recovered. So, check out the auto insurance quotes on a regular basis and find the best deal at the right time for you.