One of the best things about turning 25 was the significant decrease in the cost of my car insurance. From one tick of the clock to the next, I was suddenly considered a “stable driver.” That made sense to me, since by then I had been driving for 10 years in various conditions and pretty much knew what I was doing (i.e. don’t swerve to miss a dear, turn into the skid, etc.). The next time in my life I was expecting any kind of discount was when I was eligible to join the AARP. Apparently however, car insurance can go down once again WHEN YOU GET MARRIED.
I’m all for the cost of car insurance being higher when you are young – you are just learning how to operate a car, you don’t have a lot of experience behind the wheel, and let’s face it, you’re pretty much an idiot through college. Everyone has done stupid stuff in a car when they were younger, no matter how responsible a person and driver they were. When I was a freshman in high school, we once squeezed 8 girls in a VW bug for a cross town trip. And the bug was missing half the floor!
So the age thing I get, because even I was a stupid driver when I was younger, and I’m generally a pretty responsible person. I am not sure how me being married or not is a reflection on my stability as a person. According to Insurance.com, “Married people are considered safer and more stable because of their new commitment and responsibilities, and this can translate into discounts.”
Here’s the thing, I have the exact same responsibilities as married people do. I have to support myself, pay bills and taxes, and follow the laws, just like they do. And I have to do it on one income. How do two people signing a $50 piece of paper make them more responsible or committed than me, the single person? Or what about the people who choose to live together and not get married? Or what about couples that are not legally allowed to be married?
Stability is something that should be measured by driving records, credit reports, paying taxes, etc. There is no magic stability fairy who shows up on your wedding day to go *poof* now you are stable! If you were a terrible driver before getting married, chances are you will remain a terrible driver afterwards unless you take steps to improve that (and signing a marriage license is not how you become a better driver).
Age is something that is equal to us all. Every year we all get older and at some point, we all turn 25 earning our much desired and (hopefully) warranted decrease in insurance rates. Marriage doesn’t make a person stable and it isn’t equal to everyone. I don’t understand how this isn’t discrimination to a growing population of people who choose not to get married or those who are not legally allowed?
Admittedly, this is one large rant about how I am pissed off that although I am one of the most responsible and stable people I know, I am potentially being discriminated against because I choose not to be married. That being said, if I ever decide to get married, I’m obviously going to try and gets my rates reduced since I will be “safer and more stable” due to my “new commitment and responsibilities”. I’ve been cheap far longer than I’ve been mad about car insurance.
August 7, 2008
The Breakup Exchange
I have this pair of diamond earrings that I received as a gift from an ex-boyfriend. I like them because they are different than most studs I see on other ears so I tend to wear them frequently. The problem is that the backs do not screw on; they are just regular earring backs. And as I am incredibly lazy with my jewelry, I often leave them in for long periods at a time. Which has led me to lose one of them not once, but twice now (and randomly enough always on trips Seattle).
A reasonable person would ask, “Gee, aren’t they insured?” And they are, however the problem lies in the fact that the ex has the insurance information. And the ex and I no longer keep in contact. Which led me to ask the question – how many times does an ex end up with something we want back?
I would love to have the insurance information for my earrings, which I have luckily found both times I lost one, because one of these days, they aren’t coming back. On the other hand, I kept his favorite hoodie. It is inevitable that your previous significant other ends up with something you want whether it be music, movies, clothes or something else and the world has yet to figure out an appropriate way to get those things back. Hell, I have a hard time getting things back from people I still talk to!
Which leads me to the following conclusion: there should be a “Goodwill” of sorts for breakups. Or at least some sort of exchange point. In the process of returning personal items, something always gets left behind. Shampoo is easy enough to replace, but what about that cool picture frame or your favorite sleeping shirt you left behind? You don’t want to call the ex up and ask for those things usually, which is why there should be a common drop off point for those types of things. You can register with an exchange in all the cities that you have exes and then the “Breakup Exchange” will notify the ex that their missing personal items are available for pick-up, similar to how the library lets you know when a book you have on hold is available. This way, while feelings may be hurt, no one actually has to deal with them face to face and hey, you get your stuff back!
And it sure would have made me feel better to send the old favorite hoodie I no longer wanted from an ex to the “Relationship Exchange - Portland” than dropping it off at the actual Goodwill. (Sorry ex-boyfriend, we don’t talk and I was low on closet space.) Although you never want to be intentionally cruel to someone, nothing says “I’m over you” like taking their stuff to Goodwill. Because deep down, we really just want our stuff back nicely.
A reasonable person would ask, “Gee, aren’t they insured?” And they are, however the problem lies in the fact that the ex has the insurance information. And the ex and I no longer keep in contact. Which led me to ask the question – how many times does an ex end up with something we want back?
I would love to have the insurance information for my earrings, which I have luckily found both times I lost one, because one of these days, they aren’t coming back. On the other hand, I kept his favorite hoodie. It is inevitable that your previous significant other ends up with something you want whether it be music, movies, clothes or something else and the world has yet to figure out an appropriate way to get those things back. Hell, I have a hard time getting things back from people I still talk to!
Which leads me to the following conclusion: there should be a “Goodwill” of sorts for breakups. Or at least some sort of exchange point. In the process of returning personal items, something always gets left behind. Shampoo is easy enough to replace, but what about that cool picture frame or your favorite sleeping shirt you left behind? You don’t want to call the ex up and ask for those things usually, which is why there should be a common drop off point for those types of things. You can register with an exchange in all the cities that you have exes and then the “Breakup Exchange” will notify the ex that their missing personal items are available for pick-up, similar to how the library lets you know when a book you have on hold is available. This way, while feelings may be hurt, no one actually has to deal with them face to face and hey, you get your stuff back!
And it sure would have made me feel better to send the old favorite hoodie I no longer wanted from an ex to the “Relationship Exchange - Portland” than dropping it off at the actual Goodwill. (Sorry ex-boyfriend, we don’t talk and I was low on closet space.) Although you never want to be intentionally cruel to someone, nothing says “I’m over you” like taking their stuff to Goodwill. Because deep down, we really just want our stuff back nicely.
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