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Americans are well known for their traditional road trips. But the ever rising gas prices force many drivers to consider various options of optimizing their gas mileage and get the most out of the least. Here are some useful tips that will help you to get the most out of your summer driving marathons and stay on top of it.

Fluid level check is a must

Your cooling system should be checked, cleaned and re-filled if necessary before you hit the road. Other fluids like engine oil, brake and transmission fluids, power steering and so on also require a careful check. Having problems with them while driving in the summer heat is not the best way of enjoying a good road trip.

Check for leaks

See if your car has any leaks before going to a trip. Finding out that there are any while you’re good into your vacation is definitely the least pleasant thing you might expect. Remember that even the smallest leak in your gas tank will lead to a substantial leak in your wallet. And who wants to spill out money like that?

Air filter condition

An air filter with much dust in it will result in a 10% fuel efficiency drop. If you want to make the most out of your fuel, replacing your air filter is a very good idea.

Schedule your trip before leaving

Make sure to take your time with the map before hitting the road. This way you’ll be able to find the best way to your destination and avoid battles with the map during the trip. Don’t forget to browse the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration’s website before leaving, if you don’t want to run into closed roads or construction traffic jams.

Keep the speed limit in sight

Driving below 60 mph is not only a good safety measure of avoiding traffic accidents but actually helps get the best gas mileage, as it usually increases substantially when this speed limit is exceeded. Make sure to check state speed limits by visiting the National Motorists Association’s site.

Rush hour is your enemy

Try driving during non-peak hours as much as possible. Rush hours decrease your gas mileage substantially and also contribute to wear and tear of your auto.

Buy a GPS system or a road map

It’s very easy to make a mistake or make a wrong turn, especially when driving in an unfamiliar area. Having an atlas or a GPS system in your will save you a lot of nerves and time.

Update your auto insurance

The longer is your trip the higher is the risk of running into an accident and having good and cheap car insurance coverage in such situation is a must. Check your car insurance before leaving home and make sure it’s adequate to your insurance needs. Different states have different minimum coverage amounts so be aware of that when reading trough your policy before the trip.

When fresh high school graduates hit their prom ball, most of them probably has a very good idea about where to go next. But do you have any idea about insuring your new student’s health when he or she leaves to college?

In most cases, teenagers younger than 24 years old are covered by their parent’s medical insurance policy. But if your or your spouse’s plan doesn’t cover college student, it’s time to see what the education facility your teen is heading to has to offer in terms of insurance. The basics of college insurance plans

In some colleges insurance policies are partially or fully payed by the facility, which undoubtedly will save parents a lot of money. However, the benefits vary substantially from one college to another, so it’s recommended that you study the offers thoroughly after selecting a college. Local insurance companies tend to collaborate with college committees in order to design specific insurance packages for the present college student market.

Signing with a college insurance plans usually offers free doctor’s office visits and annual check ups, however any additional tests, examinations, treatments and prescriptions will have to be paid for. Additional services that may be included as free include maternity care, AIDS/STD tests, cholesterol checks and other activities. The amount of premiums and selection of bonuses vary substantially between colleges, in most cases due to state regulations.

Out-of-network issues

The primary concern for parents with their kids going to college is how the teen will be covered by the family insurance plan (if choosing to stay with it) and how the doctors will respond when he or she goes out-of-state. If you have an HMO plan, it requires special referrals for visiting doctors and other healthcare specialists out of your network. PPOs simply pay less when a person visits out-of-network specialists. In case the teen is leaving for a college that is out of your state, and you don’t want him or her to hassle with domestic doctor referrals, getting prompt medical attention, going with what the college has to offer insurance-wise is the most rational decision for you.

Points to think of when deciding on a college insurance plan

There is a set of factors to think about when selecting a cheap health insurance plan that may save you time and money in the future if evaluated correctly. Here are the main ones:

• Find out of there are any restrictions concerning providers that a student can apply to.
• Learn if there is any coverage during the vacation periods.
• See if there is any health coverage during the summer or winter breaks for the student.
• Get to know if there is an easy access to treatment facilities at the college.
• Investigate what services are offered free of charge or at a reduced price at the campus clinic.

Avoid the coverage from lapsing

Lapsing health insurance when your teen already has a pre-existing condition is likely to cause issues later on. HIPAA imposes that any pre-existing medical conditions can be covered as exclusions in not more 12 months after enrollment. But in case the qualifying coverage is kept without lapsing of 63 days, the insurance company has to take out the length of coverage from the period of exclusion. For example, a 4-month exclusion will result from a 8-month prior coverage, however there won’t be no exclusion period for 18-year coverage. This way it is very important to keep continuous coverage for all medical conditions, regardless whether you buy cheap health insurance at the college or renew your present policy.

When you’re sitting at home worrying about the mounting pile of bills to pay, it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture. Fact is, just as you’re in a new world of hurt, there are other people hurting as well. In this case, the people are the inventors in the insurance industry. They all bought shares in these big corporations when the prices were high, never thinking that the world could suddenly turn sour. Although it’s a mutual insurance company, let’s take State Farm as an example of what’s happening across the industry. This is one of the biggest insurance companies in the US and it’s just turned in an operating loss of $542 million for 2008. Its net worth just dropped a whole 16%. Now, you have to understand this company did not get caught up in mortgages of any prime. There were no securitised thises or derivative thats. This company has just been caught in the general collapse of stock exchange values.

To understand, we need to look at how insurance companies work. They charge most policy holders with a vehicle or a home a monthly premium. This brings in a small mountain of cash every month. That money is invested until it’s needed to pay out on claims. Some goes into fixed-income products. The rest goes into shares. As you may have noticed, the Dow and other stock exchange indexes have been in free-fall. The result is that State Farm has lost the capital value of the investments and, in many cases, no longer receives any income as interest or dividends. This might have been manageable except for this little thing called global warming that no-one believes causes hurricanes and other weather catastrophes. The last two years have seen an big increase in weather-damage claims.

Should this make you worry? Well, look at it this way. The car insurance industry is suddenly making a loss. Shareholders in general and the policy holders in State Farm are not happy. Senior officers of the companies want their bonuses. The for-profit companies are tempted to raise the premiums across the board to get their earnings back into profit. Except with a recession threatening to turn into a depression, that’s not going to work. Make the policies unaffordable and people stop buying. That’s why State Farms just dropped its car insurance rates in Georgia by an average of 1.5%. For the record, this means the current premiums are 12% lower than five years ago. Since State Farms insures around one quarter of all vehicles on Georgia’s roads, this is a good deal. So the next time you’re shopping round for auto insurance policy, you may be pleasantly surprised that the premium rates from an increasing number of insurers have fallen in other states. The next bill may not be quite as painful as you fear.