A few weeks ago I decided to shop around for cheaper car insurance. I told myself I wouldn't switch unless I saved myself at least $100. Otherwise it would be too much work to switch for such little savings.

I get those letters in the mail all the time advertising big savings. But I figured that when I shopped around last time, I got the lowest rate I could find, so I didn't think I'd save anything this time.

Imagine my surprise when I saved myself $516 ($43 a month). Not bad at all!

The downside is that I used an online quote service (NetQuote) so I got about 3 online quotes, about 6 different emails, and another 3 phone calls.

So the whole process took me about 3 weeks to contact the various companies (I skipped a few) and then compare.

But $400 bucks is worth a little work.

When you compare, make sure the company you choose has a good financial rating, which you can find through A.M. Best, and offers good customer service.

How much money did you save? Leave a comment below and let me know: