The result of my car accident.

In July 2011, I totalled my fiance’s car. We were driving back to the city from our rural hometown, and the traffic was bad on the highway. I was in the driver’s seat of the trusty old red neon, and my fiance (then boyfriend) was trying to snooze a bit on this three hour drive.

I was passing a white van when it began to veer into my lane. I couldn’t slow down because of the traffic behind me, so I laid on the horn and got as far over onto the shoulder as I could. The driver of the white van hadn’t checked her blind spot, and she kept coming. Once the two vehicles collided, I remember very little, but somehow the car (after spinning) ended up facing the right way on the opposite shoulder of the highway.

I ended up with a broken wrist from that experience, and more than a healthy fear of driving in traffic. For these things I was entitled a settlement, but it would be over a year before I saw one. Finally, after much persistence on my part, and much evasion on the insurance company’s part, I got a $2,000 lump sum payment.

I’m really happy to have gotten a lump sum payment instead of a structured settlement, which would have spread out the amount over several payments. A lump sum payment allowed me to pay off a good chunk of my student debt, which has significantly helped me maintain my enthusiasm for debt repayment in general. It doesn’t change the fact that my wrist will forever be weak, or that my heart races when I’m surrounded by traffic, but it helps.

Lump sum payments are better for many reasons. It doesn’t allow inflation to eat away at the value of the money, it allows you to take immediate advantage of a large sum of money (either to invest for a return or to pay off debt for a return.) Finally, you never know what life is going to throw at you, and taking the cash right away to either save, invest, or pay off debt will immediately improve your situation.

$1,000 Give Away

Sometimes bad stuff happens, but sometimes awesome stuff happens too, and today, I’m hoping to make some awesome stuff happen for one of you readers. I’m participating in a $1,000 giveaway in collaboration with several other bloggers, and I sincerely hope that the prize goes to one of you! Maybe you can use it to pay down some debt, invest, or put into savings. I know that for many people (including myself), $1,000 could make a huge difference in your financial situation.

To enter, simply fill out the requirements in the Rafflecopter widget below. This giveaway was brought to you by StructuredSettlement-Quotes.com, America’s #1 structured settlement and annuity marketplace.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you won $1,000, what would you spend it on?