Car Insurance

The fragrance of pine trees permeates your national park campground site. After savoring the trout you caught this afternoon, your family toasts marshmallows over the glowing fire pit. In the background, someone gently strums a guitar. Tomorrow you’ll go on a ranger-led hike and watch a slide show at the amphitheater. You’ re at peace with nature, and it doesn’t matter that your site lacks hookups.

ANOTHER SCENARIO: YOU’RE spending a busy week visiting an area’s tourist attractions. However. you’ve decided to stay at the campground today. Your youngsters are delighted to try out the swimming pool. grab a hamburger at the snack ban and play a round of miniature golf. You’ve checked out the campground grocery store for those hot dogs you forgot. Tonight a band will perform. Next weekend, if you decide to stay, they’re having Christmas in July, when everyone decorates their RVs.

Maybe it’s winter, you’re retired and want to defrost. The desert warmth sounds good. You check in for the season at one of Arizona’s huge resort campgrounds catering to the 55+ market. You’ll enjoy state-of-the-art exercise centers, whirlpool spas, indoor and outdoor heated pools, lighted tennis courts, the putting green. But they offer lots more–craft shops for woodworking, silversmithing, and ceramics, on-site restaurants, card and billiards rooms, computer centers, grand ballrooms for dances and dinner theater, and hundreds of organized special events. A few days on site. and you realize the hype you heard is true. You’ll never get bored.

America’s more than 15,000 campgrounds come in many sizes and personalities. A park exists to fit every budget and wish list of activities. Keys to finding your favorite campground are recognizing where you want to go, deciding the style of camping you prefer, and knowing how to do a little research.

National park campgrounds are ideal for those seeking spectacular scenery and plentiful activities. Campers find these campgrounds at most national parks with the exception of metropolitan areas and historical sites. Some, such as Yosemite and Yellowstone, contain several busy campgrounds.

Most provide picnic tables, grills, flush toilets, individual parking spaces, and waste dump stations, Some have electric or water hookups, hot water, and showers. What you’ll also find at most national park campgrounds are evening and daily activity programs, particularly during weekends or summer months.

Most closely held business owners spend 10 years (often 20 years, or even more) working on tax-related planning. You know, that not-so-easy stuff like business succession, estate planning, asset protection and related areas. If you’re a member of this club, smile. And read on. You just might find the answer (you’ve been looking for) in this article.

First, let’s see why most business owners (whether you own 100% of the business or less) search and search for the Holy Grail of business tax planning, but never find it. A review of a real-live case (a reader of this column) should open the right planning door for most readers. Why? Because most of the problems and concerns are what we call “core goals” and apply to almost every business owner.

This is the story of a business owner (Joe, age 62), his wife (Mary, age 59) and their three boys (Pat, Paul and Peter, ages 39, 37 and 32). All the boys are married and are active in the business (Success Co.)., which is a successful leader in its industry. There are six grandchildren.

Before we continue with the rest of the story, it is important to understand that unless you work with a knowledgeable and experienced expert, who has an organized System for coordinating and integrating the various laws, options and solutions into a comprehensive plan, YOUR EFFORTS WILL FAIL. No matter how many years you try.

A System?… Yes, an absolute must. Just like the best, most expensive car won’t move an inch without gasoline to fuel it.

John Constable needs a car to accommodate his wife who suffers from spinal trouble and very bad problems with her knees. He wants to buy a new car with automatic drive, power steering, high seats and easy entry and loading.

Yet again, it is driver and passenger health which is the priority here and we could always refer John to many of the answers that we have given before.

As ever it is going to be a question of trial and error and sitting in as many cars as John and his wife can bear to find out exactly the car that is most suitable. I agree that high seating position needs to be a priority and there should be plenty of room for his wife’s Zimmer frame, plus all the other bits of luggage and shopping that we have to squeeze in these days

The obvious choice is a small people carrier. John does not mention whether they need to carry any other passengers but it is safe to assume that they probably will. The question is, though, whether to go for a micro or compact people carrier as they seem to come in all sorts of sizes. I would not want to restrict John and his wife in any way, so something in the medium sector would probably be best.

The Toyota Yaris Verso is an odd looker, but there is no shortage of space. The front seating position is pleasingly upright, which means good visibility for the driver and There is plenty of room for oddments in the cabin and at the back there is a wide, square boot which is easy to load. However, the rear door is side hinged which does not suit everyone because sometimes John will need to be mindful of where he is parking so that it can be opened fully. When John needs more room the rear seats split and fold flat. These seats are light to move and so getting a Zimmer frame in should not be a problem.

Air conditioning is not available on the basic model and comes with pounds 11,945 T Spirit. The 1.3 petrol engine should be fine because it is economical returning 44 mpg and is lively enough. Being a Toyota Yaris it will be very reliable and the running costs are reasonable, so this Verso is a no-brainer buy.

As a budget characterful buy it has to be the Renault Kangoo which has bags of space, sliding rear doors and reasonably supportive front seats. Prices start at under pounds 10,000 too, but it might be too basic and not that comfortable or refined on the move.

Better, then, to go for the more focused Renault Scenic. The front seats are set very high and that’s without adjustment which could suit John’s wife perfectly. It may be classed as compact, but the Scenic is still pretty big. Take a look in the boot which even without folding the rear seats is massive.

It isn’t the cheapest smallish people mover; for value and ability the Citroen Xsara Picasso is probably the best option, but the Scenic is more refined and civilised.

Inside the Scenic is always a nice place to be and it feels like a high quality product. However, the entry level 1.4 Authentique model does not have air conditioning, which costs pounds 500 extra. Never mind, because it is possible to get discounts on the Scenic and decent fuel economy, around 38mpg and low insurance group four, means that running costs are low.