Save On Recurring Expenses-Part 1
One of the first places people should be looking to save money is on the big recurring expenses that we all have every month. Let’s look at a few places you can save.
·Cell phone bill: JD Powers reports that the average annual wireless phone bill is $1,152, or about $96 a month. Why pay that much when you can get a great smartphone via a pre-paid wireless provider for hundreds less every year. My wife pays $35/month or $420 a year for unlimited data and 300 minutes every month. That’s a savings of $732 over the average! Find out how to do it on our post showing how to save on your cell phone bill.
·Home phone: Some people will cancel their home phone service altogether in favor of either cell phone service only, resulting in savings of hundreds per year. Of course if you still need a phone you can go with internet telephone service instead, which often costs much less. We switched to a service called HYPERLINK "http://www.biblemoneymatters.com/ooma-review/"Ooma. OomaHYPERLINK "http://www.biblemoneymatters.com/how-to-set-up-the-ooma-telo-voip-device/" was easy to HYPERLINK "http://www.biblemoneymatters.com/how-to-set-up-the-ooma-telo-voip-device/"setup, and it only costs about $4.50/month in taxes in our area. That’s a big savings over the $43/month we were paying before. If you need to have a land-line for a home security system or something along those lines, consider canceling extra options on your phone like voicemail, call waiting and caller id to save on things you don’t need or use.
·Internet service: Try switching your internet service to another provider in order to take advantage of new subscriber deals or promotions. Switch from one internet type to another – DSL to cable or fiber-optic internet. Switching can often get you great initial deals, and then you can hop providers to get another great deal when the promotion ends. Also consider bundling your services like phone, internet and TV to save.
·TV and entertainment: there are a variety of ways to save on your TV and entertainment costs. First, you can switch cable providers from one to the other to get in on a promotional offer. If that doesn’t work you can always cut the cord altogether, and save a ton by setting up a home entertainment system using streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and other free content providers.
·Utilities: Often there aren’t a ton of ways to save on your local utilities whether it is electric, garbage, gas or other services. Quite often you only have one utility option to work with. What you can do is cut back on how much you use the services to limit costs. Turn the temp up in the summer, and down in the winter to save on electric costs. Use a programmable thermostat. When you’re not using something, turn it off or unplug it. Turn the water heater down to 112 degrees and don’t run the dishwasher or laundry every time you’ve got a small load. Look for energy leaks in your home by getting a home energy audit, and find ways to maintain your home to cut costs – like cleaning your AC HYPERLINK "http://www.biblemoneymatters.com/save-money-by-doing-simple-diy-maintenance-and-repair-before-you-call-a-professional/"condensorHYPERLINK "http://www.biblemoneymatters.com/save-money-by-doing-simple-diy-maintenance-and-repair-before-you-call-a-professional/" coils or changing furnace filters regularly.
·Insurance: Shop around to find the best rates on your insurance whether it’s auto, home, life or other types of insurance. The last time I switched auto insurance I was horrified to learn I was overpaying to the tune of around $1000/year, for the same coverage. That’s a lot of wasted money! Switching homeowners insurance also saved us a ton.
·Gas: There are quite a few ways that you can save on gas. Do things like carpool, buy at the cheapest local gas station (use an app like GasBuddy to find it), fill up at a local warehouse club, take advantage of gas coupons via local grocery stores and use cash back credit or debtit cards that can help you save anywhere from 1-5% of gas. Of course, you can also just drive smart and limit your quick starts and stops, and keep to smooth acceleration.
·Prescriptions: One of the quickest ways to save on your prescriptions is just to make sure that you buy the generic version of your regular prescriptions. Other things to do include shopping around at different pharmacies for lower costs, getting samples from your doctor or buying your prescriptions in larger quantities to save.
·Property taxes: Sometimes you can appeal your property taxes if you believe the appraisal they’ve given your home is incorrect. We saved several hundred dollars by appealing our property taxes one year.
·Refinance your mortgage: While lending restrictions have tightened, if you’re able you can get some amazing rates right now and save hundreds on your mortgage every month.
·Remove mortgage insurance: A lot of folks are paying hundreds of dollars a year on mortgage insurance if they didn’t put down at least 20% when they bought their home. If you are one of those folks, and you’ve recently reached the magical 80/20 loan to value ratio, ask your mortgage provider if they will remove the insurance from your monthly payment.
·Online bill pay: Try paying you bills online instead of mailing in a check. It can save you $50-60/year depending on how many monthly bills you have.
·Gym memberships: You can save on a gym membership by taking advantage of health plan discounts, or by setting up your own home gym
One of the first places people should be looking to save money is on the big recurring expenses that we all have every month. Let’s look at a few places you can save.
·Cell phone bill: JD Powers reports that the average annual wireless phone bill is $1,152, or about $96 a month. Why pay that much when you can get a great smartphone via a pre-paid wireless provider for hundreds less every year. My wife pays $35/month or $420 a year for unlimited data and 300 minutes every month. That’s a savings of $732 over the average! Find out how to do it on our post showing how to save on your cell phone bill.
·Home phone: Some people will cancel their home phone service altogether in favor of either cell phone service only, resulting in savings of hundreds per year. Of course if you still need a phone you can go with internet telephone service instead, which often costs much less. We switched to a service called HYPERLINK "http://www.biblemoneymatters.com/ooma-review/"Ooma. OomaHYPERLINK "http://www.biblemoneymatters.com/how-to-set-up-the-ooma-telo-voip-device/" was easy to HYPERLINK "http://www.biblemoneymatters.com/how-to-set-up-the-ooma-telo-voip-device/"setup, and it only costs about $4.50/month in taxes in our area. That’s a big savings over the $43/month we were paying before. If you need to have a land-line for a home security system or something along those lines, consider canceling extra options on your phone like voicemail, call waiting and caller id to save on things you don’t need or use.
·Internet service: Try switching your internet service to another provider in order to take advantage of new subscriber deals or promotions. Switch from one internet type to another – DSL to cable or fiber-optic internet. Switching can often get you great initial deals, and then you can hop providers to get another great deal when the promotion ends. Also consider bundling your services like phone, internet and TV to save.
·TV and entertainment: there are a variety of ways to save on your TV and entertainment costs. First, you can switch cable providers from one to the other to get in on a promotional offer. If that doesn’t work you can always cut the cord altogether, and save a ton by setting up a home entertainment system using streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and other free content providers.
·Utilities: Often there aren’t a ton of ways to save on your local utilities whether it is electric, garbage, gas or other services. Quite often you only have one utility option to work with. What you can do is cut back on how much you use the services to limit costs. Turn the temp up in the summer, and down in the winter to save on electric costs. Use a programmable thermostat. When you’re not using something, turn it off or unplug it. Turn the water heater down to 112 degrees and don’t run the dishwasher or laundry every time you’ve got a small load. Look for energy leaks in your home by getting a home energy audit, and find ways to maintain your home to cut costs – like cleaning your AC HYPERLINK "http://www.biblemoneymatters.com/save-money-by-doing-simple-diy-maintenance-and-repair-before-you-call-a-professional/"condensorHYPERLINK "http://www.biblemoneymatters.com/save-money-by-doing-simple-diy-maintenance-and-repair-before-you-call-a-professional/" coils or changing furnace filters regularly.
·Insurance: Shop around to find the best rates on your insurance whether it’s auto, home, life or other types of insurance. The last time I switched auto insurance I was horrified to learn I was overpaying to the tune of around $1000/year, for the same coverage. That’s a lot of wasted money! Switching homeowners insurance also saved us a ton.
·Gas: There are quite a few ways that you can save on gas. Do things like carpool, buy at the cheapest local gas station (use an app like GasBuddy to find it), fill up at a local warehouse club, take advantage of gas coupons via local grocery stores and use cash back credit or debtit cards that can help you save anywhere from 1-5% of gas. Of course, you can also just drive smart and limit your quick starts and stops, and keep to smooth acceleration.
·Prescriptions: One of the quickest ways to save on your prescriptions is just to make sure that you buy the generic version of your regular prescriptions. Other things to do include shopping around at different pharmacies for lower costs, getting samples from your doctor or buying your prescriptions in larger quantities to save.
·Property taxes: Sometimes you can appeal your property taxes if you believe the appraisal they’ve given your home is incorrect. We saved several hundred dollars by appealing our property taxes one year.
·Refinance your mortgage: While lending restrictions have tightened, if you’re able you can get some amazing rates right now and save hundreds on your mortgage every month.
·Remove mortgage insurance: A lot of folks are paying hundreds of dollars a year on mortgage insurance if they didn’t put down at least 20% when they bought their home. If you are one of those folks, and you’ve recently reached the magical 80/20 loan to value ratio, ask your mortgage provider if they will remove the insurance from your monthly payment.
·Online bill pay: Try paying you bills online instead of mailing in a check. It can save you $50-60/year depending on how many monthly bills you have.
·Gym memberships: You can save on a gym membership by taking advantage of health plan discounts, or by setting up your own home gym
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