Easy Ways to Cut Your Bills: Everyday Savings
Let's face it, the cost of everything is on the rise. If you are like me, the only thing that is not going up is my income. It seems so hard to pay all the bills on time. Do you find yourself worrying each month how you are going to find extra money to get them all paid? Before you go too far down that rabbit hole, do not worry. Believe it or not, there is some good news. It is possible to lower your bills and you can make some easy adjustments in an effort to reduce your monthly bills. Continue reading to find out all the ways you can cut your bills.
There Has To Be A Way I Can Save Money
Do you find yourself playing the game each month where you debate which bills you are going to pay? Then some of them may get paid two weeks late when you get your next paycheck. Are you living paycheck to paycheck and you cannot seem to get yourself out? Do you find it impossible to save any money along the way?
Save Money On the Bills You Pay
I am here to tell you that it is possible to save money on all the bills that you pay. I am willing to bet that it is much easier that you think it is. You have to make some changes in an effort to find savings. But, there are some easy ways in which you can reduce your monthly bills. There are also some other, more challenging ways to reduce your bills. I am going to list many ways you can cut your bills.
Refinance Your Mortgage
One of the best ways to cut your bills is to start with the largest one you have. If you own your house, you have a mortgage. This is probably the largest bill you are paying each month. When you are considering how to lower your monthly bills, you should start with this one. Most financial advisors recommend that your housing costs about 30 percent of your monthly income. Even when you keep it in the 30 percent range, it may still be higher than is comfortable for you.
It is important to understand how your mortgage payment is determined so you know how you can lower it. Depending on how long you have been paying your mortgage, most of your monthly payment goes to interest. The longer the term of your mortgage, the more interest you pay over the mortgage lifetime. A typical mortgage is 30 years, which means you pay more interest than you would with a 15 year mortgage. Interest rates are variable so if you pay attention to interest rates and you see they are starting to fall, you should consider financing your mortgage.
If you get a lower interest rate, it decreases the amount you pay each month for your mortgage. When you are considering refinancing, keep in mind that you have to pay closing costs. Once you determine how much you pay in closing costs, divide those costs by the number of months you have on your new mortgage to determine how much it costs you per month. Add that monthly amount to your new mortgage amount. If that amount is lower than your current mortgage, it is a good time to refinance.
Access the Billry Store
Negotiate and Manage Your Bills Quick and Easy
Negotiate Your Bills
One of the greatest ways to cut your bills is to negotiate them. People do not consider this often enough. Most of the time they think that it is not possible to work with lenders to decrease what they owe. While it may be surprising that you are able to negotiate bills, there is some skill to it. You also must arm yourself with a little bit of knowledge before you attempt to negotiate. There are some negotiating tips that you should follow.
-
Get the details about your account. You should know how long you have been a loyal customer. You should take note of how many months you have made payments on time.
-
When you talk to the creditor, be honest about your situation. If they understand your position, they may be willing to work with you. A creditor would rather get some money than none at all.
-
You should know what you are trying to accomplish. You should also have a point where it is not worth it to you to continue negotiation. You should also know if the deal is not worth it to you.
For example, if a creditor is willing to take half of what you owe, but you need to pay that amount in 30 days. If the amount you owe is $2000 and half of it is $1000 and you have the money, it might be worth it to be finished with the bill. On the other hand, If you owe $10,000 and the creditor is willing to take $5,000 but you must pay it in 30 days, you may not have the money to pay. In this case, it is not to your advantage.
-
Remember this is not personal. These are business decisions that you are discussing and you should keep your emotions out of the conversation. You present a deal and the credit may or may not be able to help you.You are trying to find a solution for you, but keep in mind that your creditor needs to be positive for them, also.
Decrease Utilities
Utilities can get out of control fairly quickly. Not only do they get out of control, but you do not even realize it is happening most of the time. Then, you get that bill and you are like, "what in the world?" One of the best ways to save money on monthly expenses is to look into how to cut your bills on utilities.
Some of these tricks are so simple you are going to think there is no way that will save money. Trust me, though, if you use these tips, you will save money.
Replace all your light bulbs with LED energy efficient bulbs. These light bulbs have come a long way and in all types of watts. Changing to these light bulbs can decrease the energy you consume by 75 percent. That decrease is directly reflected in your electric bill.
Open your windows at night to allow cool air in. Install ceiling fans to help move around the air.
Unplug all appliances. The only way you can be sure that your appliances are not using any power is to unplug them. Even if they are off, if they are plugged in, they are using energy. You are paying for that energy use. Simply unplugging appliances when you are not using them can save you a little over $200 per year. You may not think that is significant, but remember, you do not really do anything to save that money. Just unplug when you are not using your appliances. You can also get a power strip that has an on and off switch. All you have to do is flip the switch and all appliances plugged into it are turned off.
Close your curtains during the daytime. This keeps out the hot sun and keeps your house cooler. Your air conditioner will not have to run as much and you can keep it set to a higher temperature.
More Ways To Save With Those Utilities
There are some slightly more drastic utility changes you can make to cut your bills. These changes may be a little harder on you. You can set your thermostat a few degrees higher in the summer and a few degrees lower in the winter. You may have to add a layer to stay warm in the winter. You may not be quite as comfortable as you would like in the summer, but these small changes can save you hundreds of dollars per year.
Reduce Hot Water Usage
Do not use hot water as much. Wash your clothes in cold water instead of hot water. You can even take cold showers but that is really breathtaking. Instead of taking a completely cold shower, you can change the temperature on your hot water heater. Just changing it by a couple of degrees can make a huge difference in your monthly bill.
Add Insulation
You can add insulation to your house. This helps your house stay cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. You can also wrap your water pipes in insulation. This helps keep that water in the pipes from freezing. Make sure your heater is in good working order. When it is not working well, it can consume a lot of energy which translates to more money for you each month. You should make sure you change the filter in your heater every three months. When your heater is using a dirty filter, it has to work much harder which means more money for you.
Protect Your House from the Leaks
You should protect your house from any leaks around the doors and windows. You should check them regularly to make sure there is no air coming in. Simple things such as replacing the seal or adding caulking may seal the leak.
Lower Your Insurance
I do not know about you but my car insurance is ridiculously high. There is no real reason for it. I do not have a driving record or any accidents on my insurance and yet, it continues to go up.
Car Insurance
If you want to save on bills, car insurance is a great place to start. One way to cut your bills is to consider switching from full coverage to only liability.
Before you consider this move, you need to make sure you do not have a current car loan. If you do, the bank requires you to have full coverage to protect their investment.
You should also consider the age of your car before you make this switch. If you have a new car, you may want to maintain full coverage, just in case. However, if you have an old car, you may end up paying more per year to insure it than it is worth. If the car was totaled in an accident, you would not even get enough to cover the insurance payments.
Another feature to consider is do you have roadside assistance from coverage through AAA or AARP? If so, you can cancel those parts of your insurance policy and that can save you some money.
If you have not compared the rates for insurance companies in a few years, you should investigate your options. There may be something better available to you. You should also make sure that you are getting all the discounts for which you may be eligible. Does your insurance carrier have a safe driver discount if you have not had any tickets or accidents? You may get a discount for having your payment paid directly to your provider. They may also offer a discount if you pay annually instead of monthly.
Decrease Technology Costs
Another way to cut your bills is to lower monthly bills for cable, internet and cell phone. These technologies can be a huge drain on your wallet. The prices just continue to increase. Even the most basic plan runs you a chunk of change. However, that does not mean you cannot find ways to reduce them.
Do You Really Need Cable?
The first thing I suggest is determine if you really need cable. Ok, so maybe you need some type of television service, but do you need the package you have? Or perhaps you can switch to something like Apple TV. There are many streaming options available to you. Do a little research about them and you will be surprised to find out how much money you can save.
Less Data for Your Phone
Decrease the amount of data you have on your phone. There are so many people who are paying for way more data than they use. There are apps available that monitors your data use and determines how much data you are not using. This can give you a good idea of how much data you need per month.
Once you know that information, you can switch to a cheaper plan that is in line with the amount of data you are using. You can also work to reduce the amount of data you use per month. You can make sure you sign on to Wi-Fi when you can so you are not using data. You can work hard to not stream when you are not on Wi-Fi. Monitoring your data usage is a great way for you to save money each month.
Lower Food Bills
I am willing to bet that you spend a lot more money than you realize on food. A good way to cut your bills is to decrease how much you spend in this category. You may be thinking, "but I have to eat." Do you have to eat the way you are now?
Reduce Eating out
Here is the real deal on cutting your food spending...stop eating out. If you eat out more than once or twice a week, change that immediately. Reserve eating out as something special that you do on the weekend, or when you are having a particularly busy day. When I talk about eating out, I also mean coffee runs and those quick stops for a snack. All of those little trips add up quickly. You can save hundreds by cutting them.
Plan Your Meals
Once you do that, then you should begin planning all your meals. When you plan your meals, you know exactly what food you need to buy and you do not get any extras. Create a shopping list from your meal plan and buy only those things. You should limit the number of times you go food shopping per month. You should also buy in bulk for the items you use often or things that will not spoil, such as paper goods.
It takes a little more coordination and planning, but you can think ahead to save a lot of money each month on the food you buy. After you do this for a month, set an amount that you want to spend on food per month and work really hard to stay within that range.
Budget, Budget, Budget
If you want to begin to change the way you are spending and cut your bills, you should create a budget. As a matter of fact, you should just create a budget, no matter what. It just makes good financial sense to have a working budget. This allows you to have an understanding of how much money you bring into your house. You also gain an understanding of how much money you are spending each month.
There are many websites and apps available to you to help you create your budget. With all of this information just a click away, there is no reason why you should not use it. I know that budgeting is not something anyone really wants to think about. However, it is the best way for you to get in control of your money and your spending. If you do not have a budget, your spending is controlling you. You need to put yourself in the driver's seat.
It is difficult to really cut your bills and understand where you are spending the most money without laying it all out in a budget. Yes, you know how much you are spending on individual bills. However, to really get a picture of what that means for your overall monthly spending, you need to see it in a budget. The most challenging part is gathering all the information on what you are spending money. Once you have all that documented, it is much easier to create a budget.
Cut Those Memberships
Through creating a budget, you see all the areas in which you spend money. Some of them you may not even realize. You could be spending money on items that you have forgotten. There may be money coming out of your account each month to which you do not even pay attention. Now is the time to pay attention.
Are you spending money on a gym membership that you do not use? I know, we all think we are going to get there. We keep saying on Monday I will go back to the gym again. Then Monday gets here and there is some reason why we cannot go. Stop and cancel that membership. If you have not been in a year, you are not going back. If you decide in six months, you want to go to the gym, you can sign up again. But, for now, stop wasting the money.
Keep Only Useful Memberships
Your focus is on how to cut your bills and spending money on a gym that you do not use is wasting your money. Is there any other membership or subscription that you have each month? Are you spending money on magazines, a music subscription, or some other subscription that sends you items monthly? If you do, are you using them? Do these items provide value to you? If you answer no, cancel those items to which you said no immediately.
If you say yes, take a second look at them. Determine if there really are bringing you any value and if they are worth the cost. You may find out, yes, you are willing to spend the money on music because you listen to it every day. This is when you must make those decisions and spend money mindfully on the items that you really need.
Save More Money
While your ultimate goal is to cut your bills, you should also be thinking about saving more money. You want to work hard to have savings in place to have some padding for the unexpected. You never know when an emergency is going to pop up. You should have an emergency fund that has a couple of months of expenses available to you.
One way to begin to increase your savings is to take the money you have once you cut your bills and put it directly into a savings account. A great example is if you are spending $100 for a gym membership that you are not using, cancel the membership and put that $100 per month into your savings account. If you do that with all the money you save when you cut your bills, your savings account can grow quickly.
Lower Your Rent
If you currently rent your home, it may be time to consider other options. Are you in a space that is too big for you? Are you in a space that is far away from work and you have to spend money on transportation costs. If you really want to cut your bills, take a look at where you live. Do some research to determine if you can find a place to rent that is more cost effective or saves you money in other ways. For example, if you move closer to work, you have to pay $50 more in rent, but you save $150 in transportation costs per month. That makes your total saving $100 per month and $1200 per year. That may be worth it to you.
If you are considering moving, you have to figure in the cost of the actual move. While these are one time costs, they may be so high that it isn't worth it to you to move. You have to consider all of these items carefully. When you move to a new place, you most likely have to put down a non refundable deposit and first month's rent. You also have to pay moving costs unless you have a ton of good friends that are willing to help you haul your belongings. Since these are one time costs, your overall savings maybe worth it to you.
Conclusion
I have listed a lot of tips and tricks for you on how to cut your bills. The key here is to determine what really matters. You must decide what goals do you want to achieve and then work towards them. When you write down your goals, they can motivate you to keep cutting spending and saving money when it gets hard. They have to be your goals and they have to be achievable. If you set goals that are too challenging, you will not be able to reach them. You may get frustrated and give up. Stay focused on your goal of cutting your bills. Once you see the savings, it can inspire you to cut more spending and save more money.