Household bills can become overwhelming. Today, we are going to look at ways to save money with our montly bills. Some people think that we don't have much control over these bills but after looking at these few steps, you will see that you do have some control over the amounts that you pay for these monthly bills.
- Insurance Bills. (home and auto) Price shop. It is not always good to be company loyal. If you have not price shopped in a couple of years, you need to do so. The market is very competitive right now and insurance companies are wanting your business. Open up your local phone book and look up a few insurance agencies. Pick national insurance agencies. They will give you the best deals. Also, don't stray away from on line insurance agencies. They are legit and have great deals. When pricing out your insurance, get a rate that will include your home and auto. This will give you discounts also.
- Phone Bill. Land Line. This is one that can really go away. If everyone in your home has a cell phone, then start watching how much your home phone is being used. If it is not being used then get rid of the bill. Most homes today are fading away from the land line. Cell Phones: Look at your bill. Are there any add ons that you don't use? Are you using all your minutes each month? Call the provider and tell them you are looking to lower your cell phone bill and want to know what they can do for you. In most cases, they will be able to adjust your bill with a newer program that has come out.
- Energy Bill. This is a big on right now. Coming off of winter everyone was complaining about how much their gas and electric bill was. First, call you power company and see if there are any programs available for reducing the cost of the service. Also, when talking to them ask if they have a program that will send someone out and analyse your home and see where you can improve your energy savings. Our power company does this and it is a great service.
- Newspapers. If you love to keep up with the news, check out the online newspapers, or call the newpaper company and see if they have a promotion going on right now. If they know that you are looking to cancel or change your subscription, they will give you a reduced rate to keep you as a loyal reader. If you really don't read the paper each day, change it to only a weekend delivery. Make sure you are using the service instead of it being a clutter stack in your house.
- Cable & Internet bill. This is one that we battle all the time in our house. If it wasn't for sports, cable would be gone. Our cable and internet is all in one bill. It started out at a great rate but after that first year it shot up. I called this past August and said I was shopping for rates and wanted to check and see what rate they could give me before I looked at satalite companies. The CSR was great. She looked and saw that we had just come off a promotion rate and looked to see what the new promotion was. She said she could switch us to the new promotion which as lower than what we had. I was excited. I have already marked my calendar and next August I will be calling to check rates again before my promotion ends. Give a simple call to your provider and let them know you are not happy with your rate and you want to shop around.
- Garbage Bill. This one is one that I can't change. The garbage is picked up by the city and is included in my bill. I don't have the option to change this. But if you pay your garbage bill directly to the company, check with them on discounts for paying in a bulk, 3 months, 6 months or a year. Also check about the frequent pickups. Do you really need the garbage picked up every week? Can you go to twice a month or even...... once a month? This might be an option to lower this bill.
By doing these small steps that only took a the most 2 hours of my time I have saved my family for the 2009 year a little over $700.00. Lowering the insurance, the cable and internet, cutting out the paper except once a week and going on an energy saving plan with my power company is putting money back in my families pocket. This is like paying myself $350 an hour to do this work. Can't beat that!
If you have any other money saving tips for the household bills, leave a comment for all us to share.
Have a great day!
0 Thoughts Shared
Post a Comment