Every payday, I get excited that it is payday. Then I remember it is bill paying day too and that puts a damper on the payday excitement.
As we have tightened our budget to be a family of five (with three little ones!) that lives on one full time income and a little bit of part time income, we have learned to watch our monthly bills.
So how can you save on your monthly bills? Most people say they are set and you just have to pay what the bill says. That generally is true but it is up to you ensure that is the case. Here are a few easy tips:
If you can choose your service provider, make sure you are getting the best deal. For example, we just switched trash service because we could save $48/year AND the new company picks up our recycle which we were having to plan bi-weekly trips to take (that was getting hard with the kids and our schedule.)
Conserve. If you have a beautiful fall day like we do here, open your windows up. Oh don’t give me that allergy excuse. I am the allergy suffering queen. Fresh air will help air out your house and save you a ton on your energy bill! If you don’t have ceiling fans, think about install some to help you keep your house open even more. Only run the dishwasher and washer/dryer when you have full loads. This saves on energy and water (good if you pay for water!). To save even more energy, dry your rugs and anything else you are willing to outside. I hang our bath rugs on the front railing to dry all of the time.
Use credit card offers wisely. If you have to make big purchases such as an appliance or electronic item, go some where that you have the in store credit card and they are running a credit card offer. The no interest over a period of time (6 months, 12 months, 18 months) are our favorite offers. We just look at the total and divide by the period of time to make sure we are paying the right amount each month during the offer. If you don’t’ pay the purchase off in time, you are charged the interest for the FULL time period so double check your math and save a large amount on interest payments and use what you need during that time. We have use this on our dishwasher, washer/dryer, and computer when the old ones all went out all of a sudden!
Use coupons and referrals. Seriously. When we switched our trash service, I had a coupon to get the first month of service free. I just had to fill out form. I also gave my neighbor a $10 credit on her bill just by writing her name down on my sign up form!
Sign up for electronic bill pay, email lists, or automatic payments. Some companies give discounts for these options that honestly just make your life easier so take them up on this savings. Student loans often offer a lower interest rate if you sign up for automatic payments. The grocery store we shop at the most, Harris Teeter, offers special deals only to those that sign up to get their weekly emails! So check for these offers.
Hopefully you can use one or two of those tips and fall into some savings. OK, corny but I couldn’t pass it up since it is an amazing almost fall day here!
Let me know if any of those tips help you or if you have any of your own to share about how to save on those pesky monthly bills!
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