Hello World! Welcome Friends! It’s a new year, meaning that it’s a brand new opportunity to get your house in order all over again! There are a few things that you should take the time to look at more closely at least once a year and, out of all of them, your household bills definitely demand some scrutiny. Are you getting charged more than you should be? Let’s take a look.
Lay All Those Expenses Out
If you want to get a good idea of how much you really stand to save, then you shouldn’t be comparing single deals to single deals. The savings you can make on your insurance changes, for instance, might not seem like a lot. However, when you add all those expenses together, you can get a much more accurate before and after of how much you can save every month. For that reason, get your bank statements and make sure you’re writing every single regular billed expense out.
Does your Rent Offer Any Wiggle Room?
This is the biggest expense you’re going to have to deal with unless you own your own home. Unfortunately, the answer for most people is that your landlord will not be reducing your rent out of the kindness of their heart. However, you might be able to negotiate a reduction with them and, typically, this may be more successful if you’re a long-term tenant that has been reliable with payments so far. There’s no guarantee, but there are rent negotiation techniques you should consider.
Don’t Assume you Have the Best Utility Deal
Once we choose a utility provider, we tend not to switch from them unless something major happens that catches our attention. However, in most cases, your bills change slowly. For that reason, you should check out the Power to Choose website to see an unbiased look at which is the best electricity plan in your area. The energy bill tends to be the biggest utility, after all. It might not be the only one, of course, but it’s where the majority of savings are going to be made.
Will Switching Net Providers Net you a Better Deal?
Another utility (though some consider it more of a service) that is always worth taking a closer look at is your internet provider. In a lot of places, there is a very carefully structured duopoly that means you don’t really have that great a choice of net providers. However, you can sometimes still make out with a better deal if you’re well-located, as AllConnect can show, or if providers offer things like a new and improved free router if you switch over to them, so it’s still worth considering. The simple truth is that utility providers rarely reward loyalty.
Check for Subscriptions
One type of regular billed expense that gets left out of the equation so often is the subscription services you might be signed up for. You might think about your cable, but how easy is it to forget things like streaming services, audiobooks, eBooks, online gaming services, anti-viruses, subscription boxes, and the like? Check for any and all subscriptions you have and, if you haven’t used it at all during the last entire billing period, consider getting rid of it. If you can’t, then look at what alternatives might be a little less weight on your wallet.
Cut the Cable
It’s a trend that was already happening, but the past year has shown everyone just how much more reliable and convenient it can be to have all the shows you want to watch available whenever you want them. If you’re already using a subscription TV and film service or two, then you might want to consider eliminating the cable bill from your finances entirely. It can make for some pretty huge savings throughout the year. Just make sure you change the deal, not cut it, if your cable provider is also your internet provider.
Protecting your Home and Belongings
Making sure that you’re on the right home insurance deal is crucial, too. If you don’t own your home, then the owner should be insuring the property itself, but you still want to make sure that you get a good deal on insuring all of the belongings that you keep inside it. Depending on where you live and the relative risk, you should consider insuring them not only for damage but theft, too. Either way, a home insurance broker like the Insurance Guys can help you look at your options and make the best choice.
Don’t Forget your Medical Insurance
If you’re on family insurance, then you should be sure to make sure you’re looking over all the past year’s medical bills, as well. There’s a good chance that you might have let a few billing errors slip away or witnessed a slow increase in co-pays due to ever-shifting insurance prices. If you’re on your own health care, not provided by your employer, then it might be time to take a look at similar policies from other providers to see how they compare to what you’re currently paying. Make sure you’re looking at both premiums and co-pays, otherwise you might miss where the cost truly is.
Don’t Use your Cell Phone as Much
In a world of constant internet connection thanks to the online world and a slew of wireless devices, not everyone is going to need to pay for cellphone service. At the very least, you may not need to pay as much as you used to. Call up your cell phone service provider and talk about changing your contract. You shouldn’t be paying for thousands of minutes a year if you only have about one or two phone calls a month, for instance. You might even be able to wrangle a data-only deal.
Giving your bills a clean bill of health isn’t really all that difficult. It just takes a day or two to look at your household finances and see what might help you reduce them, so why not get started?
Click the links below for any posts you have missed:
Give your Gaming Room a Fresh New Look
3 Things You Can Do With Old Furniture
Small Changes That’ll Make Your Home More Welcoming
10 Smart Ways Reduce the Cost of Household Expenses
What Happens When your Neighbor’s DIY Causes Property Damage
Favorites & Highlights – Top Posts of 2020
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Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful day/night depending on where you are in the world! Go with God and remember to be kind to one another!
Toodles,
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