Monthly Bills - Stop the Bleeding

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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Sat. Mar. 07, 2020 10:22 pm

Recently we had to replace both our vehicles. Last summer we traded in my wife's 2009 Jeep Cherokee for a 2019 Kia Sorento. My wife's Jeep was not a good purchase. It had several high cost repairs including a transmission sensor that required dropping the transmission out to get to it and also we had to replace several of the hydraulic lifters. I was DONE putting money into it.

Then a few months ago I replaced my 2004 Jeep Cherokee. It was a good vehicle. I bought it for $5500 ten years ago with 104,000 miles. It only needed wear and tear stuff maintenance. But it was starting to get frame rot and needed a good chunk of money to pass inspection so I decided to upgrade instead. I got a 2016 Nissan Rogue.

Now I'm panicking a little wondering if I can swing it..

Here's the interesting part. My car salesman gave me a card for an insurance rep he said could save me money.. My fault was that I had become complacent with my insurance company and they were raping me to the tune of $300 a month for car ins with full coverage on these new vehicles.. This new insurance company gave me the same coverage for $125 a month. But that's not all, they also saved me almost $300 year on home insurance.

Then Spectrum... I handed them back all their equipment and cancelled my cable subscription and kept the high speed internet with my own equipment. The end of my promotional period was about to end sending the bill up to $250 per month. So now with just the high speed I pay $95 a month. We have a couple streaming subscriptions that we were already paying for..

So all this savings amounted to over $4000 a year. This is $800 dollars more than my new car payment per year. It's almost like getting my new car for free.

I feel like a moron for not doing this sooner...

And it's not over yet.. Spectrum mobile is offering $45 per line with unlimited data which uses Verizon towers. This would save another $900 a year..

It pays to examine your monthly expenses and stop the bleeding..

Feel free to post a few of your monthly money savers :)


 
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theo
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Post by theo » Sat. Mar. 07, 2020 10:34 pm

:yes: Wife has been doing this for years,,,,, saved us where ever she could :clap:

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Sat. Mar. 07, 2020 11:02 pm

Good work Lee. You already checked off the first three things I suggest to friends looking to save money.

Although the Spectrum mobile plan is a great deal for unlimited data, if you don't need unlimited data a $35 dollar plan from Verizon prepaid with 6 gigs of data may be all you need.

 
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Sunny Boy
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Post by Sunny Boy » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 7:28 am

It is surprising how much we get caught up in spending to have the latest and greatest.

I got rid of cable that kept going up in recent years and I got tired of pushing buttons on the remote looking for something worth watching. Was over $50.00 a month and going up with Time warner being bought out by Spectrum. Now, with just my moderate speed internet I watch Netflix for $9.00 a month, and lots of programs and movies for free on You Tube. Anything faster is a waste of money because Netflix and You Tube work fine without having to pay for high speed internet. And I have no lack of something to watch any time of day or night, unlike cable where a lot of shows are only on at certain times.

Verizon cell phone bill was going up and they wanted to add things I don't use. I don't text and I don't need an expensive pocket computer that is more difficult to use because it is so small. I have a phone so I can use voice communication, which is faster than texting. If I wanted a slower way of communicating I would have stuck with Morse code. Called Verizon and had them put me on the seniors plan - $33.00 a month total.

I called my garbage pick up company and asked them if they have any lower prices for seniors. They don't but when I told them I only put out one garbage car every two weeks they gave me a reduced price.

So, just three phone calls I reduced my monthly bills by almost $200.00. And not one of those companies ever offered to save me that had I not called.

Then I called my insurance agent and got them looking for better rates for my home and car. That saved even more.

Wanna save money, be proactive and start calling the people you pay every month and ask them if they can do better for you,... not them !

Paul

 
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freetown fred
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Post by freetown fred » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 7:37 am

Indeed Paul--the old "nothing ventured, nothing gained" concept!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 8:17 am

Sunny Boy wrote:
Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 7:28 am

So, just three phone calls I reduced my monthly bills by almost $200.00. And not one of those companies ever offered to save me that had I not called.
No one (that already has your business) will ever offer you savings unless you ask, and they won't agree to anything that doesn't work for them...so don't be afraid to push for it.

For someone that is a senior, I think that is a good angle to come from. I just tell them I am trying to reduce my costs and want to see what they can do to help. Garbage is another good one - I switched two years ago and saved about $10 per month.

Generally I go through this exercise every December/January, but it is getting harder to squeeze money out of anyone. At this point it is more about keeping costs flat than finding savings.

 
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Keepaeyeonit
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Post by Keepaeyeonit » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 9:09 am

Good job Lee :yes: , Insurance is the worst for slowly raising the rates and I do check rates every year just for that reason, I was taken once by them and I will never let it happen again.


 
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Sunny Boy
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Post by Sunny Boy » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 9:11 am

One of the other ways some can save is a lot of companies are starting to offer discounts to veterans. Even some companies that don't offer senor discounts give a discount to veterans and dependents. Lowes being one. My local Lowes even has parking spaces near the front door reserved for veterans.

So, I've learned to ask not just if a business offers senor discounts, but if there are discount for veterans.

And that saved me money again last year when Melissa and I went to the Scottish Games in Altamont NY, they gave a hefty discount for veterans.

But yes, you have to ask. No one ever offered any discounts to me.

Paul

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 9:13 am

I haven't looked at garbage service. I got into the habit of going to the dump every 2 weeks. We store our full 30 gallon kitchen bags in a steel 55 gallon drum barrel between dump trips. Then I pack 4 or 5 of them into a 55 gallon drum liner bag. They only charge me $3.00 at the dump to dispose of it. This amount to about $6.00 a month for garbage disposal. I burn any cardboard garbage we have.

Then there is another thing I've done which doesn't fall into the monthly Bill's department but more the habit department. I used to buy lunch everyday out on the bread route. There is this store on my route that has awesome pizza. The slices are huge, I would get 2 lol. That combined with a drink is $6.50 a day. 20 working days in a month amounts to $130 a month. That's another $1500 a year. I realize there is "no free lunch" but instead I now wait till I get home between 1:00-2:00pm to have a couple sandwiches on fresh bread I robbed from the waste pile..

Now collectively speaking I'm at around $5000+ savings per year..

Thanks everyone for the replies, keep em coming, lots of great ways to stop the bleeding already! :)

 
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Keepaeyeonit
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Post by Keepaeyeonit » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 9:58 am

Lightning wrote:
Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 9:13 am
Then there is another thing I've done which doesn't fall into the monthly Bill's department but more the habit department. I used to buy lunch everyday out on the bread route. There is this store on my route that has awesome pizza. The slices are huge, I would get 2 lol. That combined with a drink is $6.50 a day. 20 working days in a month amounts to $130 a month. That's another $1500 a year. I realize there is "no free lunch" but instead I now wait till I get home between 1:00-2:00pm to have a couple sandwiches on fresh bread I robbed from the waste pile..
Just remember Lee if it makes you happy then do it as long as its within reason, As of January 1ST I started keeping track of my alcohol spending ( not when we eat out but just at home and camping) just to see if I need to stop drinking :D, I do like my cable and satellite radio yes its not worth the $$$ but with all the traveling we do and I listen all day at work I just bite the bullet and pay although Sirius XM is getting greedy so next renewal it will be time to call them.
How much is heating with coal saving you? don't forget to add that in.

 
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Post by Dave 1234 » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 10:08 am

Sort through every electric item on your property. So much stuff is a real energy pig.

Even little things add up. Like who thinks about the water pressure in the house ? Lower it by 20 lbs. and save a lot.

Chuck out the big freezer with hundreds of lbs of frost burnt food. They are not cost effective any more.

Switch to gas stove and dryer, two big electric pigs there .

I know ppl with 400.00 and more a month electric bills. Thats a lot of money for lights. :o

Dave

 
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Sunny Boy
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Post by Sunny Boy » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 10:43 am

Dave 1234 wrote:
Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 10:08 am
Sort through every electric item on your property. So much stuff is a real energy pig.

Even little things add up. Like who thinks about the water pressure in the house ? Lower it by 20 lbs. and save a lot.

Chuck out the big freezer with hundreds of lbs of frost burnt food. They are not cost effective any more.

Switch to gas stove and dryer, two big electric pigs there .

I know ppl with 400.00 and more a month electric bills. Thats a lot of money for lights. :o

Dave

Here it's just the opposite. Pro-pain for the gas stove and dryer is much more expensive than our village electric at 4 cents KWH summer and 5.5 cents winter, delivered. Of course the pro-pain price didn't go up until a few years after I bought the gas appliances,... which cost more than the same models in just electric.

I have switched almost all the house bulbs to LED and that dropped my monthly electric bill quite a bit, even though it's a lot less per month than the 16 cents a KWH I was paying back when I left Long Island. And drying clothes with the coal stove heat saved 9 months of having to use the dryer.

So what I've saved shaving bills, getting discounts where I can, and using coal not just for heat but cooking and laundry drying too, equals the monthly payment on Melissa's new Ford Escape that she got a week ago. Like Lee's situation, we had to replace her 9 year old car because of frame rust, or sink a lot of money into it just to pass state inspection.

Paul

 
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Post by CapeCoaler » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 10:52 am

Comcast has a shared data plan...
Pooled 3GB/month $35...
I am in a wifi environment 90% of the time...
Not much need for cellular data...
Except for google maps...
We have 3 cell phones so...
$100 month saved over unlimited...
Stopped 90% of the take out food...
Have kids so need the nuggs sometimes...
No more Dunks for coffee...
Not too hard to cut the $...
If it is a convenience item it will cost you...
Pick something as the reward an it makes it easier to do...

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 11:09 am

Keepaeyeonit wrote:
Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 9:58 am
Just remember Lee if it makes you happy then do it as long as its within reason
So true... I do pay for 3 entertainment subscriptions.. We have a family Spotify account for music $14.99 a month and you can have 5 accounts linked to it. I love it, all my family members love it, it's a well worthy expense. Same holds true for Netflix and CBS OnDemand. Oh, and I forgot, we pay for Amazon Prime which comes with some free Video and Music streaming. All worthy costs as I'm concerned. Three of those subscriptions we were already paying for so they don't impact my net savings, much.

Electric! Yes very good advice above and another place where some bleeding can be stopped. We are power hogs compared to other homes around here according to my National Grid statement. We use 1200-1600 KW a month, the new outbuilding is an additional contributor, the infrared sauna uses a lot of power. Nobody uses the hot tub anymore, its run its course, yet we continue to keep it filtering in Sleep Mode, might be time to sell it and cut that expense.. We should cut the big freezer in the basement. We've already converted to LED lighting..

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 11:22 am

Keepaeyeonit wrote:
Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 9:58 am
How much is heating with coal saving you? don't forget to add that in.
When I installed the propane furnace 18 years ago it was $.99 a gallon. Then when I switched to coal about 10 years ago it was crossing $3 a gallon. At that time propain was 3 times per BTU as coal. I haven't kept up with propain rates since, so I don't really know what the actual savings are right now but I'm sure it's in thousands somewhere..


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