One of my blogger friends told me I needed to start being a bit more creative with my post titles, so…
I bet you thought I was trying to sell you something, but no worries. Part of Making All Things New is pointing out ways how we can change our situation for the better, no matter what the issue. Today, the focus is on money, and a few simple ways you can save more and spend less. 🙂
Several weeks ago, I began using some of the strategies in Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover. One of the first things recommended in the book is to develop an accurate budget. Of course, for most of us, we’re still operating like we did when things were less expensive, when we didn’t bat an eye at putting something on a credit card, and we just kept thinking things were always going to be good. Not anymore.
When looking at your budget, Ramsey suggests that you work on your expenses. What can you cut out, what can you reduce? The goal is to eliminate unnecessary expenses so that you can save more money.
So, in a nutshell, here’s what I did:
- I reviewed all my insurance coverage. This review actually started two years ago, when I switched my policies to AAA. I got better coverage and saved over $700 a year by moving everything to them. My most current review led me to increase the deductibles on my auto insurance, which added another $100 to my savings.
- I got rid of cable tv. I know, this was a hard decision and not everyone is ready to do this, but I hardly watch television and there really isn’t much good on there anyway. We can get a lot of free shows, news etc., from the internet. Total savings $46 per month.
- No more Netflix. Just like cable tv, I found myself watching movies I didn’t really care for, just putting things in my queue for the sake of having something there. Redbox is a better way to go. Total Savings (without Redbox) $15.80
- I changed my phone plans. First, I’m one of those diehards who still have a landline, although everyone calls me on my cell, and most of the calls to the house are pleas for money. Even so, I want to keep it, but not pay as much. This change resulted in about a $50 savings per month.
One reply on “How I Saved Over $175 Per Month”
Great post paul! I couldn’t agree more about cutting out cable TV…it’s insanely expensive, especially considering that most people only really watch 2 or 3 channels, so most of what you’re paying for you’ll never use. Also you end up getting more commercials that TV.
I know you suggested cutting out netflix, but I actually think a great solution for people who still want to watch a lot of TV is to ditch cable and pick up a netflix account and an “apple TV.” It’s just a little box that you connect to your TV (costs $100), and it picks up your WiFi and streams all your netflix stuff directly to your TV.
You can watch great TV shows and movies whenever you want, with no commercials…for about 1/15 of what you’re paying for cable. Amazon is doing a similar streaming thing too now, though I’m not sure it’s compatible with Apple TV. With options like that on the market now, I think people are crazy to pay for cable.
(And no, I’m not a netflix rep haha)