One of my goals for the first of the year was to organize and minimize our monthly bills.
Shared well for water
$30.00 (flat rate, no way we were getting this any lower)! I do pay it in three month increments, this helps.
Sprint cell phones: Jake and I are on a shared plan with 1500 shared minutes, and we never go over.
My advice on cell phone bills. Don't pay for cell phone replacement programs, usually around $5 to $7 dollars a month, not worth it. It costs $50 anyways and most cell phone companies give a free upgrade every two years. Some careers get discounts, if you are a nurse or firefighter, ect. We receive a 23% discount monthly. Don't use 411, it only increases your bill because you are too lazy to look up a number. Use your Internet instead. Our bill is
$121.00 total with all the surcharges, taxes and fees.
PUD: Power, yikes, we use too much electricity that's for sure.
$180.45
Mason County Garbage/Recycle:
$56.37 (this is billed every two months)
Qwest: Basic home phone only with no extras. Since our cells don't get great reception, we need a land line. I cancelled our extras, like call waiting and caller ID.
$12.88! Think about how much do you talk on your home phone, do you really need call waiting or caller ID? It is nice to screen calls but come on people. Having a land line is a luxury in most countries.
Wave Cable: Wireless Internet, medium speed.
$43.72
Dish Cable: Basic expanded cable.
$33.44
You'd think we could have home phone, cable and Internet all in one monthly bill. This is one of by biggest frustrations. Not where we live, it's not even an option and after doing much research this is the cheapest plan for us.
We have both our paychecks enter the same account. We use debit cards and pay bills through this account.
I have an account for Sawyer $20.00 per my paycheck goes into.
I have an another account $20.00 of my paycheck goes into.
Jake has $20.00 go into two different accounts per paycheck as well.
That is $160.00 per month roughly that we have going into different accounts that we don't see our use. This money adds up quickly. I always heard people doing this and thought this wasn't for me. But it really works. I always thought the more money I have I want it all in one savings, so it gets more interest. This is not the case. It's all about not seeing it and stowing it away for a rainy day or trip. We have a total of five bank accounts. I highly recommend this. Especially for Sawyer she's more well off then we are.
I also cancelled my pet insurance, my dogs are old and I will take them to the vet and just pay the regular fee, instead of paying I think around $40.00. This is saving us money.
YMCA membership
$38.00. I rarely go but I don't have the heart to cancel yet. I can use guest passes for Jake, every member gets 12 per year. Did you know this? When I take Sawyer to swim class, she goes for free.
What are your monthly bills like? Did this help you? Any suggestions?
Also call and haggled with your companies to get lower rates, specials and deals. Threaten you are going to cancel. I'm just saying. A penny saved, is a penny earned.
Look how little she was...
