Creating Room in Your Budget in 2019!
One of life’s little pleasure’s is pulling out jacket from last season and finding money in the pockets. Even just a dollar can put a smile on your face. But how much can we find by doing a pocket check of a whole budget? Allow me to give you a few suggestions for finding money in the REAL world in 2019. I say “finding” instead of “saving” because these tips require ZERO changes in your spending. I can almost guarantee you that you are throwing away money needlessly and you can get that money back so easily with just a few phone calls.
1. Check Your Cell Phone Account
How much data and time are you paying for vs. how much are you actually using? Most people are paying for more than they need to be. Call your provider and they’ll do a usage check and they may even have new programs that weren’t in place when you first signed up that you can use now to reduce your costs by just making a phone call. My last call saved $20 per line.
2. Credit Card Interest Rates
If you always make your credit card payments on time, call the lenders and tell them you just got an offer at a lower interest rate. You don’t want to move your business but want to have the best rates available. Would they consider matching the rate you were offered? Guess what, they almost always will! They don’t know you didn’t really get another offer. Give it a shot, you’ll be surprised.
3. Television
The age of cable or satellite is quickly coming to an end. If you’re paying $150 a month for your viewing, really think about what you’re actually watching. With so many streaming options to choose from today, if you haven’t already, you can easily piece together a Television plan for half that price. Is it time to pull the plug on that cable bill?
4. Electricity
Almost every provider of electricity has a “Time of Use” plan that allows you to choose what hours of the day will be your “prime time” billing. In other words, the power you use during specific hours will cost you more than the rest of the day. If you call your power company, they’ll do an analysis of your power usage to determine which of their plans will save you the most money. I have a 3000 sf. home and when I did this, I saved over $50 a month! That’s real money folks!
