There are many ways you can cut your household bills. It is good to have a variety of strategies to help save money! Here are some ideas.
Go Online
Utility providers save money when they use paperless billing and this means that they will want you to use this feature. Many of these companies will offer incentives for you to sign up for paperless billing and you should consider this. If you cancel your paper billing you could save a small amount on your bill each year.
While you will not be saving a lot of money each year with paperless billing, you could cut your utility bills greatly when you choose online only deals. These deals, particularly with energy providers, could save you hundreds per year on your bills. Of course, you need to keep an eye out for them as they are not always available.
Bundle Your Services From The Providers
One of the best ways to save money when it comes to, for example, TV and internet services is to find the right bundling package. Getting more than one service from a provider can reduce the overall costs. Providers want you to use them and will often have cash incentives for you to take more than one service from them.
A great example of this will be your basic TV package. Your TV package will cost a set amount each month, but if you take broadband with the same provider you could get this bundled for the same rate. This will save you money because you are essentially getting broadband and TV for the price of one service.
If you want to cut out your TV package almost completely, then online tools such as Kodi can help you do just this. Kodi is an online TV platform that allows you to add different Kodi addons to the software that will suit your needs. So, you could add a piece of software that allows you access to children’s programs or music TV. It’s a great way to cut down on costs and a smart move.
Don’t Remain Loyal To One Company
Most people will remain with the same phone provider, bank or utility company for years because they know them and are happy with the service while others find this to be the easiest option. However, you need to reconsider this loyalty to one company because you may not be getting the best deal out there. It is important to note that with most companies, loyalty does not actually pay.
Many money saving experts state that you should switch companies each year to ensure that you get the best deals. Switching your provider can save you hundreds each year with the deals that are on offer. More companies will offer deals to new customers when compared to deals for their loyal existing customers.
Review All Your Policies
If you want to stay with your current provider, you need to take the time to read through your policies. This allows you to determine if there are any changes that can be made which will save you money. One of the places to check is the excess on your car insurance.
There are many insurance companies that offer cheaper premiums when there are higher excesses. If you are a young driver, you should consider adding an older driver to your policy to lower the costs. Research has shown that this could save you hundreds on your insurance.
If you have a full gym membership where you can use all of the gym equipment and attend as many classes as you want, you need to reconsider if you need this. If you are only going to the gym once a month, you should look at downgrading your membership. There are a number of ways that you can scale down your membership and this can help you save cash.
Try Cutting Your Phone Bill
Your telephone provider will generally have offers for free evening and weekend calls and you should make the most of these. If you are signed up to the larger providers, they could have a friends and family mobile scheme that you can use. These schemes will allow you to call mobiles for a lower rate when compared to the normal rates.
Another way that you can save on your phone calls to use Skype. Skype is free to download and you can talk to anyone in the world who has Skype for free. You will also be able to buy credit to call landlines and mobile phones if you want to.
If you want to have the internet at home, but do not want to pay for a landline, you should consider using an internet dongle. The dongle is a small piece of hardware that you plug into your computer and use to access the internet via mobile phone networks. You can use this on a monthly contract or on a pay as you go basis.
The last place to look at saving money is your mobile phone bill. There are many people who are on the wrong tariff and you need to consider this. There are a lot of people who would be better off on pay as you go traffic instead of paying each month for a contract. If you are paying a large amount each month, but only make a few calls or send a few texts, you should look at PAYG instead.
Get Rid Of Products You Don’t Need
Each year, there are many people who waste hundreds on financial products that they do not need. These products will include extended warranties on inexpensive products. If you have paid a small amount for a product, there is no need to pay a third of the price for an extended warranty. The cover will not be very cost-effective.
Mobile phone insurance may also be pointless as many people are already covered by their home contents insurance. If you are covered, you will only end up doubling up on your insurance premiums. Cancelling your mobile phone insurance if you are covered could save you at least a hundred each year.
Be Credit Clever
Clearing credit can be hard particularly when the interest simply piles up each month. A way to overcome this is to switch to a 0% credit card where you can save up to 16% of your total balance. Of course, you need to be careful with this and ensure that you always pay the full balance to get the benefit of these credit cards.
Great suggestions, we just lowered our cable bill and phone bill just by calling to discuss options and ask for ways we could lower them.
These are all great ideas! We recently cut our cable and house phone, we never used it and saved us over $100 a month!
I call landline, cell and tv providers at least once per quarter to make sure I’m in the best package for us. I have switched from fios to directv and was so horrified I paid to switch back, I am very loyal to my fios now. I love my cell provider and noone else’s coverage in the area is nearly as good so I won’t leave them either.