How to Lower Your Bills and Save

Sticking with a budget can be hard, but when money is tight it can be even more challenging. 

It would be great if you were able to pay less towards bills each month, and have more money for dining out, entertainment, paying off debt, or just saving for your future.

Get the inside story on saving more each month, which you can use for paying off your debt such as a credit card debt or a loan. There are a number of ways to use the new found wealth, from building an emergency fund or a home renovation, to building an investment portfolio or putting it in a high-interest savings account. 

Cancel Some Memberships or Subscriptions

If you have a few memberships and don’t make regular use of them, you might consider canceling. If you and your family have multiple memberships you might be spending $40-50 on something that is used very little, or not at all. It’s worth evaluating as another opportunity. If you have magazine subscriptions but hardly read them, that’s another option. Do you have a gym membership and make real use of it? This could be another way to save. Do you have multiple streaming services but really only using one or two. Yet another way you can save. 

Transportation

A great way to save can sometimes be found within your transportation expenses. You could refinance your auto loan as a start. Increasing your deductible might cost more if you found yourself in an accident, but it can also lower your monthly insurance payment. Or you could sell your car and use public transit for an even bigger savings. With the price of gas nowadays, even the last option is worth considering. 

Food

You don’t have to live on ramen noodles or peanut butter sandwiches to save a few bucks, but there are a few ways to cut costs. Try switching to store brands, using coupons, or watching for sales more. Making a list before going grocery shopping and sticking with the plan is also a great way to save even more, since we tend to buy more than we need without a list.

Turn on Automatic Billing

Many companies offer a discount when you enable this feature, and those small savings can add up. If you use your credit card to auto pay you can collect points or rewards too. It’s easy to do and gives you one less thing to worry about as well.

Bundling

There are some opportunities to save when you start bundling the services used. While most might think of mobile payments, you can also look into home and auto insurance to see if you might have further options where you can save further. Sometimes there are additional savings to be found with home insurance by simply having a security system. If you bundle your home and auto insurance you could save up to 10% or 20%, depending on the terms of your policy.

Smart Money Habits

If you’re looking for ways to lower bills, one could assume you’re looking to save money. You can curb unnecessary spending by eliminating temptation, such as avoiding the shopping mall or your favourite websites where you are likely to spend money. If you do need to go to the mall or somewhere you think might tempt you, consider leaving your credit cards at home. With rising costs and inflation any ways you can save can put money back in your pocket and be put to better use.

If you are in a position to pay off your credit card each month, assuming you are able to keep your spending habits under control, then you won’t have to pay interest when you are able to pay off the full amount. Look at cashback offers and similar for even more ways to save.

If you get in the habit of only paying cash or using your debit card, you will be able to better manage the money that you have available and possibly avoid sliding into debt further. You might even consider reducing the credit limit on your credit card as an extra safeguard. 

Reviewing your bills on a regular basis along with monitoring your spending and creating a budget for yourself are all recommended as well. Renegotiating is another option, from credit card rates to loans and more, the worst they can say is no. You might be surprised how often a bill can be wrong, and if you aren’t paying attention it’s like flushing money. Better money management can not only help you save or get out of debt faster, it can also remove financial stress and give you less to worry about.