How To Save Money On Your Bills Right NOW

One thing we all have in common is having to pay our bills every month. This is something you can’t avoid, but one thing you can control is managing your bills correctly to save money. Below we discuss all the different ways you can cut your bills down and save a ton.

Overall, only 21 percent of respondents reported that they always pay their bills on time. Thirty- nine percent reported mostly paying bills on time, and 40 percent reported that they sometimes, rarely, or never pay bills on time.

https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/bcfp_consumer-insights-paying-bills_report.pdf

How To Save Money On Your Bills NOW

We have enough to deal with daily between spouses, kids, pets, work, housework, homework, kids’ games, and practices. It’s enough to just keep up with our own responsibilities, let alone make sure everyone else is doing their job correctly!

Unfortunately, the latter is also true, and we have to stay on top of companies that we pay monthly to make sure our money isn’t being wasted.  

The average American household has the following basic monthly bills:

• Mortgage or rent
• Homeowners insurance or renters
• Car payment
• Car insurance
• Water
• Gas
• Electric
• Cell phone

A few times over the years, I have learned some valuable and expensive lessons, so I thought I would share with you How To Save Money On Your Bills NOW!

We have learned the hard way to NEVER turn your back on the phone/cable/internet/electric companies.  Our phone bill has the TV and internet included – it’s so many pages, and there are many tiny changes here and there – it’s exhausting.  

Maybe your home internet cable bundle looks a lot like ours:  so many pages with a ton of tiny changes throughout.  Just reading it can be exhausting, and then trying to determine what all those extra charges are… who has time for that?!  But, if we want to use our money and extra cash wisely, we have to be familiar with our bills and know what they say.

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I have often seen the same charge twice on different pages of the SAME bill. I call customer service, and they say, “no, it’s just one charge listed in 2 places.” Who does that?!   And I suppose I am also paying for the paper these are printed on?…

In my opinion, they do these things to confuse us and keep us from wanting to examine our bills closely.  Again, that’s just my opinion, but I don’t think I am far off.

A few years back, before we learned any better, we were paying the bills without really diving into them, especially the phone bill, which includes the TV and internet.  One day I was so upset at how high the phone/TV/internet bill had become that I called customer service to discuss my bill.

To see what we could do about it and why it was so high because I couldn’t make heads or tails of the 20 pages…  I had to find a place where we could cut this bill down.

We were going to have to cut costs somewhere. This couldn’t continue.   After speaking with a billing specialist and examining the bill and our account’s history, we found that I was being charged a significant amount each month for a service I never ordered and was never made available to me!   

Once that was removed, they actually owed ME a lot of money!  So, for 3 months, we didn’t have a phone bill at all.  

I now call my utility companies about every 3 months to ensure there are no special deals or changes I can make to reduce the bill.  They have trained specialists to help you do that to keep you from switching to another company.  

Needless to say, we stay on top of it now. Let’s look at how to save a ton of money monthly starting NOW:

Use Your Calendar

Companies are forever offering new deals and specials. When you sign up for a new contract or deal, the first step is to know when it expires so that you can call in before then and find out what new deal or contract you can get. Now you can put that extra money into your financial goals or savings account.

A couple of years ago, our electricity bills and energy costs were SKY HIGH, and we attributed it to the Texas heat, we called in to see about getting some help with it, and we found out our “deal” expired. We were paying a MUCH higher rate when using less energy because we didn’t realize it had expired. 

Once we learned this, we could immediately have a lower electric bill, and our bank account was back to normal in no time. This is why it’s always a good idea to know when your accounts expire.

Seek Out Specials

Now we make sure to call our utility companies every few months to see if we qualify for a special deal or if there are any changes we can make to our bill to make it better, and our checking account has never looked better.

For the last 2 years, we have gotten Netflix FREE through a special our cell phone company offered. Don’t be afraid to ask. You never know what streaming services or subscription service like Amazon Prime they are offering.

Hubby called back once after we purchased something because he saw the next week it came with a special offer we didn’t get; he asked for it, and they said, ok, and we got it. Now you’ll have the money to start saving for your long-term goals, such as a new car.

Speak To A Specialist

Talk to someone in customer service who can offer suggestions on lowering your bill and ask for someone else if you feel you aren’t getting clear and direct answers.  Most companies have billing specialists whose job is to find you a better deal. 

They would much rather give you the best deal than have you switch to another company. This is a simple way to spend your hard-earned money elsewhere.

Search Out Competitor Offers

Know the offers from other companies and leverage them to get a better price and lower rate when talking with a specialist. They don’t want to lose you as a customer.  

So, negotiate a better deal. It’s YOUR money!  Make sure to add the date your new deal expires to your calendar. With all the money you save, you can start building up your retirement savings or pay off your student loans.

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Know Your Bills

Always ensure you know exactly how much your monthly bill or monthly payments should be. You can find this out by going through your bills and bank statements.

Then you’ll be clued in right away when it comes in too high, and you’ll save yourself a lot of headaches in the future. Making this a great way to save you a fortune and fix your financial situation.

Stay Informed

Be sure you understand the terms of the contract or offer, and if the rate will increase, by how much, and when it expires. It’s your money – don’t waste it. You’ll never meet your savings goals if you don’t know this.

You wouldn’t pay $20 for a Starbucks coffee. You KNOW you can get it cheaper elsewhere. Why would you pay more than you have to for any of your monthly bills?

Read

Read your bills – every time they come in, especially at the end of the month.  This is an easy way to save you tons in the long run.  It gives you time to catch the mistakes before they take hold, which is the most important thing. 

It also gives you time to contemplate if you actually needed to purchase more gems for Candy Crush that many times last month… lol.

Stay In Touch

Call often to re-negotiate your contracts or bill. Small steps like this are the easiest way to save extra money in the future and give your monthly budget some breathing room. 

I call the internet/cable company every 3 months.  They are forever changing offers and adding new ones, so keep up. Sometimes they don’t tell you.

Know The Fees

Be sure you know what the late fee is and exactly when that fee is applied to your account.  This is one of the best ways to save so much money.

If you run late, know the cut-off date and the consequences.  Often the turn-on fee is much higher than it needs to be, so have all of the info.

Knowledge is power and will help you make better decisions. Knowing this information can let you save and make an emergency fund.

Do you have any ways you save on your bills?  Please share them with us!