I am also trying really hard to find ways to cut back on spending. I feel like we already have cut back so much. It's sorta becoming depressing.
I think I am going to talk to the cable company about lowering our monthly bill. We currently pay $107. for basic cable, internet, and our phone line. I don't know if it can be lowered or if cutting cable will lower it very much, but I have to try. If we do get rid of cable, we can do Netflix, which is under $20/month. We can watch some t.v. shows online (like Grey's Anatomy! Did you know you can watch the newest episode online the day after it airs? Just go HERE!) We definitely can not get rid of internet because we need it for school. Not only ours, but the kid's school as well.
Another one is our cell phones. I LOVE texting. We have unlimited texting with our plan and two phones. We pay $115 a month. This seems outrageous to me. I think it might be time to forgo the texting and get to the absolutely cheapest plan available. (I am really going to miss my texting.) It might also be time to look at a different company. How much do you all pay and for what kind of plan?
Because of the great weather, we are finally able to keep the air conditioner off for good. In the summer it just isn't possible to keep the air conditioner off. We get to 110 degrees most of the summer! Now, we just need to keep the heat off as long as possible. It has been dropping into the 40's at night and I really hope it doesn't get much lower than that.
Hubby has been doing most of the driving to the kid's school. He takes them every morning and picks them up at least 2 or three afternoons a week. Since he drives a CNG van, I get to save my gas. He pays just under a dollar a gallon for CNG where as I have to pay $2.70ish for gas/gallon.
If anyone thinks of anything else that can save money, please let me know.
Okay, I pay about 80/month for phone and internet, no cable. I could pare that down by about 10/month or so with a no feature phone line. You could probably do a little better, I have wireless internet because of where I live.
ReplyDeleteI pay about 70/month for no frill cell service, 2 phones, 1000 anytime minutes, free nights and weekends, free mobile to mobile, no texting, no internet, just phone service. Alltel.
Had to turn on our furnace a couple days ago, it was getting too cold to sleep at night. Hopefully, it will stay off this weekend, it's supposed to warm up. Be thankful you live where it's a little warmer!
Has hubby applied for full time work? Seems like that would be a help too.
You've gotten pretty good at the frugal thing, I'm proud of you. Keep it up!
Toni
Our phone & internet combo (no frills on the phone - not even long distance - we use a calling card from WM or Costco to make long distance calls, or use Mike's cell phone on nights/ weekends) is $66 from Qwest. Doing the eat what's on sale/coupon thing you mentioned in the next post will help a lot.
ReplyDeleteOne area we save a lot compared to other folks is cell phone. Mike's is covered through work. Mine is a cheap pre-paid phone. I paid like $40 for the phone itself 3-4 years ago. Then I buy airtime as needed - my phone is through stimobile.com I usually buy $100-$125 of airtime a YEAR. I just don't talk/text much. My cell is pretty much for "emergencies", traveling and the ocassional 'yeah, we're really leaving the park now' or 'what was that stupid thing you asked me to buy at WM' call. We're moms, not neurosurgeons. Other than being reachable for important calls from/about kids/husbands/family, I really don't HAVE to be available to everyone 24/7.
It's hard to look at the budget and make cuts, especially the small cuts. It's easy to think "It's only $5." But each of those bits adds up. One of the best and hardest things we've ever done was to track ALLLLLLLL of our spending. It hurts to see at the end of a month that you blew $150 on little stuff -- coffee, a pack of gum, trips through the drive-thru, a few downloads for the iPod, etc. But it's a wake-up.
GOOD LUCK! You can do it. :o)
Good luck on the job!!! That would be awesome! We've done tons of cutting back over the past year and yes it's depressing, but there is still so much more we could cut back on. We're with alltel and love the price and the service. We shopped around and changed car insurance, cut cable, changed internet and are now paying half of what we were and lots more. Basically we seriously looked at our wants vs. needs and tracked spending. It's doable even though it is hard, but we just look at it as a temporary thing--that makes it a little easier.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry that you have to cut back so much. Jon and I will soon have to do the same. I wish we were all rich.
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