How I Saved $826.72 A Month

My husband and I recently made a life-changing decision- we agreed that we could survive taking home far less money in order to sell our small business so that we could spend more time as a family and pursue other interests. It wasn't easy and for many of you this change is not by choice, so I'm passing on all of my (life) saving tips. Here's how we made it through:

Negotiate.

Most things today have a set price: the seller decides what he or she wants and the purchaser is stuck paying it. There are, however, a few prices you can negotiate.

If you're a renter and it's time to renew your lease have a chat with your landlord about rent reduction. Private homeowners often look to keep good tenants happy because, believe it or not, they aren't that easy to find. If you're looking for a rental, don't rule out homes that are slightly above your budget, either. Let the home owner know what you'd be willing to pay, and you might find they are more than wiling to reduce the listed price. In addition, consider negotiating the move-in costs.

By negotiating our rent we saved $100.00 per month and an additional $1000.00 on move-in costs.

We also recently saved $50.00 per month on our cable bill by inquiring about an advertised package special. Cable companies are competitive so it is worth a call every few months to see if there is a way to save some money by changing your package or your options. You can keep all of your channels and services and pay less for them simply by negotiating your deal with your provider. The same can be said for phone bills- phone companies are also highly competitive and typically always have a promotion going.

Budget.

I mean budget in more than one sense of the word.

The first is budgeting your household financials. It's a great way to see what's going out, what's coming in, and areas for savings. You don't have to make it complicated- we use a simple list format- just make sure you're using your register or bank statement to record expenses that aren't fixed, like groceries, gas, and entertainment.

The second use for the word budget is signing up for the budget plan. Some companies, particularly electric companies, offer a budget program where you pay the average cost of year-round service each month. This is particularly helpful in climates where heating and cooling gets costly. Wait until the lowest-cost months of the year occur before you sign up and remember that the price is adjusted for use about every six months. Our highest electric bill last summer was $461.92 and now (after practicing some energy saving tips and signing up for the budget) our bill is $199.07- a savings of $262.85 per month.

Watch What You Spend.

Couponing is a huge fad and a very helpful concept to those who use it effectively. However, if you're not coupon-savvy you could be costing yourself additional money by using coupons. Consider this: if you weren't already going to buy a product and/or it's not something you typically use, are you saving money by purchasing it? Let's say oatmeal is $1.79 and you have a coupon for $0.50 off- but the last time you ate oatmeal was in the 5th grade. Would you rather save fifty cents or $1.29?

Secondly, if the promotion is for a product you use little of, you should ask yourself if the extra package is worth paying for at all. Let's say you eat a salad occasionally and you can BOGO salad mix at the supermarket. If you're not going to eat the second bag before it spoils, you're not saving any money. It's common sense, really.

So, do use coupons, but do it with a little more savvy. Use grocery fliers to find products on sale and match coupons to those products, but only buy items you will use and in a reasonable amount of time. For more information on the effective use of coupons visit http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-use-coupons-wisely.html

Another quick note; check out Wal-Mart's ad match program.

By using coupons for products we were planning to buy, using the store's fliers, and buying generic products, we were able to take our $601.37 grocery bill down to $353.26; a total monthly savings of $248.11

Consumption.

There are some practical ways to save by reducing use. We can't all live in 100% green homes, but we can save some money trying.

Turn up the AC 1 degree permanently and 5 degrees when you're not home. It takes more (and thus costs more) for the AC to cool the home after it was off all day than to leave it on all day, so don't turn it off if you plan to turn it back on at the end of the day. Each degree you raise your AC can save you 1-3% in your cooling costs.

Solar tinted windows or blackout curtains can also help keep your home cool, taking a little strain off the AC. You can also use cold water instead of hot whenever possible (particularly the washing machine) and reduce your shower time. One minute in an average shower with a typical shower head uses around 4.2 gallons of water. We have five people in our family, who shower daily, so by reducing our shower times by 1 minute, we're saving close to 600 gallons a month.

In addition, turn off ceiling fans while you're not in the room; they cool people, but don't keep the room cool. Place a 1 liter bottle filled with water in your toilet tank to reduce the amount of water it takes to fill, turn off lights and electronics when not in use, and keep your fridge and freezer full. It takes less energy to cool food in a packed freezer.

In addition to my previously mentioned savings in electricity, we are currently saving $17.00 per month on our water bill.

Gas.

Going the speed limit has many advantages- safety is number one, but if you stay at the speed limit you can drastically reduce gas use. On top of the simple savings from keeping your car at or below 55 MPH, there are more factors that can reduce your gas use. Stop lights and speed limits correlate, so traveling at the listed speed limit means less red lights. You can save gas and time by following the law. Drive smart- the slower the stop and start the less fuel used.

For your knowledge: the average national cost of a speeding ticket is $150.00 (TrafficTicketSecrets.com, n.d.)

You should also plan where and when to get gas. I buy gas closer to work because I can save about ten cents per gallon. I plan when to purchase so that I don't get stuck buying gas closer to home and my pennies are adding up!

It's a great idea to have your car regularly maintained. You can also buy a fule-saving air filter at your local automotive parts store. It is releativley easy to replace in most makes and models, in fact, I do it myself. I increased the gas mileage in my v6 by 3 MPG city and my husband did the same in his v8. Using all the tips I have listed here, we save an average of $116.76 per month on gas.

Shop Around.

For anything you find is costing too much, there is always the option to find a better price. A great example is our car insurance. We really had a look at our policy and by changing our deductibles and coverage as well as switching to a lower-cost company we saved $32.00 per month on our two cars.

Don't have a calculator? No worries, I've added up my savings- that's $826.72 per month in addition to the one-time $1000.00 savings, which we placed in a CD at our bank. It really wasn't as hard as I thought it would be; so easy, in fact, I think anyone can do it without giving up anything they value. I am challenging you to find out just how much you can save simply by looking at what you're spending.

Reference:
TrafficTicketSecrets.com. (n.d.) Speeding ticket facts. Retrieved from http://www.trafficticketsecrets.com/speeding-ticket-facts.html