Three Ways to Save Money on Your Bills

Money is tight, and it’s only getting tighter. When at one time it was possible for a family to live off of a single income, the new millennium requires a family of four to have at least two, if not three, jobs to survive. An individual living on their own will typically have a full-time job as well as a part-time one on the side.

Inflation is constantly rising, and at an exponential rate – higher and faster than in decades past. With the cost of living constantly increasing, people are always looking for better ways to spend their money.

They are also looking for better ways to save their money. Banks will tell you to open a savings account and earn interest. Unfortunately, the interest rates are so low, you will only receive pennies each month. With people living paycheck to paycheck, putting money away in this manner is not feasible.

Instead, people are looking for immediate results that can stretch each paycheck out as much as possible. Discussed below are some of the ways you can save money on your utilities and other bills, to help you with that stretching of every dollar.

Electric Bill

Turn off your lights as you leave a room! Let the sun in to both illuminate the house and warm it. Turn off the TV when you go to sleep (some people leave it on when they go to bed). Both of these will help you save on your electric bill tremendously.

You can also invest in more energy efficient appliances, windows, and insulation for your home, but this takes money to save money. And since we are living paycheck to paycheck, there is no extra money to invest in these things.

The big money saver is going to come from your heating and air conditioning. Instead of keeping your house at 72° in the summer, keep the temperature at 74° or 75°. The system will not cool as often and will not have to work as hard to reach the desired temperature.

The same can go for in the winter. Keep the house at 68°. Again, this will keep your house at a comfortable level while limiting the energy costs it takes to heat the house.

Cable Bills

There are several options to save money when it comes to your cable bill. If you need cell phone service and Internet access, then one option would be to bundle your services into one through a cable provider (most providers offer services in all three of these).

Another great way to save money would be to get rid of cable altogether. If you purchase a Fire Stick from Amazon, all you need is Internet connectability (providers will try to pressure you into the bundle packages when you go down to just Internet, so be aware).

The Fire Stick will stream television and movies directly to your TV from your wifi connection to the Internet. Just load the apps you need onto it and you can begin saving money by not spending extra on cable.

Credit Cards

Credit cards can be tricky to manage if you have not been responsible with your spending. It can be tempting to use your credit card to pay for everything, then pay the bill on the due date. The problem is, if you are living from one paycheck to another, then it is hard to pay the balance off each month.

Do not charge so much to your card. Instead, use it sparingly so that you can pay off a much smaller balance at the end of the month. If you have a large balance and can only make the minimum monthly payment, then the interest owed on the remaining balance will add to your balance. Paying this way will cause you to owe more than you actually borrowed, forking out more money in the long run.