I've met some millionaires in disguise. I say in disguise because they don't look, act, or even dress like they have money. You have to get to know these kind of people because it isn't until you hang out with them for a while that you find out they have money and can buy clothes that aren't from the thrift store, and don't have to eat cans of soup every night for dinner. But the thing about these kind of millionaires is it is because of their frugalness that they have as much money as they do.
Personally, I cannot live a life of thrift store clothing and canned soups for dinner day in and day out. It's fine occasionally, but it would not make me happy and I feel I'd miss out on things in life (I really enjoy shopping and food). However I have recently discovered a few ways I could cut my bills drastically, and even make money with no effort. I'll tell you about the making money part next blog, but right now let me tell you about two bills I cut and saved our family $2300.
Personally, I cannot live a life of thrift store clothing and canned soups for dinner day in and day out. It's fine occasionally, but it would not make me happy and I feel I'd miss out on things in life (I really enjoy shopping and food). However I have recently discovered a few ways I could cut my bills drastically, and even make money with no effort. I'll tell you about the making money part next blog, but right now let me tell you about two bills I cut and saved our family $2300.
Cell Phones
I used to be in charge of accounts receivable at a wholesale clothing company. My job was to make sure the boutiques that ordered our clothing paid on time for their orders, or at least paid in general. My boss wasn't one who liked to give raises, but instead I received a bonus every few months based on how many people paid on time. I used the last bonus I received before leaving that company to purchase iPhone 3s for both Shane and I. We faithfully paid over $185 a month for our cell bill since that day 7 years ago, and actually came to believe we could not live without our iPhones.
Two months ago I heard about a cell company called Republic Wireless. Republic Wireless gives away cell phone service for as low as $5 a month. The only "downside" is in order to sign up with Republic Wireless, you have to use one of their Moto smart phones. Shane and I thought over the possible pros and cons for a few weeks before switching, but ultimately it came down to a "might as well try it" decision since Republic Wireless doesn't make you lock into a contract. We bought two of their $10 plans (unlimited talk and text in and outside of internet service). I decided to try life on a smart phone without a data plan, and Shane bought 2 GB data for $30 a month. Here's the cool thing though: Republic Wireless refunds whatever data you don't use! Our first bill was $55 with tax. That's already saving about $130 a MONTH from switching over from iPhones. Shane and I discovered that pretty much every public place we go has free wireless internet, and this month they refunded us $22 for Shane's unused data! With the refund and charge for this coming month's phone service and data, we only owe $33. Total savings per year on our cell phone service: $1,824! http://www.kqzyfj.com/click-7831370-11663663-1393258234000
The Moto phones are pretty cool, by the way. I got the Moto e and Shane the Moto x. (We sold our iPhones and broke even on the Moto phones.) Neither of us are really missing our iPhones. So far I've been able to get all the same apps downloaded on my Moto and the camera on Shane's is WAY better than the one he had on his iPhone 5s.
Two months ago I heard about a cell company called Republic Wireless. Republic Wireless gives away cell phone service for as low as $5 a month. The only "downside" is in order to sign up with Republic Wireless, you have to use one of their Moto smart phones. Shane and I thought over the possible pros and cons for a few weeks before switching, but ultimately it came down to a "might as well try it" decision since Republic Wireless doesn't make you lock into a contract. We bought two of their $10 plans (unlimited talk and text in and outside of internet service). I decided to try life on a smart phone without a data plan, and Shane bought 2 GB data for $30 a month. Here's the cool thing though: Republic Wireless refunds whatever data you don't use! Our first bill was $55 with tax. That's already saving about $130 a MONTH from switching over from iPhones. Shane and I discovered that pretty much every public place we go has free wireless internet, and this month they refunded us $22 for Shane's unused data! With the refund and charge for this coming month's phone service and data, we only owe $33. Total savings per year on our cell phone service: $1,824! http://www.kqzyfj.com/click-7831370-11663663-1393258234000
The Moto phones are pretty cool, by the way. I got the Moto e and Shane the Moto x. (We sold our iPhones and broke even on the Moto phones.) Neither of us are really missing our iPhones. So far I've been able to get all the same apps downloaded on my Moto and the camera on Shane's is WAY better than the one he had on his iPhone 5s.
Cutting down utility usage.
In a previous blog, I talked about how I planned on cutting back on our power usage at home. Alabama Power charges FIVE TIMES more for usage from 1pm-7pm on weekdays, so I changed my routine of power use around that. I sold our dryer and began line drying our laundry. I turn the air up to 80 during the day with the ceiling fans running to help keep the house cool. I try to save all my cooking from scratch for the weekends, and I have begun doing mostly slow cooker recipes for weeknight dinners because the slow cooker uses less energy than the oven. With these changes our power bill has been $40 less every month. Total annual savings of $480 a year.
We are now working on cutting our water bill. We're trying not to take long showers, and I am working on doing less laundry and dishes. Not that we're being dirtier, but I used to wash every tshirt, even if it was only worn for 2 hours. Consolidating laundry to fewer loads and same with dishes in the dishwasher also help.
We are now working on cutting our water bill. We're trying not to take long showers, and I am working on doing less laundry and dishes. Not that we're being dirtier, but I used to wash every tshirt, even if it was only worn for 2 hours. Consolidating laundry to fewer loads and same with dishes in the dishwasher also help.
What do we do with all this money we're saving?
$2,300 in annual savings was done with no effort or really sacrifice. It was just a matter of us changing our routines and becoming aware of what we're spending and using. We'll end up saving some (like actually having some in a savings account), and hopefully get some business and student loan debt paid off. Just for fun, here are some things that we could also hypothetically do with that $2,300:
And the list goes on and on. I might not become a millionare because of my penny pinching, but with just double checking our day to day bills and asking myself with everything I buy, "Do I really need this?" I can sure get a lot of fun stuff!
- Splurge on a big shopping spree.
- Take our family on a 5 night Disney Caribbean Cruise.
- Stay for two weeks or more at the beach through vrbo.com.
- Get round trip flight tickets to my hometown El Paso, stay for a week in a hotel, get a car rental, and have $800 left to spend on food and a bunch of entertainment.
- Buy 2 one-way flight tickets to Australia to visit our friends that are MOVING there next month. :(
And the list goes on and on. I might not become a millionare because of my penny pinching, but with just double checking our day to day bills and asking myself with everything I buy, "Do I really need this?" I can sure get a lot of fun stuff!