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Message
Suggestions For Lowering Monthly Bills?
Posted on 3/9/15 at 10:03 am
Posted on 3/9/15 at 10:03 am
I have seen people here report ways for reducing the costs of their monthly bills, and I am interested in taking some of those steps. I have had AT&T's U-Verse internet service for 6 months, and they recently increased the rate by a $1. Tiny increase, yet frustrating because there is nothing in the statement that explains it. For me, the increase in rate is worth calling about, and it gives me an opportunity to shop around for discounts towards my other utility services.
Any feedback is wanted (preferably useful feedback, although I am anticipating some backlash for being upset over a $1 increase).
Any feedback is wanted (preferably useful feedback, although I am anticipating some backlash for being upset over a $1 increase).
5
Posted on 3/9/15 at 10:12 am to RickAstley
Finding ways to better insulate house/apartment will be huge. Landlord messed with dryer vent and realized it 2 months too late (cold weather seemed to explain it) Saving 30$/month now that I fixed it.
For summer
-Blackout curtains with with lining to block out what
-Ensure dryer vent is insulated and properly connected so heat doesn't get in house
-Make sure weather strips are installed and working on exterior doors etc
-Strategic AC usage
Saving most of your money will come from eliminating wasteful spending
-Eat out infrequently and only when you have a deal
-Buy grocery store items only on sale
-Drive for errands together and when you are in that direction
For summer
-Blackout curtains with with lining to block out what
-Ensure dryer vent is insulated and properly connected so heat doesn't get in house
-Make sure weather strips are installed and working on exterior doors etc
-Strategic AC usage
Saving most of your money will come from eliminating wasteful spending
-Eat out infrequently and only when you have a deal
-Buy grocery store items only on sale
-Drive for errands together and when you are in that direction
Posted on 3/9/15 at 10:13 am to RickAstley
Specifically for UVerse you may just have to suck it up if you call threatening to leave and they don't give a frick
Posted on 3/9/15 at 10:16 am to GenesChin
quote:
Specifically for UVerse you may just have to suck it up if you call threatening to leave
I hear this works the majority of the time.
My pricing just increased for no reason as well.
Posted on 3/9/15 at 10:24 am to GenesChin
I did this for a service issue. They came to my house 3 times and kept having to reschedule to get my service connected (I had Uverse, moved, and planned to keep it). We finally got the issue resolved and was supposed to have someone coming out to do the final hookup. They cancelled the appointment in their system, I couldn't get someone out for another week. I called and told them if they couldn't get someone out sooner, I was leaving. They told me where I could drop off my receiver 
. They don't always cave to the threat of leaving. Although it was probably harder for them to schedule service than adjust pricing.
Ended up getting Xfinity hooked up on the first try within 48 hours.
And as far as saving on utilities, I've dropped all cable and just use internet streaming. Instead of paying $160, I'm not around $90 with the internet and hulu/Netflix fees.
. They don't always cave to the threat of leaving. Although it was probably harder for them to schedule service than adjust pricing. Ended up getting Xfinity hooked up on the first try within 48 hours.
And as far as saving on utilities, I've dropped all cable and just use internet streaming. Instead of paying $160, I'm not around $90 with the internet and hulu/Netflix fees.
This post was edited on 3/9/15 at 10:26 am
Posted on 3/9/15 at 10:26 am to RickAstley
Summer cooling set pt: 74 or >
Winter heating set pt: 68 or <
Winter heating set pt: 68 or <
Posted on 3/9/15 at 11:00 am to hiltacular
--Ditch the cable TV, go internet only. Between Hulu and Netflix, you can find plenty of things to keep you entertained at a fraction of the cost.
--Look carefully at your cell phone plan. Are you remotely close to using the amount of data/minutes you pay for each month? You may be able to step down a plan. Likewise, ask around: you may get a far better rate by combining lines w/a parent or close relative who barely uses any minutes and just wants a cell phone for emergency purposes. Often, the multi line plans are a better deal than stand alone plans.
--home phone service. if you have a decent cell plan and aren't a big yakker, consider dropping home phone service entirely. High speed internet may allow you to make voice calls as well.
--in summer, reduce your AC needs by washing/drying clothes later at night when it's cooler; ditto for the heat generating dishwasher.
--Look carefully at your cell phone plan. Are you remotely close to using the amount of data/minutes you pay for each month? You may be able to step down a plan. Likewise, ask around: you may get a far better rate by combining lines w/a parent or close relative who barely uses any minutes and just wants a cell phone for emergency purposes. Often, the multi line plans are a better deal than stand alone plans.
--home phone service. if you have a decent cell plan and aren't a big yakker, consider dropping home phone service entirely. High speed internet may allow you to make voice calls as well.
--in summer, reduce your AC needs by washing/drying clothes later at night when it's cooler; ditto for the heat generating dishwasher.
Posted on 3/9/15 at 11:06 am to GenesChin
quote:
-Ensure dryer vent is insulated and properly connected so heat doesn't get in house
This is something I need to do, and it's probably been costing me money for months. I tried to get this right, but it's pretty pathetic looking. How much could I expect to pay a handyman to fix something like this? My house is on blocks with a crawl space underneath, if that makes a difference.
Posted on 3/9/15 at 11:11 am to RickAstley
Water less. People tend to really overwater their lawns in summer. You really only need to water it once a week, and that's only if it hasn't rained half to one inch. And when you do water, do it deeply. Infrequent and deep. Get a rain gauge for your yard so you can tell when a summer storm gets your house while you're not there to see it.
Posted on 3/9/15 at 11:32 am to GenesChin
Good suggestions. I've got some work to do on saving in other areas, such as groceries and the cellphone. I am going to give AT&T a call, and see what I can achieve with them.
Posted on 3/9/15 at 11:43 am to RickAstley
Good luck w/AT&T. I dumped them recently and went to Verizon over cost and spotty service. Shop around to see what best meets your needs. Intro deals are often much better than what is offered to continuing customers. Switching can really save some dough.
Grocery tips:
--learn to like beans & rice. It's the cheapest thing you can make from scratch (provided you start with dried beans), it's good for you, and the leftovers freeze beautifully. Cook once a week and have dinner for 3-4 more meals later in the month.
--plan your meals around whatever protein is on sale for the week.
--buying in bulk isn't such a good deal if you end up throwing away food that goes bad before you can eat it. Focus on controlling waste: make meals out of the oldest items in your kitchen; ie, whatever is about to go south if you don't eat right away. Every bit of food you throw out is money into the trash.
Grocery tips:
--learn to like beans & rice. It's the cheapest thing you can make from scratch (provided you start with dried beans), it's good for you, and the leftovers freeze beautifully. Cook once a week and have dinner for 3-4 more meals later in the month.
--plan your meals around whatever protein is on sale for the week.
--buying in bulk isn't such a good deal if you end up throwing away food that goes bad before you can eat it. Focus on controlling waste: make meals out of the oldest items in your kitchen; ie, whatever is about to go south if you don't eat right away. Every bit of food you throw out is money into the trash.
Posted on 3/9/15 at 12:24 pm to RickAstley
We just bought a new house and we are not getting a home phone line. We rarely use it - the main reason we had one was for the security system. We are going with a wireless cell-based system in the new house. The installation and the monitoring cost a bit more a month, but, the additional monitoring cost is still less than a landline.
Meal planning / going out to eat is a big issue for our family. Every night during the week one of the kids has some sort of activity, and I work a lot at night certain times of the year. So if we are not careful, many nights become fast food or pizza nights, which is expensive and unhealthy. When we effectively mealplan, we end up spending a lot less at the grocery and have healthy meals. We try to cook a week's worth of food on a Sunday. We will look at the grocery ads and shop the sales (Winn Dixie has great sales and horrific everyday prices). If something is not on sale and we need it to cook, we get it from Wal Mart (but only if it's a minor item, if it's a major item we cook something else). We also go once a month to Sams to get things like cereal, breakfast bars, snacks for the kids, etc.
Meal planning / going out to eat is a big issue for our family. Every night during the week one of the kids has some sort of activity, and I work a lot at night certain times of the year. So if we are not careful, many nights become fast food or pizza nights, which is expensive and unhealthy. When we effectively mealplan, we end up spending a lot less at the grocery and have healthy meals. We try to cook a week's worth of food on a Sunday. We will look at the grocery ads and shop the sales (Winn Dixie has great sales and horrific everyday prices). If something is not on sale and we need it to cook, we get it from Wal Mart (but only if it's a minor item, if it's a major item we cook something else). We also go once a month to Sams to get things like cereal, breakfast bars, snacks for the kids, etc.
Posted on 3/9/15 at 12:38 pm to RickAstley
Big thing at my house was food. Weekdays are extremely hard for us to cook. So on the weekends we're cooking big and freezing. If you don't own a chest freezer you should get one. So typically we'll cook, eat it that day and freeze what I don't portion in to lunches for the week. 2-3 weeks later when you're not sick of that meal anymore you can pull it out of the deep freeze.
If you have a hard time getting your wife on-board with the freezing idea just do what I did: Show her the tallied cost of eating out and tell her that's why she can't buy the furniture she wants. She was amazed at the cost.
If you have a hard time getting your wife on-board with the freezing idea just do what I did: Show her the tallied cost of eating out and tell her that's why she can't buy the furniture she wants. She was amazed at the cost.
Posted on 3/9/15 at 12:40 pm to kingbob
quote:
How much could I expect to pay a handyman to fix something like this?
My father in law isn't a contractor so for me, a six pack of burrrr.
My vent is connected to an exterior wall and so my only issue is the actual hole in the wall + ensuring the hose is properly connected and not leaking air. Landlord put in a new dryer vent but didn't properly insulate the wall around the vent. I got approval to have my FIL tastefully fix the wall and seal up any air leaks.
For the exhaust hose, ensuring your hose isn't bent, doesn't have any holes and properly connected to the vent. I had a clamp that I wasn't pleased with (could feel escaping air) so I ended up buying some duct tape and going to town on it.
Power bill is down ~40-50$/month in my apartment since I did this.
Posted on 3/9/15 at 12:46 pm to RickAstley
quote:
cellphone
People don't realize that the gap between cell phone providers when in somehwat larger population zones is very small. I worked for Verizon for awhile and realized pretty quickly that if you don't live in middle of nowhere and are okay with a webpage in 3 seconds instead of 2, TMobile is a way better deal.
Check service areas and buy phone up front. I spend 50$/month on unlimited data/minutes and my phone is every bit as fast and connected as fiance's AT&T iPhone
Posted on 3/9/15 at 1:17 pm to GenesChin
quote:
For the exhaust hose, ensuring your hose isn't bent, doesn't have any holes and properly connected to the vent. I had a clamp that I wasn't pleased with (could feel escaping air) so I ended up buying some duct tape and going to town on it.
Power bill is down ~40-50$/month in my apartment since I did this.
I know what I'll be doing this weekend
Posted on 3/9/15 at 2:24 pm to kingbob
Honestly the hose connection was my issue. I assumed due to the cold winter that my increase in bill was due to just heating costs and that my laundry room was cold just because it had an exterior wall.
After about 1.5 months, I checked out the hose and realized that it had a small dent on the far/not visible side of connection and that you could feel the cold air seeping though. Since I did that I went from ~3.5-4$/day to <$2.25/day for non laundry days.
After about 1.5 months, I checked out the hose and realized that it had a small dent on the far/not visible side of connection and that you could feel the cold air seeping though. Since I did that I went from ~3.5-4$/day to <$2.25/day for non laundry days.
Posted on 3/9/15 at 2:34 pm to GenesChin
Don't smoke/drink/eat out.
Or at all besides the eat part. Amazing how much money that will save.
Oh yea and I got another discounted year added onto my uverse by just telling them I was going to Dish. They will crap their pants if you call and threaten to leave.
Or at all besides the eat part. Amazing how much money that will save.
Oh yea and I got another discounted year added onto my uverse by just telling them I was going to Dish. They will crap their pants if you call and threaten to leave.
Posted on 3/9/15 at 2:44 pm to STLhog
quote:
smoke/drink/eat out.
Finding deals/cutting back on drinking would save most people an ungodly amount of money.
Not to mention they would be in better shape
This post was edited on 3/9/15 at 2:44 pm
Posted on 3/9/15 at 2:45 pm to GenesChin
quote:
Finding deals/cutting back on drinking would save most people an ungodly amount of money.
Yep. That and not eating out for lunch and dinner.
I save $200 a month eating soup and sandwhiches for lunch and cooking meals that last a night or two for dinner.
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