Reduce Spending with bill savings - REIR Step 1

Reduce Spending, Save Green (bill savings)!

II.Bill Savings

-Save on TV. I originally signed up for satellite t.v. service for $49 each month. A couple years later, my bill inched its way up to almost $90 a month for no reason... I called them to cancel and they told me of a 'bare-bones' package for 9.99 monthly, I gladly accepted and even paid extra for the local channels.  My current bill is $14.99/month.  This resulted in a $900 savings every year!

-Save on Electricity.  According to the U.S.E.I.A, our average energy usage at home is displayed below.  Aside from getting energy-star rated appliances, there are 2 major things you can do to lower your electric bill.. The easiest thing to do is monitor your thermostat and wear the right clothes!  Another thing you can do is use surge protectors.  Shutting your TV off when your not watching it helps... but if a TV is shut off it still uses electricity when its plugged in (called phantom power).  If you have all of your electronics plugged into surge protectors, you can shut your protector off when you are done... eliminating huge wastes of power.

-Save on insurance. My advice is to shop around before committing.  You can save money by having multiple vehicles or homes if you insure with the same company.  Also, shop around annually, because a few companies will raise their prices every year in hopes that you never leave since you have developed some sort of loyalty to them.  As for health insurance, if your relatively healthy get lower premiums by having higher deductibles.  Never go on without insurance!

-Save on phones.  Get an affordable cell phone plan, and dump your home phone.  Most people don't use landlines anymore (except for faxing).  This can be a great savings.  Just remember to update all of your contacts with your new number, including lenders, insurance agencies, banks etc.