…In the gas tank of my car, not in my pants. Have you noticed that gas prices dropped a bit? I have. I’ve spent this whole summer trying to lower my bills and conserve resources in an effort to balance out the rising cost of food and gas. Here are some efforts I’ve made to ease the tension on my pocket book.
1. Switched cell phone plans from $50 to $30 per month. I recommend you do the same. Call your cell phone company and tell them you are considering switching to a different carrier (you may want to have one in mind as well as the plan that they are “offering” you). Hopefully they will go out on a limb to keep you as a customer and offer you a lower package. You have nothing to lose, try this my friends.
2. Stopped grocery shopping. I’m now in starvation mode and my body is living off my excess fat storage. No, but really. I have drastically reduced my trips to the grocery store. I only go twice a month and load up only items from the perimeter of the store (dairy, bakery, produce and meat section). This has not only reduced my grocery bill by more than half, it’s also allowed me to eat healthier.
3. Conserve electricity and water. I’ve made an extra effort to turn off the computer when it’s not in use, reduce the amount of TV I watch and turn off lights when I leave a room. When brushing my teeth or washing my face, I turn off the faucet. A habit I’ve also made is to unplug things when they are not in use. Even if something is plugged into the wall and it is not on, it still drains energy and costs money. So unplug that TV, go outside and enjoy the sunlight.
4. Hit up the dollar store. You can find the random-est stuff there for only ONE DOLLAH’! I recently loaded up on hand soap, batteries and even gift wrap. The money I’ve saved on purchasing items from the dollar store versus say, Target, are huge. AND by avoiding Target, I automatically save about $75 because their isn’t a clothing or shoe department at the dollar store.
5. Traded in car insurance from the local State Farm office to esurance. The switch took literally moments. They don’t have the slogan of “Quote. Buy. Print” for no reason. It’s that easy. By switching from State Farm to esurance. I am now saving $42per month which is an annual savings of $506.04! Can you say shopping spree??? AND just to sell them a bit more…Kat Daddy’s buddy at work went through a claim with esurance recently with no problems. They even have a service where you can go online to see pictures of the progress on your vehicle in the unfortunate event that your car goes to the body shop for accident repairs.
It may seem like a lot of work to save some loot, but I highly recommend it. You’ll love the benefits of saving money. You may even drop some pounds and you’ll definitely gain some extra funds. You could use these to buy a smaller pair of pants. Now who wouldn’t want that?
I’m curious, what have you done to adjust to rising costs? Did you get a second job? Sell your first born? Have you not been affected by any of this? If this is you, kiss my big toe.
Your new financial advisor,
Rizzle
P.S. I credit items 1, 2, and 5 to Kat Daddy! Thanks for helping me save!
