Lowering some bills
One of my favourite ways to cut our costs is to phone our cable provider and ask if there’s any promotions right now. Seems like for a while they were happy to give a deal but lately I’ve been hearing that they are no longer doing that – a few people phoned to get it lowered and ended up cancelling all but basic. I phoned a few months ago and got 3 months of Movie Central for free, once this runs out if there are no deals I think we are going to basic too, Netflix can fill in the gaps. Has anyone had luck lately getting their cable, internet, cell phone bills lowered? I’ve found that it sometimes takes a few calls – and make sure to ask for the customer loyalty department if you don’t get a deal at first.
Another good one is insurance costs (home,car etc.) – shop around and make sure you’re getting the best deal possible for your needs. For the car there are many things that can be switched around to fit your lifestyle – deductible, liability amount etc. All these factor into what you pay.
Other costs that can easily be lowered are clothing, personal care stuff, food etc. – I always wait for the big sales at Gymboree and use a coupon, usually won’t pay more than 5$ per piece. For our own clothing I shop online at Old Navy, the Gap when they have big promos. Food and personal care you can quickly reduce by using coupons, shopping on 10% off, accumulating airmiles or Shoppers Drugmart points etc. Check the clearance sections, discount bins and stock up when you find those amazing deals. Having a garden has really lowered our food costs this summer, and I’ve learned to be creative with zucchini! 🙂
For outings and meals out we’ve been using a lot of Team Buy and Groupon deals – really helps out when your outing is half price. We’ve tried out a lot of fun places – and if it’s somewhere we already know we like I will get their daily limit is the expiration date is far enough away. I printed them all out and put them in a folder, makes it a lot easier to just grab one and go.
What are your best ways to lower your household costs? Any good tricks or tips? What are the costs you’ve found you just can’t lowered?