Dissing Debt-Know Your Home
Do you know what it costs to run your household? Do you know how much money you need each month to pay your bills and living expenses? Well, we thought we did. Hubby and I knew how much our average electricity, gas, insurances and rent bills were. We knew how much gas we put into our car a week, our average grocery and toiletries bill, and even our average costs of laundry. But we didn't think about gifts, festivals, annual car oil changes and repairs, vacations, monthly hair cuts and vitamins. These feees can really throw your wallet into a loop if you don't budget correctly. But before you add these items to your budget, you need begin with the basics.
Let's start with our bills. It's time to lower our bills so that we can send the extra to paying down our debt.
Monthly Bills:
Real Estate Taxes- Make sure that you speak to both a real estate agent and a tax accountant about the right neighborhood/city with the right taxes for your budget. This even effects apartment's rent!
Association/Organization Dues- Condo and town-home fees are hard to decrease, but speak to your board of directors about a possibility.
Utility Bills- This is the section where you can find some serious savings. You would be surprised how easy it is to lower these bills.
Cell Phone- Combine accounts if your household is with more than one company. See if there is a new plan that is cheaper. We saved $30 a month!
House Gas- Our gas company has a savers program for people that don't use much of gas and has energy efficient appliances. Joining this program saved us $10 a month, but moving last summer to a new apartment saved us $40 a month!
Electricity- We live in the dark around here! Not really, but we do our best to not keep lights on to save a buck or two each month. Our company offers a program where we can pay an average amount each month and the last month is either lower or free.
Internet- We changed our internet company to save $20 a month. We use the internet for TV, video games, movies and more.
Cable/Dish- Options are limited, but we just cut it off completely. We are saving $98 a month, but watching tv via the internet and a $20 antenna.
Water- We don't pay for water, but call your local company to see if they have a saver's program.
Groceries- Stay tuned to next week. But We save an average of $40 a month
Our total Monthly Savings After Reviewing Our Utility Bills: $150
Dave Ramsey opened our eyes to the fact that the shortest phone call would be able to make the biggest change. Each of the past 7 months has been great sending an extra $150 to our lowest bill. Even if you aren't ready to jump on Dave's wagon, lower your monthly bills. Your wallet desires it!
Let's start with our bills. It's time to lower our bills so that we can send the extra to paying down our debt.
Monthly Bills:
Real Estate Taxes- Make sure that you speak to both a real estate agent and a tax accountant about the right neighborhood/city with the right taxes for your budget. This even effects apartment's rent!
Association/Organization Dues- Condo and town-home fees are hard to decrease, but speak to your board of directors about a possibility.
Utility Bills- This is the section where you can find some serious savings. You would be surprised how easy it is to lower these bills.
Cell Phone- Combine accounts if your household is with more than one company. See if there is a new plan that is cheaper. We saved $30 a month!
House Gas- Our gas company has a savers program for people that don't use much of gas and has energy efficient appliances. Joining this program saved us $10 a month, but moving last summer to a new apartment saved us $40 a month!
Electricity- We live in the dark around here! Not really, but we do our best to not keep lights on to save a buck or two each month. Our company offers a program where we can pay an average amount each month and the last month is either lower or free.
Internet- We changed our internet company to save $20 a month. We use the internet for TV, video games, movies and more.
Cable/Dish- Options are limited, but we just cut it off completely. We are saving $98 a month, but watching tv via the internet and a $20 antenna.
Water- We don't pay for water, but call your local company to see if they have a saver's program.
Groceries- Stay tuned to next week. But We save an average of $40 a month
Our total Monthly Savings After Reviewing Our Utility Bills: $150
Dave Ramsey opened our eyes to the fact that the shortest phone call would be able to make the biggest change. Each of the past 7 months has been great sending an extra $150 to our lowest bill. Even if you aren't ready to jump on Dave's wagon, lower your monthly bills. Your wallet desires it!
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