Bills, bills, bills.
There’s nothing like a fat stack of monthly invoices to make you feel like waving a big white flag that says “POOR.”
But with a little financial discipline, you can curtail your monthly spending without changing around your whole life. Here’s how.
First, study your bills when they come in. Know what your biggest expenses are — it’ll help you know where you need to scale back.
And by all means, pay your bills on time. Late fees and penalties are useless budget killers.
Set aside some time each week to write checks, or set up automatic bill payment
through your bank. (Just be sure to monitor your account balance; overdraft
fees are budget killers too.) Here are some tips to help you save.
WATER BILL
* Use your dishwasher but only when it’s full. Washing your dishes by hand wastes more water. Let your Kenmore do the dirty work.
* Learn to fix leaky faucets. A dripping faucet can cost you a couple of gallons an hour. And turn off your sink faucet when shaving or brushing your teeth.
* Put a timer in your bathroom to help you take shorter showers.
* Save unused water. Whether you’re rinsing off vegetables, boiling spaghetti or waiting for the shower to heat up, try to capture this water in buckets. If it’s about to storm, plop a couple of buckets in your yard to catch rainwater. Use what you collect to water plants, soak your car or wash things you’d normally just hose down.
* Wear your clothes more than once before washing them. Then, to save energy, hang them to dry.
PHONE BILL
* Consider dropping your land line. More and more people are going cell-only, and getting their Internet service through a cable provider. You could save $20 to $50 per month. The downside? Cell-phone reception can be spotty; calling 911 isn’t as simple; and if you go over the minutes on your plan, be prepared to pay. So if you spend a lot of time on the phone, it may be worth keeping your land line.
* Cut out services you don’t need. Call waiting, caller ID, three-way calling and other buck-or-two-a-month services can add up.
* Shop around for a better long-distance deal. Go to saveonphone.com or phoneratefinder.com to compare rates and plans.
* Monitor your texting habits. If you’re spending more time texting than talking, pick a cell phone plan that’s tailored to your needs.
ELECTRIC BILL
* Use less air conditioning. Raise your thermostat while you’re at work; boosting your home’s temperature by 10 percent to 15 percent for just eight hours can cut as much as 10 percent off your annual electric bill.
* Turn off the TV. Don’t leave it on in the background while you’re doing something else. If you’re shopping for a new TV, LCD screens generally are considered more energy-efficient than plasma screens.
* Change your home computer settings. Turn it off when it’s not in use, especially when you’re asleep or at work. Make sure it goes into sleep mode quickly when it’s not in use (screen savers don’t save much power at all).
CLICK AND SAVE
You probably have an image in mind of the sort of people who use coupons: senior ladies who reuse their aluminum foil and hit five different grocery stores a week to get the best prices on frozen fish sticks and chuck roast. But you, too, can become addicted to coupons. Below are some useful sites for coupon clippers to bookmark. [ST. PETERSBURG TIMES]
* mommysavesbig.com (This also is good for free samples.)
* www.becentsable.net
* print.coupons.com/couponweb
* hotcouponworld.com
* gottadeal.com
* fatwallet.com
SHOPPING SITES
Here are a few more Web sites that could save you some bucks. [REDEYE, TRIBUNE, L.A. TIMES]
Deep discounts
* overstock.com: Don’t skip a trip to Overstock when you’re looking for furniture, clothing and more. There are deals aplenty.
* bradsdeals.com: Whether you’re in the market for a refurbished iPod or a new pair of shoes, BradsDeals lists numerous closeouts and final offers from retailers.
Comparison shopping
These sites do most of the work for you, including comparing prices at retailers.
* pricegrabber.com: Enter the item you’re looking for, and the site will point you in the right shopping direction.
* shop.com: The comparison shopping site helps find the best prices in more than 1,000 stores and millions of products encompassing all the top national brands.
Luxury clothing
* bluefly.com: Discounted wares from the likes of Calvin Klein, Betsey Johnson and featured designers from “Project Runway.”
* gilt.com: Gilt Groupe updates you on sample sales in cyberspace with high-priced labels for men and women.
* hautelook.com: Sample sales for 12 to 48 hours at a time.
[SOURCES: ABOUT.COM, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, THEDAILYGREEN.COM, CHOOSE TO SAVE, HEWLETT-PACKARD, MINNEAPOLIS STAR-TRIBUNE, THESTREET.COM, EHOW.COM]
