I must admit I LOVE my cellphone, but I do not love the bill every month (who does?) Your bill can get rather steep(like mine) especially when you start adding data and texting to your plan! I am a talker (easily consume 3,000 cell minutes a month, -yes I don't know HOW to shut up)
So if you are anything like me, or worse, you have KIDS now on your family plan (YIKES!!!! I am not looking forward to those days!) you might want to read this post. I was talking to one of my good friends yesterday(on my cellphone no less) and she informed me she gets a 10% discount on her cell plan through her husbands employer. I thought, wow, lucky you, I would love a 10% discount (mike at least cover my taxes!).
Well, then I got to thinking harder and realized I have a benefit from my employer too that offers discounts to Sea World, movie theaters etc. I only looked at this briefly once and thought it wasn't a huge money saver and didn't delve into it (SHAME ON ME!). So tonight, I logged in and GUESS WHAT! 10% discount on cellphone service just by calling a number and requesting it! Super easy, I was on the phone less than 10 minutes and 10% just cut off my bill EVERY MONTH!
I did a little research and it seems there are vast numbers of companies and organizations that offer this same discount! Students can get discounts, AAA members, credit union members, shoot I bet even AARP offers this!
So, check your employer, check your significant other's employer, if you are student, check your school, check your insurance company, your credit union. You are bound to have an organization that offers this same discount and you could be missing out on savings you didn't even know where there!
Readers, I pose this question. What methods do you find to save money on other areas like electric, cable service, etc. I would love to add your tips to a post!
Feel free to leave comments here or you can use the contact me tab under my header picture. I am open to suggestions on more ways to save money!
5 comments:
If you have readers who are credit union members they should check out http://www.lovemycreditunion.org. There are discounts for Sprint, DIRECTV and ShopAmerica, a new online mall specifically for credit union members that offers cash back on online purchases. Through this website you can check to see if your credit union participates. If you're not a member of a credit union I highly recommend joining one, not only for the discounts but for better and more affordable financial service.
Research says the the 3 biggest energy hogs in the home are the dishwasher, the dryer and the heating/air-conditioning unit. Here is what we've done to lower our energy bills SIGNIFICANTLY. And, let me tell you, if I can do it, ANYONE can do it. Also, I'd like to mention, if these things were too inconvenient for me, I wouldn't do them. These options only take slightly more time than doing it the normal way.
1. Staying up on the dishes by hand washing them. When you have about 10-15 things in the sink, just take 5 minutes and hand wash them and let them air dry on a towel next to the sink. If you stay up on it, it really isn't that difficult. Sometimes though of course when we have company and there are a ton of dishes, yes I do use the dishwasher, or on "those days" that I just need a little break.
2. Line dry laundry. Again, if you keep up on your laundry, like, do one load a day, and hang it outside to dry (I have a line strung from two trees in my backyard)it doesn't take up that much time. It takes it about an hour to and hour and a half to dry. The only exception is towels and socks and unmentionables. The towels and socks get real stiff and it's just not pleasant to dry yourself off with a stiff towel or put on socks that are stiff. And well, no one wants to see unmentionables waiving out in the wind. Also, when it's rainy outside or too cold outside, I do use the dryer.
3. This year we decided to buy a space heater. We have a large old house with single pane windows and it takes a ton of electricity to keep it warm. When it's cold, during the day if I'm at home, I'll dress warmly (not a coat or anything, just pants, sweater and socks) and I'll bring the space heater to whatever room I'm spending most of the day in (kitchen or office or wherever). It always works just fine. Also, when it's cold at night we dress warmly and when it gets below 40-45 degrees outside, we have our four kids sleep in our room and we all have a sleep over. We shut the door and put the space heater on the dresser so it's not going to get too close to anyone (fire danger) and we all sleep toasty and warm while having fun family time. (it only drops below fourty a handful of times during the Houston winters so it's not that big of a deal). We haven't gotten a bill yet since using the space heater so I'm not sure exactly how much we've saved, but I'm pretty sure using a space heater to warm a room vs. a home heater to heat the whole house will be cheaper. I think so far this winter we've only used the home heater twice.
So those are the biggies. A few smaller things we do are:
Only have basic family cable (I mean, who really has time to keep up with 100's of channels),
Keep lights turned off and use natural light when possible, do your own yardwork (we all need exercise anyway right?) Use cold water when washing clothes (most of the time), turn your water heater temperature down (no one really showers in scalding hot water do they? When I take a shower, I don't have to put any cold on because the "hot" water is just perfect. REALLY warm.)
Sorry this is so long winded, but I am always looking at ways to cut bills and save money. We're trying to get through our mound of student debt and every penny counts.
By the way, is there a deal with Kroger and cell phones? My plan is going to be expiring soon and I was interested in this. I know you're the Kroger Guru so I thought that you might know some more information that I do.
Thanks for all you do for people. You're truly a great person and I am greatful for all your posts.
Sincerely,
Becky Larsen
Where did you find that AAA offers the discount? I cannot find it anywhere.
I don't see the 10% discount on a quick search, but did find discounts here http://savings.chicago.aaa.com/default.aspx?zip=60563&cid=5
I called Directv and told them the truth, that I needed to save money and one of the easiest ways was to get rid of directv. After approximately 15 minutes I got free HD ($10) and free DVR ($7) for 24 months. That's $17 a month off my bill for 2 yrs.
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