There are so many areas to look into to bring your monthly expenses down! We made a list of all our bills, how much is due, and when they go out. From there it was easier to see where we could make cuts from and areas we would try to find cheaper options!
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Electric Bill
Run through your appliances and see if you have anything that’s running passively. I was notorious for leaving things plugged in that used small amounts of power (even when turned off) but that’s still extra electricity you’re paying for! Ex: We had a hot tub that we never used that added an extra $30/month to our electric bill! The tub and the extra charge are definitely gone!
Consider bumping the thermostat up a little in the summer and down in the winter for extra savings in your monthly bill! (Utilize those sweaters and warm slippers!)
*Hang dry your clothes when you can outside and save yourself from running your dryer! These umbrella clothelines are awesome for small spaces!*
Satellite TV
Seriously. Cut the cord! We found that we had only watched our satellite TV a handful of times over a few months and were giving them our money and not using the services.
There are so many other options for streaming now, we just couldn’t justify the cost any longer.
Phone Bill
We brought our phone bills down to the lowest plans available and made sure to keep everything on wifi only when it was available. We live in an area that only get decent coverage with Verizon, so switching carriers wasn’t an option for us.
BUT! The pay-as-you-go phones have come a long way! Their prices really can’t be beat, so definitely look into alternative phones plans to cut some massive spending our of your monthly budget!
*We also elected to pay off our phones early to eliminate that monthly spending and use towards other debt!*
Subscription Services
Any and all subscription services were brutally cancelled!
That’s right!
Amazon.
Glam bags.
Essential oils and supplements.*
Specialty coffee servies.
Monthly Audible credits.
Magazines or newspapers.
All of these things are luxuries, and some of which do get your family great deals and products; however, none of which are truely needed. That extra $10 or $15 here and there adds up quickly and COULD be going yowards getting your family into financial freedom!
*I do want to add that we didn’t cut out essential oils, dietary supplements, or quality of our food during our journey. Our health is most important. We did cut out the monthly recurring ordering as I found I would spend more than what was actually needed for our family just to keep the services active.*
Car Payment
When we began our debt free journey, I drove a 2015 Durango Citadel with all the bells and whistles. I am not big into cars, but I loved that one!
Unfortunately, we owed way too much on it. The monthly payments were almost the same as our house payment. I decided to give it up for something better on gas (and on the wallet!). I had allowed myself to be talked into such a high payment simply because we could make the payment.
Catch that? We could MAKE the payment Not actually afford the vehicle. After 2 years of payments, we were still tied to it for another 3 years!
It was traded in for an 2010 Town & Country. We were able to pay the van off in 3 months, it had less miles, and are FULLY enjoying the sliding doors with our two boys!
There is no shame in going with a less expensive vehicle in order to get yourself out of debt. Manage the upkeep on them and they will usually serve you well!