Money Doesn't Grow on Trees (Part One)

I have been wanting to write this post for so long now, and with the husband and munchkin sent out on a Hobby Lobby errand for some very specific yellow polka dot ribbon, I think it is pretty safe to assume that I have a good chunk of uninterrupted time on my hands. Manipulative? Me?

A few months before Trent was born we had the "holy hell...we need more money" moment/realization. Being 6-7 months pregnant, I was not really in a position to get a side job, and Matt was so busy with his work that he couldn't coach on the side at that point either. So we decided to focus on how we could save money and cut costs rather than bringing in more right at that moment. Thanks to a ton of hard work, discipline, research and the fact that I couldn't drink alcohol for the next several months, we were actually able to shave a pretty nice amount off of our monthly expenses. I was so impressed..and so annoyed that we had not done it sooner...so I wanted to share a few tips on how you can do the same. I know there are a TON of similar posts floating around out there, but how many of them feature this serious little saver putting away his Valentine's money from Grandma? (and don't worry...you KNOW I sanitized his hands immediately after this picture)

Fair warning: This is a wordy post, but it will be worth your while.

Two very important steps in beginning your money saving journey are:

1. Know What You Spend
  
This is definitely the most important (and least fun) step toward cutting down your expenses. I am definitely guilty of the whole not-looking-at-my-bank-account-out-of-fear thing, but I had to finally break myself of that. When we set out on the new budget mission, the first thing we did was create a detailed list of ALL of our recurring monthly expenses. Even the expenses we only pay quarterly, like pest control and HOA dues, we broke down into a monthly cost and included in the spreadsheet. After we had all the basics (mortgage, utilities, car payment, phone/internet, etc), we scoured our bank statement for all the things that you easily forget each month because they are auto-debited, perhaps...these included toll tags, the dog's health plan and our home alarm to name a few.

2. Know What You Make

Seems pretty obvious, I know. But after you have a comprehensive list of all the money going out each month, compare that to what you bring in each month. And the difference is what you have to work with for savings, incidental expenses, variable monthly expenses and any other category you want to add into your budget. Anyway...this wasn't really a how-to-make-a-budget tutorial, was it? Back the the point..


Here are several ways we have found to greatly reduce our bills and build our savings:

1. CALL YOUR PROVIDERS!

This is where we saved the biggest amount of money. For years we have been the suckers that just paid our bills without question, but we finally decided to get serious and bluff  threaten our various service providers with cancellation in hopes of some discounts. And wow...it was crazy easy. We didn't even have to get rude..and dangit I was all prepared and everything. Seriously though, apparently it is a well known phenomenon that you can simply call up AT&T, for example, and ask for a lower rate. Yes, just ask. Not even threaten to cancel. Just tell them you are looking for ways to cut your monthly expenses and noticed that AT&T was getting to be a little too much for you each month, and those nice folks on the other line will simply give you a better rate. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? I thought so, too. But just try it. By using this tactic with each of our service providers we saved the following:

- AT&T-, Phone/Internet/U-Verse TV: saved $100/month for exactly the same service!
- ADT, home alarm: saved $15/month
- Terminix pest control: saved $10/month

So there you have it...$125 more in our pockets every month without having to sacrifice ANYTHING but a few minutes listening to bad jazz on hold. Totally worth it.

2. Stop Paying "Fees"


Because I avoided looking at my bank account very often, I didn't notice for a pretty long while that Bank of America started charging a monthly fee for my checking account..$15 a month! Insane! I blew it off for a while thinking there was nothing I could really do, but while I was still on the high from our other savings I decided to just call them up and see what they could do. It was worth listening to a ten minute explanation of all the different kinds of accounts they offered to ultimately find out about an option called e-banking. It is exactly the same as a normal checking account, your account number/debit card number/etc all stay the same..they just change something "in the computer" that converts your account to another type of account. Whatever..the bottom line is it is a totally free checking account. The ONLY restrictions are that a) you only use ATMs and online banking...no teller transactions; and b) you convert to paperless statements. So easy. And if you DO need to go into the teller for any reason, there is a flat fee of $8 for that month. So even if you needed to go to the teller 15 times that month, it is just the one time $8 charge. Like many people these days..we already had paperless statements and rarely if ever use a teller anyway..so it was a no brainer. The lady on the phone even gave us a credit for the previous four months...so not only did I save $15 a month, but we also MADE $60 extra. Money in our wallet! I was on a roll.

3. Look Into Your Insurance

We had been meaning to do this for a while, but every time I thought about it, it just seemed like it would be such a pain in the butt to switch insurance companies. But since we were more determined than ever to save some serious money, we decided to just go for it, and I could NOT be happier with our decision. My brother finally proved his worth, hehe..shout out, hermano!...and put us in touch with Bryan Massey, an insurance 'broker' of sorts, over at Liere Insurance. Nicest guy ever, super efficient, genuine, easy to work with, calls you back when he says he will..etc. And not only all of that..but he actually is genuinely interested in getting you a good deal. He doesn't work for any particular company, but rather he just looks at all the options from different companies and finds you the best deal with a comparable policy to your current one. Anyway....he made it VERY uncomplicated. We didn't have to get our current declarations page or any of that garbage..we just got out our monthly State Farm statement, read him off some info he asked for and waited for his call back. Wait for it....he saved us over $130 a month on our auto and home insurance by switching to SafeCo Insurance with an IDENTICAL policy. I was sooo skeptical, and it didn't help that my State Farm agent tried every scare tactic in the book to make me believe I wouldn't be getting identical coverage. Although..I guess he was right. The ONLY thing our SafeCo policy does not cover that State Farm did is any food in our freezer that may spoil were the fridge to go out. Umm..I think we can deal. Can't buy frozen breast milk with insurance money, anyway! Other than that, we are getting identical coverage for a CRAZY amount less. It is SOO worth it, people. And if you happen to get in touch with Bryan, tell him I sent you. Their referral program is pretty great, too :) Our parents have already switched as well.


4. Clip Coupons

I have been clipping coupons for a few years now, and it has really made a difference. You don't have to become one of those insane women with a four inch binder who clogs up the checkout line at Kroger to make couponing worth it, though, I promise. The best piece of advice I can give for couponing is to wait and clip the coupons AFTER you make your weekly shopping list. Then clip your coupons with the list close by, and ONLY clip coupons for those items that are on your list. Coupons can be a slippery slope, and if you don't adhere to this practice you could easily end up with 371 Lady Speed Sticks..because you know...there was a coupon! I mean..if you happen to run across a coupon for an item that you regularly use but just don't have on your list that week, then by all means go ahead and clip it to save for later. Just don't get sucked in to items you don't need. 

Also...seek out coupons for anything/everything! If you plan to order Pizza, just Google "Pizza Hut coupon codes." We got our pizza for $7 rather than $18 this weekend. If you plan to go to a museum, Google coupons for it. Most cities have a "tourist information" type of website which almost always includes coupons for all of the local attractions. For instance, we went to the 6th Floor Museum recently and found a coupon on some sort of "Visit Dallas" site that got us in for half off. Bottom line...there are coupons floating around for most everything you can imagine. So if you plan to buy something/go somwhere/do something, it is worth a quick Google search!

Other shopping tips include making that trip to the grocery store (instead of Target...sadface) where you can use your store card for discounts (which REALLY add up and especially help save on gas with your shopping points). Ask you parents/friends/neighbors for the coupon section of their Sunday paper..chances are they don't use it anyway..and make sure and check online for digital coupons.


Looks like my blogging time is up for the night...so I will have to continue this post in Part Two. Probably best anyway..it was getting rather lengthy, wasn't it? Matt Denny...are you still reading? Doubtful. Time to make dinner...on the menu tonight: breakfast for dinner. My favorite! Does prosecco pair well with pancakes? 

Does it matter?