Cutting $1000/month from our budget

[Anonymous]

PP here - we didn't have gym memberships or domestic/yard help of any kind so we couldn't cut that. Of course, those things would be the first to go.

[Anonymous]

Re Thermostat - close of rooms that you do not use. For example, we have a formal living room, but no one ever uses it. Close the doors or go so far as to put up a piece of plastic sheeting, after you have closed all the vents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First thing I would do is identify a realistic amount to save and take it right off the top, so you make it priority instead of trying to save what's leftover.

We just cut cable. We use Netflix. Also found out that we can get some limited stations just hooking up TV to cable connection because we have cable internet.

Use an cash envelope system for expenditures like groceries and gas. Set a budget amount and stick to it. I find it harder to spend cash than to swipe a card. Makes me think about if I really need what I'm buying.

I also recommend calling any service companies you deal with (utilities, cell phone, etc.) and see if they will negotiate a better rate. I was able to do this for cell phone, home phone, and trash collection and saved us at least $100/month.

Wait, how does that work? I'd love to get more channels without the bill!

[Anonymous]

Our house is prewired for cable so all we did was connect the TV to the cable connection on the wall. We get something like 65 channels. Thanks to the guy at Best Buy for the tip or we'd have never known. We had been thinking about getting an antenna so we could get local channels and that's when he told us about doing it this way. I should have been more precise - we cut satellite TV, but have cable internet service.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP. Make a spreadsheet of all your expenses during a month, then go from there. I did it and found ways to cut expenses.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those of you who are saying cut cable - we would except it's cheaper to get the cable+internet bundle than it is to get just internet. What is your monthly internet bill and what's the best deal? DH works from home 2x a week so he needs high speed. Thx!

I have Cox. I have the lowest speed internet, but it manages Netflix just fine (even though they say it's for email browsing hah). No cable, no tv. I pay $45 a month.

This would not work for us. DH needs high speed internet for work. I just wish we could get internet without cable. . .they do that on purpose, otherwise no one would have cable since you can pretty much get everything worth watching on Netflix/Amazon/Hulu

But that's what I'm saying... Cox's lowest speed is still high speed. I can do absolutely everything. Run 2 computers at once and have netflix on. Or have netflix on 2 tvs at once no problems. I'm convinced high speed is a gimmick. Oh and a bonus.. when you order internet through your cable provider you get basic cable for free. They won't tell you that.

Look at what the speed tiers are, your DH could probably get by on 4/1 (4 Mbps down, 1 Mgps up), you may be paying for 25 or 50 down, 10 up or something like that. If he is not transferring large data files the lower speeds are probably fine. Really high speed is great for many things, but not really a need if you are looking to cut costs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look at what the speed tiers are, your DH could probably get by on 4/1 (4 Mbps down, 1 Mgps up), you may be paying for 25 or 50 down, 10 up or something like that. If he is not transferring large data files the lower speeds are probably fine. Really high speed is great for many things, but not really a need if you are looking to cut costs.

I agree that the lowest internet speed is still pretty fast. I got sick of paying for the fastest speed and therefore switched to the lowest speed at comcast. I don't notice any difference with streaming.