So you’ve heard about making BIG sacrifices to win with money. You’ve been told you need to get on a budget and cut out all discretionary spending. You’ve been told to cut out lattes, personal care, and eating out. And I know you’ve heard the phrase, “you have to give something up to get what you want.” And all these things are true. But there are some small, easy changes for those of you who want a big return with little to no change in lifestyle.

One Thursday, I got out my laptop, my phone and I started making some calls and saving some money. These are the changes we made and the money we saved…and you can do it too!


1.) Change Your Internet Provider
With new internet providers popping up all the time, you should be able check out a few that offer a low introductory rate for one year. You don’t have to sign a contract and you can always switch again once the introductory rate is up. We were paying $62 a month and with 1 quick phone call to a new provider we reduced that to $14.95 a month.

Annual Savings: $565.00

Side Bonus: We had the great pleasure and satisfaction of cancelling with a crappy provider that gave us horrible customer service! That one felt good!



2.) Lower Your TV Plan
How many channels do you really watch? With services like Netflix and Hulu, there is no reason you NEED over 200 channels. We called our satellite TV provider and switched to a less expensive package. If we really need to watch something that doesn’t come on our basic channels we just stream it from the internet. We went from paying $56 per month to $20 per month. The savings really do add up!

Annual Savings: $432.00

Side Bonus: The lack of “mindless” entertainment forced us to become spontaneous and interact more. Now we create our own entertainment and have more fun!



3.) Lower Your Cell Phone Plan
We called our cell phone provider and had them do a quick audit of our phone bill for the last 5 months. The sales rep told us we were consistently under our minutes and our text messaging plan. We switched to a lower plan that saved us $26 a month.

Annual Savings: $312.00

Side bonus: The sales rep told us about a new free service they offered to all customers on the plan we switched to! Don’t be shy to ask about new promotions and services.



4.) Report Home Security Upgrades to Your Insurance Company

Have you invested in a home security system? It could even be a deadbolt or a fence. We had actually already reported our upgrades to our insurance company. But you could save around $7/month for a newly installed home security system. Instant savings for a 5 minute call.

Annual Savings: $84

Side bonus: While you are on the phone with your insurance company, you could ask about any additional discounts available to you. You’ll never know if you don’t ask.


FINAL BONUS: Once you are debt free, you can begin putting the extra $1,300 annually into a retirement account that is earning around 8% (or more). If you start at age 30, over the course of 35 years, you will have added an extra $250,000 to your nest egg. Not too shabby for 4 phone calls!


It pays off BIG to shop around, and I think you’ll agree that it’s completely worth the time and effort. If you have a busy schedule, you might consider taking a ½ day or a full day off work to make these calls. And don’t think of this as just cutting your expenses. The process of making these calls and learning about your options will create a deeper awareness of your entire financial situation. It’s a big step towards taking control of your finances and creating a more conscientious mind set.

Now get to it!


Yours In Freedom,

Katy

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