Where Else Can I Cut Expenses?

I just signed up for medical benefits through my employer but the weekly cost is significant: $160 a week! (I remember when it was $85 a month). So this equates to over $600 a month out of my paycheck. So we are looking to cut back on expenses.

  • I pay nearly $200 to (the evil) Sprint for our two phones. I’m looking to move to Consumer Celluar and the total cost for the two phones should be $55 a month. But I need to call Sprint.
  • Insurance costs us $440 a month which covers two cars and three drivers plus a $1M umbrella insurance in case someone does something on our property. Plus home insurance. Can I save money going from State Farm to Progressive?
  • I pay nearly $200 a month for Comcast for phone/Internet/TV. But there’s so much content on TV that I do not want or watch (i.e. Indian Cricket coverage, Spanish programming). We are considered getting rid of our land line and going only to mobile. And we’re thinking of going to YouTubeTV ($50 a month) for TV, but it will require working with a laptop to stream to our TV.

Other than Netlfix, I don’t subscribe to any streaming services. (Amazon Prime is paid at one time for a year of benefits, including Prime Video) I only have Dollar Shave Club for $6 a month. Where else can I cut back?

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Welcome to the community, Jeff! I hear you! You are on the right track for sure. I just cut the cord with cable and switched to Sling (got a free Roku as part of a sign-up offer). Check them out – it will drastically cut your costs and you’ll get much better programming.

I’m also looking at making changes for my cellular service. I’ve heard great things from co-workers about Straight Talk.

This article also is a great resource to consult – lots of creative ideas and services to help!

https://www.thepennyhoarder.co…penses-all-the-ways/

Good luck – and, don’t worry…you’ll start to feel really good once you make a couple of moves and it will give you momentum!

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When we moved over 4 years ago we got rid
of cable/phone/internet.
We have netflix,prime hubby gets for 6 a month
starz we was going to cancel but for 3 month
they gave it to us for $5 a month
hulu we canceled it.

internet we pay $39 a month and phone threw starlight
talk we pay $16.99 and that for a house phone.

There free places you can go for tv pluto and i can’t
think of the others rite now. We all so use youtube to
watch movies.

Wow, that’s quite a jump for insurance! But you do what you have to.

Switching cell providers sounds like a fabulous idea. Have you checked https://www.twigby.com/? Now, I don’t use that because of where I live, but I researched it and it looks pretty good. My family uses Consumer Cellular and they like it- just check the service in your area.

Also, I haven’t had cable for most of the last 15+ years, I use a firestick and high speed internet. I don’t have a computer at home, so it’s not needed for streaming. I use Prime and Netflix.

Not sure about saving money with Progressive, but it’s work a look!

Those changes you mentioned should make quite a difference in your monthly expenses. Good luck starting!

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I want to thank everyone for your suggestions and encouragement. I signed up with Consumer Celluar and our monthly bill will be around $60. Much better than $200 for Sprint, but breaking up with Sprint is going to be messy. Tonight we’re going to try out YouTubeTV for a 5-day trial. I tried a quote at Liberty Mutual but it was higher than what I’m paying now.

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Hello Jim F:

A few things I’ve tried for those of us age 55+ are noted here. I retired at age 62 (not as young as many) and try to find discounts whenever possible. Re: Social Security: I don’t recommend accessing Social Security prior to being elgible for full retirement unless one doesn’t have a choice. With that, here are the discounts I seek out or receive.

We have 2 cell phones through T-Mobile at a flat-rate of $30 each line with unlimited text, calls, and data (total for everything, no taxes, fees, etc $60/mo). This was offered to those age 55+ so we took advantage. I don’t know if the rate is still available but it’s worth a try, though Jim F you have a great rate as well.

If you join AARP, you can get a pretty good car insurance rate through the Hartford. We saved over $800/year for two cars and two drivers with the exact same coverage as our previous car insurance.

Our cable/Internet is Comcast. I call every time the contract is going to expire to find out what I can get for the same or a better rate. Currently, our rate if $69.90 for 30+ channels (we get at least 100 channels) and Internet with an upload speed of at least 50mps (it just tested at 77mps upload speed). We also have Amazon Prime ($130+/- at last renewal), Netflix at $9.90/mo., and Hulu with ads $6.60/month. This gives us everything we want to watch in the way of TV and movies. Were Internet only with unlimited data $40 or less per month, I would upgrade Hulu to Hulu Live and probably drop Netflix. We pay more for Cable and TV than any other expense and may be re-evaluating what we spend.

Also, not long ago I read somewhere (maybe Penny Hoarder) that Amazon Prime has a low-cost rate for those who are low-income and, I believe, receive EBT (Food Assistance). This is great for low-income students, seniors, or families.

Another possible resource for saving dollars is in the area of transportation. In my area, low-income rates are becoming more and more available and appear to be based on income only though I don’t know what the income requirements are.

I ask about senior discounts/rates all the time. Every little bit helps.

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FINALLYSAVING you are rite about prime and the EBT.
It’s how my husband got it for $5.99 a month and they
are trying to work or figure a way to offer to people on medical
sorry can’t think of what its called because there 2 here in our
start of KS both starting with M and being tired doesn’t help.

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I need to check out that T-Mobile deal. That sounds really great. I hope they will allow us to bring our own devices. As for YouTube TV, that was a pig in a poke. The streaming from a PC to our TV resulted in stuttered streaming with no close captioning. It may come down to a combination of NetFlix, Hulu, Prime Video and CBS All Access. But you still have to have an Internet connection to view all of this.

My 19-year-old son, an attorney in the making, is going to deal with Sprint later this week. When I talk to them, I only get angry an hangup.

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I would find a new cell Phone service. I use Consumer Cellular.I pay 55 a month for 2 lines. Then ditch the landline.I would then cut the cord for your TV . I still use them for my internet. I use an antenna and stream Hulu and use my Amazon for streaming . Get a Ruko for that set it up to your TV you are good to go. I would then shop around for your insurance needs. This can be done on the internet.There is also lots of free streaming channels to choose from.

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