Well, as stated before I have cut some of my bills back. It has been about 4 months now of cutting back these bills. I’m definitely able to talk about my experience and my thoughts on this. Just as a quick refresher for everyone of what bills I decided to look into cutting back.
- Phone
- Cable
- Insurance
Phone
I was using Sprint as my phone service provider. I really had zero complaints about Sprint. Coverage was good I had the unlimited data, text and talk plan. It was $99 with my military discount. I dropped Sprint and went with Straight Talk as my new service provider. The plan I choose is unlimited talk, text, and data. Now the data is 4G LTE for the first 5 GB and 2G speeds after that. Now at this point, some might be saying I can’t see myself only having 5 GB of data at that speed then having 2G speed. Yet think about this I use WiFi at home using zero data. At my gym, I use their WiFi using zero data. That means I only use data in my car and a few spots at stores occasionally. I put more value into retiring early than I do having more data. Others can keep their data I’ll keep my early retirement plans. Now the most data I have used in any month since January is about 3 GB. Let me tell you that took me really trying to use that much. I almost forgot this new phone plan only costs me $49 with tax and all. The breakdown of costs and savings below.
Sprint – $99
Straight Talk – $49
Net Saving – $50
Cable
My cable and internet were bundled together for $140. I decided to make this very easy and just cut cable altogether. I already had NETFLIX as well. I really did not like most of what was on cable anyways. I also noticed that I wasted a ton of time like a zombie in front of the TV. I would watch cable without really getting anything positive from it or anything productive that was in align with my goals and future plans. I came to conclusion “why am I wasting time and money on something that is doing nothing for my life?”. The Internet cost now without cable $66 a month.
Cable/Internet – $140
Internet – $66
Net Savings – $74
Insurance
I actually could not find cheaper insurance than what I currently pay. I could have dropped coverage or raised the deductible to save a few bucks. In the end that just did not seem worth it to me.
Bonus
After not cutting insurance at all I wanted to look at cutting back my Netflix. I had the plan with streaming video and 2 DVD’s at a time for $23 a month. Noticed I had the same 2 DVD’s for over two months on my coffee table. Well Cut back to the 1 DVD at a time for $13 a month. Honestly might cut this again as I have yet to watch a DVD.
Netflix – $23
Netflix new plan – $13
Net Savings – $10
Summary
I could not be happier with my decision four months ago. I have yet to miss cable at all. I have had zero issues with my new phone service and not missing the extra DVD with Netflix. So, there it is I saved money without losing anything of value in my life. Remember I challenge you to look for at least one thing you can cut back.
Overall Net Savings – $134 a month/$1,608 a year
Talk about a great way to boost my ability to grow my wealth.