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Originally Posted by Kristie  it definitely helps on gas and mileage to do all your errands on one day...circumnavigate your locations accordingly.
you can also get used to the heat by keeping your A/C at 78 or higher for the summer. it saves a ton on energy cost. and remember to always turn the lights off once you're done with them. |
This is very good advice.
I managed to shave about $50 off my utility bills every month simply by unplugging my power strips when I wasn't at home or not using the TV, stereo, etc. Those strips still put a load on the circuit. Makes a difference.
I looked into a cheaper rate plan with my electric company - they had a deal where my rate would be sliding depending on the price of natural gas, but the highest rate possible was still lower than what I was paying, so that worked out really well. Also - some power companies will do a free audit on your home's energy efficiency, and suggest inexpensive improvements (like weatherstripping) which will cut down your bill.
Put your car insurance company under review, tell em' you're gonna walk unless you get better rates. If you own a home, look at moving auto AND home policies to a new company - can save you a few hundred a year.
Check into some additional tax exemptions that can cut your property taxes (and thus, the escrow payments) by a couple hundred a month.
Try and up your 401K contributions, (if your employer does matching - that's free money) and then very carefully look over how your Fed Income tax witholdings are being done. If you do it right (there are paycheck calculators out there) you can get to a zero-pay/refund area and take home as much of your pay as possible. Since the baby is on the way, you're going to get a dependent tax exemption as well, so you can plan that into the equation when the little tyke arrives.
Don't know if you have a debt-load, but if you can, swing your credit card balances to lower-interest cards if at all possible. Or, do a home-equity line-of-credit, pay off as much debt as possible. The interest on that can be tax-deductible, so you can then offset that on your taxes as well. Servicing debt, sucks.
With the exception of the line of credit, I've done all of these things with some success. Over a year, I ended up saving almost $500 a month just by looking for better deals and ways to make the systems work for you.
Good luck.