ways to save money on monthly bills

12 Proven Ways to Save Money on Monthly Bills

Do you need to find more dollars in your monthly allowance? Discovering ways to save money on monthly bills is the first step to adding more cash flow to your budget. Making minor changes in spending can lead to significant savings, starting with following a budget. 

1. Follow a Budget

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Discovering how to create a budget that works for you is your greatest ally in cutting bill costs. How can you reduce expenses if you don’t know how much you’re spending? More than having a financial plan is required; you must commit to the spending boundaries you set. 

2. Review Your Spending Habits

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Review your spending habits and determine your wants and needs to eliminate unnecessary expenditures. Where in your budget can you make cuts? Tracking your monthly expenses is the quickest way to find and plug up where the waste is to stop the financial drain.

3. Automate Your Bills

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Automating bill payments may help you save money by avoiding late fees. Additionally, many services (most cell phone companies) will give you a discount for automating your bill. Once you’ve determined your fixed expenses (housing/car/insurance), putting those bills on autopay is simple.

4. Automate Your Savings

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You can automate your savings in a couple of ways. First, you can allocate part of your direct deposit to savings with each paycheck. Also, many banks feature a “keep the change” type program where you can round up your coin on transactions by putting the difference into your savings account. Finally, you can schedule automatic transfers from your checking to your savings account on specific days each month.

5. Reduce Entertainment Expenses

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Entertainment is a budgeting area where many people are overspending. Between signing up for every streaming service and forgetting to cancel before free trials expire, it can add up quickly. Find ways to cut your entertainment costs to reduce money spent on monthly bills. 

6. Bundle Services

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One of the quickest ways to save money on monthly bills is by bundling products and services. For example, bundle renters and auto insurance, streaming services with cellular plans, or cable and internet. However, cable is a massive money-waster. Many internet providers now offer streaming services bundled with their services.

7. Cut Food Expenses

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Utilize ways to save money on groceries to cut your monthly food budget expenses. Meal planning ensures you take a lunch to work, eliminating the need to waste money on takeout and tips. Meal planning also helps you to stop ordering food from delivery apps with excessive service and delivery fees. Stop getting coffee and eating outside of the home to experience significant savings. 

8. Negotiate Your Bills

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Negotiating costs is one of the best ways to save money on monthly bills. Many service providers are willing to negotiate bills before losing customers. Sometimes, all it takes is a phone call to lower your monthly bills. Bills people negotiate include internet, phone, satellite, cable, credit card, and medical bills. You may even successfully negotiate your utility bills in areas where multiple energy companies are bidding for your business.

9. Stop Using Credit Cards Irresponsibly

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Americans are drowning in $1.12 trillion in credit card debt. While some people genuinely have no choice but to use credit cards, many use them irresponsibly and create the financial crisis they’re in.

Making minimum payments that barely cover credit card interest is a terrible financial practice that will keep you poor. You’ll never pay off your balance; therefore, you’ll always have an unnecessary monthly bill. Make a plan to eliminate credit card debt to save money on monthly bills.

If possible, transfer the credit card’s balance with the highest annual percentage rate (APR) to a card with a 0% balance transfer. Stop using your credit cards unless you can pay the balance in full monthly. 

10. Shop Insurance Options

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You may be paying too much for insurance. Shop around for competitive pricing on home and auto insurance. Review those policies annually to optimize savings. Some places may lower your premium to avoid you switching to competitors.

Also, reduce your monthly bills by cutting all unnecessary insurance expenses. Is your cell phone not worth as much? Cancel the insurance. The insurance only guarantees a refurbished phone anyway, so there’s no guarantee there won’t be issues with your replacement. I say that as a former cell phone sales manager.

Are you carrying collision insurance on an automobile whose damage costs would likely total the car? That means it’s not worth much, and it is time to drop collision. 

11. Buy Generic

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Buy generic brands for everything from prescription drugs to food, toiletries, and household supplies. Did you know that a generic prescription has the exact same active ingredient as the brand-name medication?

Additionally, there are numerous accounts on social feeds of people admitting they worked in factories where the same product was placed in name-brand and generic containers. So, in many instances, you’re paying more money for the same product. 

12. Buy Secondhand

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Whenever you can, buy secondhand items to cut the cost of monthly bills. Thrifting for things like clothing and furniture also reduces waste and your environmental footprint.  

Read More: 18 Things You Should Absolutely Never Buy Secondhand (And Why)

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Popping tags at the thrift store and garage sale hunting are activities I’ve enjoyed indulging in over the years. However, there are plenty of items that you should never buy secondhand. Here are some top offenders and why you should opt for brand-new options on these items.

18 Things You Should Absolutely Never Buy Secondhand (And Why)

11 Quickest Ways to Save $1,000 Today

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Are you looking for ways to save money and fast? Between the ridiculous markup at the gas pump and grocery store to the inflated cost of everything else, who isn’t? Here are the quickest ways to save $1,000.

11 Quickest Ways to Save $1,000 Today

12 Things That Are No Longer Worth It Because of How Expensive They’ve Become

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What is no longer worth it because of how expensive it has become? I’ll go first. EVERYTHING! Ugh. At least, it feels that way. Every time I go to the grocery store, I twinge at checkout. But wait. There’s more.

12 Things That Are No Longer Worth It Because of How Expensive They’ve Become

Chris Brown
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Chris Brown regularly contributes at Growth and Finance about money mindset and management. When she's not writing, you can find her gaming or watching reruns of The Office.

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