It’s too easy to get stuck in the cycle of living paycheck to paycheck, only to realize that you aren’t saving enough money or that you don’t have enough when big emergency expenses come along. At Cash Factory USA, we’re money management experts that can help you break the cycle and find new ways to save.
The most common bills people have to pay include:
- Mortgage
- Utilities
- Home Insurance
- Car Payments
- Car Insurance
- Groceries
- Debt Repayment
Read on here to explore some options that lower your monthly bills and put more money in your retirement savings account.
1. Cut Cable
If you’re really looking for a place to cut down, cable is a simple choice. Most people spend over $100 each month for entertainment that they don’t even watch. With so many streaming channels available, explore what’s out there and opt for one that has all your favorite shows. While Netflix comes in at one of the cheapest with a monthly bill of $12.99, you can splurge a little and still save money with a Hulu subscription for $45.
Compare your current cable costs and decide how much you want to lower your monthly bills before choosing a new streaming plan.
2. Refinance Home Loans
Your mortgage is probably your largest bill every month. If current interest rates are lower than what you’re currently paying, it may be time to refinance. Talk to your bank about lower rates or transitioning from a 30-year to a 15-year loan. While the payments for a shorter loan may be a bit higher, in the long run, you will be saving thousands of dollars from interest. The quicker you pay off that mortgage, the lower your monthly bills will be.
3. Refinance Student Loans
Many people struggle with the heavy weight of student loans — often their student loans have a higher interest rate than their home loans! Just like your home loans, a high interest rate eats into how quickly you can pay off the principle and costs you more money in the long run. Refinancing and consolidating your loans at lower interest rates allows you to lower your monthly bills and pay your student loans off faster.
4. Consolidate Cards
While home loan and student loan interest rates may seem high, credit card debt has the highest interest rate of all. You should be doing your best to live within your means and paying off your credit card debt each month, but you wouldn’t be alone if you had a large chunk that needed to be paid off. The average American has nearly $6,000 in credit card debt attached to their name. Consolidating your debt through one lender and paying the lowest interest rate possible allows you to lower your monthly bills as your interest rates come down.
Before opening any additional cards, check if they offer zero interest for new members or even zero interest for the first year.
5. Negotiate Bills
Did you know you can negotiate your monthly bills? There are a number of apps that act as a single port where you can manage most of your household expenses. You don’t have to go to bat with each company individually, just register them all with an app like Truebill and let them help you cancel subscriptions, negotiate bills, shop around for better rates, and even monitor power and cable outages.
They connect to your account to analyze your spending habits and offer you the best solutions for your specific situation. Download a budgeting and saving app to lower your monthly bills in a way that’s right for you.
6. Shop Around for Insurance
We briefly mentioned shopping around for auto insurance, but this is something you should do about once a year. Everything in your life affects your auto insurance, including your age, where you live, and how you drive. Comparing rates also helps you find new discounts to apply to your account, including:
- Low Mileage Discounts
- Good Credit Score Discounts
- Safe Driving Discounts
- Auto Pay Discounts
- Multiple Policy Discounts
- Multiple Car Discounts
If your current auto insurance doesn’t offer any of those things, we think it’s time to be looking for something new. Compare rates to lower your monthly bills with a smaller car insurance payment.
7. Lower Your Grocery Bill
Each person in your home is probably consuming about $200 a month in groceries. If you’re paying more than this, you seriously need to consider what you’re buying. Expensive treats and snacks should be crossed off the list. Keep your eyes open for coupons that check the boxes for the most common things you buy and shop during sales to maximize your savings. If you find out when your local store marks down certain items, you can get double the savings by shopping only on those days to lower your monthly bills.
8. Use Short-Term Loans Wisely
There is no doubt that when emergencies strike you need money right away to help you pay off bills. Whether it’s a broken-down car or a broken leg, sometimes a short-term loan is the only way to take care of it. Use payday and installment loans wisely to fill in the gaps in your monthly bills and pay off major expenses right away.*
Once the emergency is over and you’ve repaid the loan, your monthly bill lowers to what it was before the emergency without any additional interest payments or credit card bills.
Working with Cash Factory USA
At Cash Factory USA, we have financial advice to help you live your best life as well as short- and long-term cash solutions for anything life throws your way. Learn more about our loan options here or read our blog for more financial tips!
*Short-term loans are not intended to be long-term financial solutions. Customers with credit difficulties should seek credit counseling. A single payday advance is typically for two to four weeks. However, borrowers often use these loans over a period of months, which can be expensive.