How boring is this topic? Who in their right mind likes talking about this? Cable, telephone, oil – oh my!
Well, not me…that’s for sure. However, if I am ever going to be able to use an outdoor shower virtually every summer Saturday, I am going to have to address it. And quite frankly, since this is a family effort, it allows me the chance to explain everything to wife in one place at one time. Remember, this is a learning experience for us all. (wife – refer to this post if I get hit by a truck.)
I do the bills. They stink. I can’t think of a bigger waste of time or is less exciting than this BI-MONTHLY "charge" down memory lane. But I must acknowledge the reality that a majority of our income goes to these monthly commitments to keep a roof over our heads, electricity to keep our lights on and cars to get us to work. So it is worth the time looking to see how we can cut costs.
So why bi-monthly? Because bills inevitably come in that are not anticipated but need prompt payment. I.e. school trips, car taxes, sewer bill. And of course the occasional traffic ticket.
I actually have a pretty good system though. I use online banking and bill pay like most normal human beings. (Don’t laugh – I know people who still write out checks for everything. Ever get stuck behind someone in line at the grocery store writing a check?) The system works pretty well. And all payments are guaranteed to arrive on time. At any point I can look up a check and see the front and back (in case wife takes a check and doesn’t tell me who it was written out to and for what amount…I love you honey).
I also use Microsoft Money to track my overall budget. It allows me to keep a list of monthly recurring expenses and serves as my check register. It is a good record keeping system and eliminates the need to balance my checkbook b/c I can enter or download my transactions from Bank of America into this program. (you can also get this program to schedule the payments in Bank of America bill pay, but that is just a little too automated for my comfort). Finally, it also allows me to forecast out in the future. But as wife mentioned earlier, we typically break even every month so forecasting out is usually futile.
Most of my normal bills are e-bills and are directly billed to my checking account or American Express card. There are many reasons I do this:
- When I get a bill in the mail, I know I can just file it b/c it is already "paid". Remember I mentioned how much I hate doing this :-)
- Save paper and stamps
- Save time (no need to set up a payment in online bill payment)
- Amex gives rewards points for every dollar spend so you can get cool stuff for free. (for me…travel and cooking stuff).
- Ensures payments aren’t late.
Here is a list of eBills/Direct Bills to checking account/Amex:
- Electric
- Satellite (Direct TV)
- Phone/Internet
- Mobile Phone
- Life Insurance (for both Jen and I)
- Car Insurance
- Security System
- Blockbuster
- Credit Card #1
Here is a list of bills I have to schedule payments for in online bill pay:
- Mortgage
- Car Payments (2)
- School Tuition (again…2)
- Oil/Gas
- Student Loan (Quarterly)
- Trash Pickup (Quarterly)
- Water (Quarterly)
- Gap/Banana Republic Credit Card (if there is a balance)
- Other Credit Cards including Amex
Here is a list of bills that I pay by Check/Debit Card
- Hospital/Doctor bills
- Day Care
- Weekly Offering at Church
- Misc
- Groceries
So why am I listing all of this out? Partially because maybe you are interested, but also because I need to get myself organized and figure out how to get rid of /reduce some of these costs. But first I want to submit that some things in life are just what they are. There is no point trying to pay off my mortgage or refinance it. We are at 5.75% fixed. Citimortgage couldn't blast me out if they tried. Phone/internet – we are already have a good deal. Trash – you literally can’t find pickup cheaper than $20 a month. Car insurance – no point in looking into it as we just had to file a claim (remember said ticket?).
But here are a few things I am going to look into over the next 60 days to see if I can shave a few dollars here and there:
- Credit Card – see if I can find a cheap balance transfer rate until I pay them off in December.
- Blockbuster- based upon our usage, is there a more efficient monthly plan for movies/games
- Phone/Internet – doesn’t hurt to look again does it?
- Satellite – is there a cheaper plan than what we have now?
Other things can be managed by our daily consumption. And overall we are pretty good, but since we are on a mission whose reward is the best possible prize, I plan on being more diligent.
Electricity – we are in summer now. But we have been really good about not using the AC all the time and using natural light when available. In the fall when the days are colder and shorter, school is in session and craziness ensues, we need to be more careful. Here are some ideas I have to save electricity:
- Install more compact fluorescent bulbs around the house. We have 88 recessed lights in our house. We could cut costs significantly by just replacing 15 of them in the closets alone.
- Reduce temp on water heater – I heard this can save a lot of energy
- Turn off computers at night. I know it is a pain to boot up, but having three computers running 24/7 is just plain silly.
- Unplug appliances we don’t use everyday that have a clock/display that is always on.
- Christmas – let’s not get to that yet. Wife will get upset.
- Charge mobile devices at work/in car
- Teach kids to be more energy conscious
- Run dishwasher only when full and use clothes dryer less (read: wear pajamas more than once)
- I also plan on reading more about all of these things here and below online. This is only a start.
Oil – we use very little in summer. But with oil prices so high, this is naturally the next place to look to conserve.
- Mid-winter I installed a programmable thermostat downstairs and it made a huge difference (even when wife complained it was cold and we turned it up higher). I am going to install one upstairs this fall.
- Turning down water heater
- Take shorter showers and use less hot water (washing machine, dishwasher, showers, tubbies, sinks, etc)
Groceries – wife mentioned this in better food choices/budgeting. But more often than not we don’t clip coupons, don’t scan the paper for "deals" and hardly ever use BJ’s anymore. I feel a little sense of excitement thinking about shopping at BJ’s again. And I love the thrill of finding a good deal at the grocery store. I know, I am a dork. But I enjoy cooking and given that we buy so much fresh food, we need to be better about planning it out. I have thrown away more lettuce than I care to think about this summer. Easily $50 worth. That is a lot of "green" that could have been used elsewhere. Here are some bullet points on this topic:
- Create weekly menu using "deals" in supermarket flyer. I actually enjoy doing this and don’t see it as work.
- Use BJ’s for key items like juice boxes, paper towels (which I have been using less of lately), peanut butter, yogurt, suppositories, etc. Basically staples. 9 out of 10 times their prices are better even when they are on sale at the grocery store.
- Consume less overall. What I mean here is only buy what we need. I like to cook – so having staple pantry items is critical for a busy family. But 4 boxes of oatmeal and is a bit on the excessive side unless you are having "trouble".
- Return ALL deposit items
So that is my diatribe. The first thing wife will say when she reads this is – "boy did you write a lot". To which my response will be "see how much opportunity there is to turn 18 months into 16 months? I am with you on this thing.". Yes a house at the Cape is a goal of mine – a very important one for me and my family. But I think now is as good a time as any to reevaluate our consumption patterns and figure out exactly what we NEED versus what we want. Our wallets may thank us for it now…but our kids, our planet and our souls will thank us for it later.
