Can you ask them to remove the text messages without changing your plan? I understand that it's "only $5/month" But that's $60 a year. I admit that I am not a fan of texting, and actually had the capability blocked on my phone so that my mother would stop texting me. I was getting charged 5 cents a message and that was 5 cents I didn't want to pay out. And before you ask, she only texted me about a few times every couple of months, so the amount I've saved doesn't even equal a dollar, but it's still less money going out. Texting is not a necessity. Assuming you don't go over your monthly minutes on your cell phone, and if I'm right most companies allow free calling within the nextwork and on weekends, cut texting out.
I found it was beneficial when I changed the way I was thinking. Instead of thinking "I'm only spending X a month on X" and starting thinking, "what else could I be doing with that $5?" Could that $5 being in savings earning interest? Could it be paying down on my debt which means I pay less interest on that debt?
I got mad at my bank because they put a hold on $91 in cash that I deposited because the hold caused me to make a car payment a day later than I wanted. I wasn't late on the payment, because I'm currently making extra payments in an effort to pay the car off as fast as possible, but I was mad that by paying a day later I'm paying more interest. In all reality it maybe cost me a couple of pennies, but it still made me mad.
Nearly 1K in groceries for 2 people plus pets, does seem like a lot to me. I know you said you're in a rural area, but is there a cheaper grocery store you could go to? I used to do all my shopping at Dominick's, because I was getting gas discounts, then it occured to me when I got the discount I was probably only saving $1 on gas, but was spending $10-$20 more on groceries at a time. So I started shopping at Meijer. Then one day while working I drove by a Super Wal-Mart and went into to get some medicine as I was sick, and found that some of the things I get at Meijer are cheaper at the Wal-Mart. So now when I'm in the vicinity of one, I stop at Wal-mart and do my grocery shopping there, even though I HATE Wal-mart. If there's something you eat a lot of, find ways to get it cheaper, or only buy it on sale. I spend a lot of money on reduced fat shredded cheese. When it goes on sale, I'll spend $40-$50 on it so that I'm not spending $80-$100 on the same cheese when it's not on sale. If meat's on sale, stock up.
If you buy something on impulse, don't open it right away. Wait a day or two, think about if you really need it, or if you really want it and can afford to want it, and then return it. I had nearly $30K in credit card debt, and when I began paying it off, there were many times I went and bought something and then regretted it the next day. I took it back and got my money back for it.
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@Anonymous wrote:
I know. Our cell phone bill is ridiculous. We don't have a land line, and because we are in a rural area there aren't very many towers so we use the Hot Spot at Home for a signal which means that we need the internet. Already have the lowest minutes package, and text messages is only $5/month. Luckily the contract is up in June, and we should be going back home to St. Louis in July or August. If we change our contract now it will restart the time of the contract.
Yay! Thanks.
