December 2011 was a banner year for our family as regards cost reduction and I decided to keep the momentum for the early part of 2012 also. Hopefully this diary will help kossacks looking for ways to cut costs and keep a tight leash on their household budget.
1. Mortgage: Refinanced the house from a 30 yr fixed (29 yrs and 3 months left) to a 15 yr fixed at a great rate of 3.25% reducing our monthly mortgage by over a $150 and slashing more than 14 years of payments.
2. PMI: Decided to paydown the principal to get to a LTV of 80% eliminating a PMI of $175 per month. This also contributed to the reduction in 1 above.
3. Hazard Insurance: Found a better home insurance plan with HOAIC (originally Farmers). Savings of $1175 per annum. Also contributed to 1 above.
4. Job: Quit my current job and found a new employer getting me a small raise (approx 4%). Found that Medical Insurance will cost $125 lesser per month for our family of four for a comparable plan with just $5 more in co-pays.
5. Credit Card: Cut my annual fee ($85) Big bank credit card and moved to a no-fee Credit Union credit card (getting a $100 gift certificate as a bonus)
6. Banking: Changed my checking/savings from a big bank to a Credit Union. Will completely sever ties with the big bank by Feb end. No monthly minimum required now!
7. Mobile: Discussed with T-Mobile and reduced an unrequired data plan. Savings approx $120 per annum. Company pays for my mobile & I pay for my wife & son (family plan). Am also tied with them till July so unable to switch.
8. Cable/Internet: Changed our Cable/Internet from Comcast to a local company - savings of $25 per month.
9. Long & International calls: Eliminated Vonage and moved to Google Voice (ported from AT&T mobile) - savings approx $20 per month. Am looking at OBi as the VOIP replacement but haven't pulled the $49.99 trigger yet.
10. Auto Insurance: Already received quote from Allstate for a savings of $360 per year for both of vehicles. Will make the change in Feb.
I also have a small gym at home so that eliminates excuses and gym expenses. Am also planning to relook at my electricity utility company once my contract gets over later this year. Relaxed on one item though: I used to mow my lawn but have decided to use 3rd party services from this year on. Sometimes just calling your present companies & talking to the CSRs can result in savings. Both Comcast and Vonage promised to reduce their monthly billing if I continued with them. Also suggest joining forums such as fatwallet.com to get more "savings" ideas. If you can pay off your credit card balances promptly, look for a card with good perks & use it to the max. All the best and if anybody has more penny saving ideas, please feel free to share.