You brew coffee at home, you don’t walk into Target and you refuse to order avocado toast. (Can you sense my millennial sarcasm there?)
But no matter how cognizant you are of your spending habits, you’re still stuck with those inescapable monthly bills. You know which ones I’m talking about: rent, utilities, cell phone bill, insurance, groceries…
Although we can’t swipe these off the table for you, we can stop you from OVERPAYING them…
1. Credit Cards: Refi and Save Thousands (Or More!)
Your credit card is getting rich by ripping you off with insane rates, but a company called Fiona could help you pay them off tomorrow (if the balance is under $100,000).
Here’s how it works: Fiona will match you with a low-interest loan you can use to pay off every credit card balance you have. The benefit? You’re left with just one bill to pay every month, and because the interest rate is so much lower, you can get out of debt so much faster. Plus, as long as you stop charging, no more credit card payments.
Take, for example, Tyler and Ashley Philbrook, who faced $25,000 in credit card debt. Holding them back? Some of their cards carried a 23% interest rate. By refinancing, they were left with a personal loan with an interest rate of 4%, making their monthly payments much more manageable and saving them thousands in interest over time.
Fiona won’t make you stand in line or call a bank. And if you’re worried you won’t qualify, it’s free to check online. It takes just two minutes, and it could save you thousands of dollars. Totally worth it.
2. Life Insurance: Take Back $100s
If you’ve thought about how your family would manage without your income after you’re gone, chances are you’ve looked into life insurance.
But, so often we end up not following through on it because we think it takes too much time or money.
But your application shouldn’t take more than about five minutes — and you could leave your family up to $1 million by spending as little as $5 a month on life insurance with a company called Bestow.
You can change or cancel your plan at any time. Plus, the security of knowing your family is taken care of is priceless.
If you’re under the age of 54 and want to get a fast life insurance quote without a medical exam, pushy sales calls or even getting up from the couch, get a free quote from Bestow.
3. Car Insurance: Get Up To 40% Back (With The Same Coverage)
When was the last time you shopped around for car insurance? Was it more than six months ago?
If so, you’re probably overpaying — by hundreds of dollars. Yep. Experts say you should compare rates twice a year to get the best deal.
Twice a year? Yeah, we don’t want to do that either.
A service called Gabi does all the shopping for you to find cheaper insurance — with the same coverage and deductibles you already have. And it saves customers an average of $865 a year.
You don’t have to fill out any forms. Just link your existing insurance account and enter your driver’s licence, and it will start looking for cheaper coverage.
Plus, after you sign up, Gabi will keep looking for savings. No more shopping.
4. Cell Phone: Cut Your Bill By More Than Half
You’ve probably had the same cell phone company for a while. And you’re probably paying way too much for your service.
But with discount carrier Twigby, you could cut your bill by more than 66%.
It worked for Zak Wilson. He’d been paying Verizon Wireless about $180 a month for two lines. So he tried Twigby. For both phones, he’s now paying $60 a month.
With Twigby, you get to build your plan. Each plan comes with unlimited texts, then you choose how many minutes and how much data you need each month. Plans also include free Wi-Fi calling and texting.
Twigby uses both the Sprint and Verizon networks for its coverage. Plans start at just $9, and you can bring your own phone. Plus, new customers get 25% off the first 6 months of service.
5. Groceries: Cut Your Bill By Taking a Pictures of Your Receipts
Before you start reaching for those crusty old cans of who-knows-what in the back of your pantry, try this bill-reducing trick instead: Use a free app called Fetch Rewards to earn gift cards for groceries.
Fetch partners with tons of brands to give you points for every grocery receipt (from any store!) you share. All you have to do is snap a photo of your receipt through the app, then Fetch does the rest for you. No scanning barcodes or searching for offers.
You can then exchange those points for gift cards, which you can use for whatever you want. We prefer saving them up for “real” food, so we can avoid eating an old can of baked beans for dinner.
When you download the app, use code PENNY to earn a free bonus after you scan your first receipt. Then start snapping photos of your recent receipts to see how many points you can earn without a single trip to the store!
6. Gas: Stop Spending $1,500/Year at the Pump
For most of us, gas is one of those bills you simply can’t avoid. In fact, the average American driver goes through roughly 650 gallons of gas per year — and spends about $1,500.
You know all the old gas-savings tricks — turn your air conditioner off; keep your tires inflated; look for the cheapest gas station.
Or you can spend one minute downloading an app.
The Exxon Mobil Rewards+ app lets you automatically earn points to save money every time you fill up at one of 11,500 Exxon or Mobil stations in North America. Until February 2020, you can earn 5 cents per gallon, compared to the app’s usual offer of 3 cents.
It takes just a minute to download the app and connect your credit, debit or Apple Pay. Once you’re parked next to a gas pump, the app turns the pump on. It also lets you pay securely through the app — without swiping a card.
This content is provided by The Penny Hoarder.
