Here is a list of money stretching ideas that I compiled
Expanding Rainy Day Fund
A Home Equity Line of Credit is a good choice to increase your emergency fund in uncertain times. This is a 2nd mortgage on your house. You can borrow the difference between what you owe on the house and 80% of the value. The one I have through my bank is a line of credit, you do not have to borrow anything until you need it. For the first 5 years the loan is interest only. Years 6 -15 you pay back interest and principal. The adjustable rate interest, currently 4.25% is tax deductible. The cost to set mine up was $0.
Budget and Debt
Local churches offer Financial Peace University by Dave Ramsey. If you don't already have an opinion of him Google him. It does cost money and takes many weeks to go over finances in detail with an emphasis on reducing debt. Most couples who have done it were glad they did. It does help the couple get on the same page financially. The study group format helps reduce the emotional impact of making hard financial choices.
Reduce Insurance Cost
I re-did my home and auto insurance using "Insurance for Dummies" as my guide. I found that my insurance coverage levels were dangerous and my deductibles were inappropriately low. It was a lot of effort, but in the end I corrected my coverage levels, bumped up my deductibles and changed companies saving $1000 a year with a much better insurance plan.
I did my insurance on my own, but to save time your agent could probably help with coverages and deductibles if they have not been reviewed recently. Then, you can shop around with the same coverages and deductibles. Use Consumer Reports etc to find a reasonably responsive, creditworthy company. I ultimately did not go with Geico, but it’s website was useful for doing comparisons of auto insurance coverage and deductibles.
Eliminate Cable or Satellite
I don’t have cable or satellite. I use an antenna in the attic to record broadcast HDTV to a laptop DVR then watch it on my DLP. Some high level points:
1) If you had an antenna you need a new one for HDTV broadcast TV and maybe a signal booster.. The biggest issue with over the air is signal strength. Some areas of North Dallas are shadowed by down town.
2) A Windows Vista Home Premium laptop since I can get free guide updates for broadcast TV. Hulu.com provides access to much cable programming along with iTunes. Note: For a small monthly fee TIVO HD does most of this, is much easier to setup and you probably don't have to reboot it occasionally to get it to work.
Cut Telecommunications Cost
We still have land line phone, but my phone company only recently allowed unbundling of DSL internet from the land line phone. Cell phones and VOIP could take the place of the land line.
Lower the Electric Bill
For the electric bill, I have no doubt that the thermostat is the best way to save on electricity. Last summer I accidentally opened my retired neighbor's electric bill. It was maybe a third of ours for the same size house.
Oncore will check out your 5+ year old house for ways to improve energy efficiency. I was not very impressed with this service, but it was free.
ONCOR Energy Efficiency Programs
http://www.oncor.com/electricity/teem/default.aspx
Other ways to Save
If you need tires and aren't a member of Sams or Costco call for prices, it might make sense to join.
The library has a lot of good books, videos and wireless internet. In my town, if a movie is worth seeing you will have to get on the wait list. Return them on time, the late fees are very high.
Use public transit more. Google Directions has a drop down box for "by public transit". This displays the best routing and timing to get from one place to another on public transit. This is much easier than using the rapid transit website and it even works on my phone.
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