So yea, it’s time for the bi-annual bills review.  Last week I got a message from one of the listservs I frequent,  that if you are a member with certain credit unions then you’re able to get a discount from Geico.  One member had a $400 savings just by calling up so you know my next move right?  I called Geico and told them that I am a member of XYZ credit union which gave us a total savings of $46 on the 6 month premium.  We have a pretty good deal through Geico already so this just sweetened the pot.

But then I thought, why not go through all of our monthly bills and see where we can save more?

ATT/Wireless

We both have smartphones, specifically the iPhone and Palm Treo.  The man will be coming on board with the iPhone in June and we’re already on a family plan which is OK.  This bill does have a tendency to get out of hand but it averages around $200 each month.  After looking over the bill I see that surprisingly, we dont use all of our minutes (1400/month) and we have 4000+ roll over minutes.

I think we can drop our plan down 1-2 notches and see where we go from there.  I am always on the phone due to my job but I usually return calls from home which gives me unlimited local/national long distance thereby saving daytime cell minutes.  So I’ll be calling ATT this week, we need to talk!

Utilities

Electric/Gas

These bills tend to go down over the summer because Im not that crazy about ait conditioning but my husband is so we agreed to turn it on when we get home in the evenings and then off before we go to bed.  We also just turned off the vents in the basement, basement office, living room, spare bedroom and bathrooms.  This way the air will be funneled though to the family room, kitchen and master bedrooms.  The house stays cooler, longer and the air isn’t funneled into rooms where we don’t spend a lot of time.

Cable

I told you all that I signed my husband up for the DC Boxing Fans Meetup because he orders every Pay Per View fight that comes on which gets expensive.  It’s either that or he will take a trip out to Las Vegas if he deems the fight good enough so this works.  But, Im cheap and if it were up to me, I’d catch the highlights on ESPN the next morning, but again, that’s me.

I think we’re due to check if Comcast offers their phone service in our area.  That our we switch to FIOS.  Every time we call to deactivate Comcast sweetens the pot by giving us so ridiculously low deal in an effort to retain our business.  I must say they’ve gotten better with their customer service so  that makes staying tolerable.

Insurance: Home and Auto

I told you that we saved a few bucks on the auto insurance.  Well the home insurance is another thing.  We currently pay $895 yearly through Nationwide, Geico came in at $910, not enough for us to make the switch.  But the rep did say that it would give us a good discount on the auto insurance so Im not sure.  It would have to be a really good discount for us to make the switch to Geico.  It would also make managing this bill more convenient.

Property Taxes

This bill did go down a bit which nets us around $100 savings per month.  Given the recent property value declines I was expecting around a $300-$400 savings.  I know, I want too much LOL

There are a few others we can look into but for right now these are the big guys we need to tackle.

Where can you save money today?

photo credit: futureatlas.com

You know, I really wanted to jump for joy as we pumped that $2.89 per gallon of gas over the weekend here in DC, but I just couldn’t.  I’ve lived here for 5 years now and it never fails that whenever there’s an election be it local (primary) or national (presidential) that gas prices drop.

Seriously.

I don’t mean to inject politics into this blog because we are a personal finance blog but I’d like to discuss this issue, so feel free to skip this article if it doesn’t interest you.

Think about it.  Well here in DC metro anyway, whenever a senate, congressional, gubernatorial or presidential election looms, gas prices magically come down, but otherwise they’re sky high.  I feel like a damn yo-yo at times because just a few months ago I posted about the high gas prices and how it cost $70 to fill my then 2 door car.  Now?  $45.  Sure, I’m happy with the lower prices but I hate feeling like my purse strings are being manipulated for some greater reason unbeknownst to me.

I can’t call the reason behind it but this is a pattern I’ve noticed over the years living here.  So, Im not sure what goes on where you live but let me know if you see a pattern.

What do you think?  Here’s a chart that depicts the gas price trends following the different elections we’ve had over the last 6 years.  What say you?  It’s election season, humor me.

photo credit: crowt59

Paying $4/gallon is pretty much a reality for many of us across the nation right now as gas hit another record high over the weekend. We took a trip to NYC for mother’s day and it took $70 to fill up an almost 19 gallon tank! I gasped as this was the first time I’d ever paid so much for one tank of gas. There was a time when that would have been two weeks worth but now that has more than doubled. What will you do?

I am definitely feeling the pinch and ready to get a bike and take a metro where ever I need to go at this point. The cost is one thing but it is also the feeling that we’re being duped by forces we have no control over, not even who we elect in November. So what are you doing to combat the constant increase in gas prices? I get the feeling that no matter what we do to save on gas, unless we completely give up our cars in favor of public transportation, the savings won’t keep up with the increasing prices.