Scrutinize your bills!

We have everything setup on auto pay. It is a great system to avoid missed payments but it is so hands off that we may be paying a lot for charges we never see. Get your bills out and read line by line about what you are paying for. Be accountable for your spending every dollar of your money.

Internet bill: On ours we were paying $5 a month for a loaned modem. After how many months would that basic/cheap modem have been paid in full? Do you need cable and internet with so much TV online? Can you cancel your landline or get a different plan for your cell phone with better features for less?

Know your mortgage statement. How much extra in a month would it be to pay a whole extra month every single month? If your payment is $600, that total is going to escrow, principal and interest. An extra monthly payment may only be $200!

Water bill: Are you getting a service fee because of that flower bed blocking the access panel? Is your lawn watering costing you overage charges because of a conservation policy?

Utility leveling helps all of us reach our monthly budgets by smoothing the cost of utilities across all months of the year. It usually requires a year’s worth of bills to determine the initial baseline for leveling. The average level is adjusted periodically to ensure the bills continue to be in line with changes in usage and pricing.