Budgeting Through Elective Utilities

Telephone, Internet, and television service are all examples of elective utilities. These utilities, though many times necessary, are not essential to basic living standards in the United States like gas, electricity, and water. Elective utilities are no less important to a household budget.

When budgeting elective utilities, the trick is to find a company offering the same service or better for a lower rate. This may sound like a statement from Captain Obvious, but it is amazing how many people are willing to pay a higher rate for the same service, and for no good reason.

Some people fear change, others feel they don't have the time to track down lower rates for service, and still others think they won't save a significant amount of money and don't want to be inconvenienced. Of course there are also those who just don't have a need for saving money. I'm not one of them.

One could always cut down on the amount of usage for services, however, this is not usually very practical. You have those services for a reason, you use them. Some elective utilities don't even have a usage rate but a monthly fee regardless of usage such as television service.

Consider this, if you were to take just three of your elective utilities and cut your bill by ten dollars on each one every month you just saved enough money to pay another small bill. When you look at it that way, thirty dollars is nothing to sneeze at. That's a whopping $360.00 a year.

It doesn't sound like such a small amount of money now does it? What could you do with an extra $360.00? Make a car payment? Pay your car insurance? I would bet you know exactly what you would do with that money if you had it right now. If you're like me you're probably thinking of ways to save even more.

Let me share with you a few of my favorite ways to save money on elective utilities. The first thing to look at is price, that much is obvious. Though price is important, there are other variables to look at other than the bottom line rate, usage is probably the single most important factor.

Unlimited usage is king in budgeting. I used to use MCI Neighborhood bundled with unlimited local and long distance for fifty dollars a month. At the time it was a good deal, but cost me around eighty dollars a month after the hidden fee's taxes and surcharges where added into the equation.

I took the leap to broadband telephone service which cost me twenty dollars a month for the exact same thing minus hidden fee's and sir charges. I have had broadband phone for over a year and absolutely love it. I saved sixty dollars a month just on my phone bill alone. In a year I saved $720.00 on phone service!

When looking for cheaper elective's think price plus usage. Unlimited usage is of course better than a rate plan unless you use very little of the service to begin with but need it from time to time. In that case it is better to go with the bare essentials. If your usage increases you can always upgrade.

Sometimes it will cost you a little extra money up front to get started with a new service provider. There may even be a few minor inconveniences at first. Try to stay focused on the end result and the big payoff. Chances are good you'll get back any money spent to activate new service in a couple months.

About the author:

Editor at cheapest-service.com

written by: Daymon Hoag

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home :: Budgeting Tips & Ideas Budgeting Through Elective Utilities Telephone, Internet, and television service are all examples of elective utilities. These utilities, though many times necessary, are not essential to basic living standards in the United States like gas, electricity, and water. Elective utilities are no less important to a household budget. When budgeting elective utilities, the trick is to find a company offering the same service or better for a lower rate. This may sound like a statement from Captain Obvious, but it is amazing how many people are willing to pay a higher rate for the same service, and for no good reason. Some people fear change, others feel they don't have the time to track down lower rates for service, and still others think they won't save a significant amount of money and don't want to be inconvenienced. Of course there are also those who just don't have a need for saving money. I'm not one of them. One could always cut down on the amount of usage for services, however, this is not usually very practical. You have those services for a reason, you use them. Some elective utilities don't even have a usage rate but a monthly fee regardless of usage such as television service. Consider this, if you were to take just three of your elective utilities and cut your bill by ten dollars on each one every month you just saved enough money to pay another small bill. When you look at it that way, thirty dollars is nothing to sneeze at. That's a whopping $360.00 a year. It doesn't sound like such a small amount of money now does it? What could you do with an extra $360.00? Make a car payment? Pay your car insurance? I would bet you know exactly what you would do with that money if you had it right now. If you're like me you're probably thinking of ways to save even more. Let me share with you a few of my favorite ways to save money on elective utilities. The first thing to look at is price, that much is obvious. Though price is important, there are other variables to look at other than the bottom line rate, usage is probably the single most important factor. Unlimited usage is king in budgeting. I used to use MCI Neighborhood bundled with unlimited local and long distance for fifty dollars a month. At the time it was a good deal, but cost me around eighty dollars a month after the hidden fee's taxes and surcharges where added into the equation. I took the leap to broadband telephone service which cost me twenty dollars a month for the exact same thing minus hidden fee's and sir charges. I have had broadband phone for over a year and absolutely love it. I saved sixty dollars a month just on my phone bill alone. In a year I saved $720.00 on phone service! When looking for cheaper elective's think price plus usage. Unlimited usage is of course better than a rate plan unless you use very little of the service to begin with but need it from time to time. In that case it is better to go with the bare essentials. If your usage increases you can always upgrade. Sometimes it will cost you a little extra money up front to get started with a new service provider. There may even be a few minor inconveniences at first. Try to stay focused on the end result and the big payoff. Chances are good you'll get back any money spent to activate new service in a couple months. About the author: Editor at cheapest-service.com written by: Daymon Hoag Other Related Budgeting Articles: Budgeting for Baby If you are expecting an addition to your family, or just planning on having a baby in the future, you need to start thinking about how you are going to budget for your little one. Many first-time parents are shocked when they realize how much... Budgeting For The Future Have you sat down and really thought about your financial future? I know people are busy these days and you think "well I'm young now and I'll have time to do it later." You're dead wrong. You are NEVER too young to start saving for... Budgeting -- The Critical Flaw That Causes Most Budgets To Fail Budgeting. It's a word we're all familiar with. Everyone knows what a budget is, right? Yet how many of us actually make and stick to a solid monthly budget? The truth is that most of us start out with the best of intentions, but an unexpected... Budgeting eating tips The budget for food can be one of the most expensive parts of any vacation, and many travelers underestimate how much they will spend on food while traveling and end up busting their budget as a result. There are a number of ways to keep the... Budgeting Tips for Young Couples The honeymoon is over! How times have changed from those glory years when you and your spouse-to-be were footloose and fancy free. You were dating, having fun, planning your dream wedding, the vacation on some exotic island and then living... Budgeting For A Vacation Or Trip Most people mistakenly think that you need a lot of money to travel, or that vacations are simply too expensive and lavish. This is a good example of a wrongful assumption. Traveling 'light' so to speak, with limited cash, combined with a... Budgeting to Improve your Home Home improvement projects often scare people off, since many believe that it will cost thousands of dollars to remodel one room, since they lack the skills to do the job them self. They may also feel that the project is expensive since materials... Budgeting with Credit Cards These days, with so much easy credit available it is very easy to let your finances and debts get a little out of hand. Pretty much every morning when you wake up and check your mail, you will be greeted by a plethora of junk mail... Budgeting Tips to Save Real Money Sticking to a budget can be difficult, but with so many demands on your finances you have to be extra cautious. TV ads are constantly bombarding the airwaves with messages that you need to buy this or you must have that. Usually, if you just wait a... Budgeting Made Easy Well, dang! From what I’ve heard and read, it looks like we’ve reached an all-time world-class new record in the amount of personal debt on the books. Now it’s probably not quite as bad as we’ve been led to believe, however many of us have... Fortune 500 Budgeting For Our Personal Lives January and February are traditionally busy months in the financial industry as many New Year's resolutions typically include the goal of becoming debt free or saving for a major purchase. While many of our clients understand the importance of... Money tips: budgeting for one-income families If your family is transitioning from two incomes to one, follow these budgeting tips to stretch your money. In the modern world, most families have become comfortable with having two incomes on which to depend. However, life changes often...	College, Jobs & Careers - Making Money Topics Saving For College Work At Home Business Budget Tips & Ideas Budgeting Basics Insurance & Saving Money Auto Insurance Home Insurance Health Insurance Home Mortgage & Refinancing Home Refinancing Home Mortgage Loans Borrowing Money - Loans, Credit, & Debt Student Loans Credit Cards Debt Financial Planning - For Today and Tomorrow Preventing Identity Theft Retirement Planning Stocks Taxes Investing Saving Money Topics Saving on Gas Read the Latest on the Not Made Of Money Blog : Resource Center Submit your topic related site and we'll review it for our Partner Sites where we provide link exchange information. Tour our site using the Site Map. We respect your privacy - see our terms for more info.