Cutting down on bills.

I did away with credit cards all together and just live on a cash basis. I am not really good with refusing temptation and so my debts piled up. Nowadays my motto is that ff I can't afford, then it only means to me that I don't need it. Here in the Philippines, our electric bill has been skyrocketing even if you lower your consumption. The government says that we had to buy other sources of power other than hydroelectric because of El Nino which is more expensive. So in my household, we have very vigilant in our consumption, turning off the appliances not in use and refraining from using the aircon unless it is really hot. I think we are now at our most efficient.

Getting affected with the economic crisis, I think we have to be more disciplined on our day to day expenses and cut down our bills. This summer time, it is quite hard to cut down our electric bill because of the el nino phenomenon and the heat reached 38'C here in the Metro. Since the rainy season is approaching, the usage of electric fans or air conditioner is absolutely cut off. Ways to cut down our monthly bills requires discipline and sacrifice. As you mentioned, you cannot cut down your car payments and insurance because that is actually fixed payment and will be freed from it only after full payment. I think, you need to limit your usage of the credit card and use cash instead, unless on emergency or when necessary. Interests on credit cards is quite a pain in the neck when you need to pay your credits. You can always limit your expenses when you pay in cash, thus you will not be tempted to buy stuff that you cannot afford to buy in cash. Electric bills can be cut down by always plugging off those unused appliances. Iron your clothes at one time basis. For example, plan ahead what you want to wear for the whole week, then iron them all at the same time or say iron the clothes before putting them in to your cabinet. Make sure that your appliances are clean because dust can lower down the efficiency of the appliance. It is just a matter of discipline. Hope I was of helped to you my friend.

Hi Lologirl, I cut my electric bill as much as possible by unplugging everything that I am not using and by turning off lights when not being used. I plan my meals and grocery trips to try to cut there. I don't have a car payment. I buy my cars 2nd hand and I try to buy them with what cash I have from my income tax. I've been very lucky in that I always have gotten a car for under a thousand that has lasted me a year ond more often 2 to 3 years. .

i think that is a great move in this kind of economic crisis condition now a days i can also cut off by electric by dont waste electricity use as u want but here condition is change b'coz i also have tp pay water bill water is even more costly than water so i have to cut the use of water i think u dont need many credit card just one is okay

Electric bill is also a problem in our house. In the Philippines electric bills are very high. You pay high for your small consumption because of the add ons. There are many ways to cut down electric bills such as witching off the tv, computers, electric fans, lights when not in use. Unplug also all appliances when not in use because it still consume a small amount of electric. A little centavo of savings everyday when accumulated become big.

Yeah cutting down on your electricity bill can save you a lot of money.I find good ways to save on electricity are to shut light off when not in use, only use computer and tv when needed.Using the low watt lights that recently came out is a really good way to save on electricity , they even last longer than traditinal 60watt bulbs to.

i try to keep on what things i need on, on with the power. i try to save water, and then with the gas only have the heater on low. not using the phone much. only got one credit card and it's a mess, but looking to sort that out now. ex is going to be paying half of it. then i can sort out the rest with a bit more ease. i'm going to learn from my mistakes with it.

I try several ways to cut down my bills every month (and still trying) I don't own any credit card. That's due to the fact that I don't trust I can control myself and I fell like digging a hole to jump in if I own a card. Electricity bill is easier to cut. We can switch off the lights when not using or iron clothes in bulk. I can't do anything to reduce the payment for car but I always try to save the fuel.

Wow, great plan of you. So, you can save a lot of money monthly. Me on the other hand, I have to come up some plans to save more, and make more money. I would love to cut down as much bills as I can.

when it comes to electricity: we are conscious in our efforts for energy efficiency and lowering our usage. we use CFL's at home. turn off the lights when not in use, unplug appliances after using, and make sure that our appliances are well maintained. credit cards... i always pay in full so i dont get charged interest. now for the car and home amortization, those are our biggest bills but i guess what we can do is to pay a chunk before the anniversary date to lower the interest-bearing balance. cheers!

i don't have many monthly payments, all are just electric, water,and house rent. But I really cut down the unnecessary usage electricity and water. Every penny that I earned are really important to me.

ya i too agree with you but instead we have to find a solution for making or reusing of resources arround our home or office to energy like bio gas .we have to produce self electricity. Try and discuss about it