What have you done this year that has saved the most money?

[Russell]

Re: What have you done this year that has saved the most money?

Shut down an old web server from my webhosting startup days. Saved $1500/yr. Something I should've done 6 yrs ago

Sold some old car parts etc that I never thought would sell, $120.

Window tint on one of my cars started going bad. It had a lifetime warranty, however, when I tried to get it fixed under warranty the shop gave me a bazillion excuses. I wasted over 40 mins arguing with them but I held my ground. Finally they redid it - saved $200.

Now, pls don't ask me how much money I spent this year

[Bluezy]

Re: What have you done this year that has saved the most money?

Stayed a renter, paid all outstanding credit card debts, cancelled Stamps.com and nail salon appointments, and did all vehicle repairs myself.

[cheapbastard]

Re: What have you done this year that has saved the most money?

Switched our mortage to a new bank and wow, this saved us $450 per month. That is $5400 per year.

[Well Spent]

Re: What have you done this year that has saved the most money?

switched cell phone companies...I was paying a minimum of $35/month...now I'm paying about $7/month (it's a pre-pay cell phone!) That alone has saved me about ~$165 for the Jan- Jul period!

I'd like to know more about this.

How do you change companies if you are under contract?

And how do you arrange a pre-pay cell phone?

I currently use Sprint and I pay the basic service of $35 + approx. $4 in "fees" so it comes out to about $39/month. I never use up my minutes because I dont' use my phone much.

I'd love to save on this bill! Thanks for any help.

[Ima saver]

Re: What have you done this year that has saved the most money?

I have been paying extra every month on a mortgage loan on a piece of property. That has brought my monthly interest payment to almost half what I was paying. My first payment, I paid $400 in interest, my 12th payment, I only paid $200 in interest, so that is saving some money.

[contrary1]

Re: What have you done this year that has saved the most money?

A real estate deal that closed in Sept of 2005. Closed a business partnership at the same time.......... The combination of all that change resulted in what looks like the biggest financial gain I've had in ages.
I can't wait til I've been in the new place a full year to see the incidental monthly expenses graphed out.......but, I think they are going to be lower too. House is smaller, land is already being leased out, the old house has a tenant too.......... I can still work at home....there weren't any negative financial aspects to it.
Because of doing the real estate transaction on a 1031, I'm saving even more. Wasn't able to roll the whole thing over through that, but a considerable amount. Best thing I learned in 2005.

[Ima saver]

Re: What have you done this year that has saved the most money?

Can I ask, what is a 1031?

[Lemony]

Re: What have you done this year that has saved the most money?

refi'ed the mortgage to 4.64% from 6.21%. Our payments went down over $100/month.

[Ima saver]

Re: What have you done this year that has saved the most money?

That is good lemony!! Very good!!

[abowers]

Re: What have you done this year that has saved the most money?

I would like to save money on cable except there's only one company that serves where i live! so i'm stuck with their prices... the next town over has 2 companies to chose from.

[acezz4e_tish]

Re: What have you done this year that has saved the most money?

mine is high too, cable, digital and internet is 100 month. id say satellite would save. they are competetive. i dont have a cc so im not eligable. but our phone company will be offering it all soon and will give discounts for switching for six months and after that thier contract price is still gonna save us 20 a month.
the thing i did that saved the most this past year is laundry. i invested in a front loader, ge energy star. cold water and green washing. except for tide coldwater soap, i use ammonia in the bleach compartment and vinegar for rinse. and liquid softener with sponges on dryer. and in the drawers and stuff, i save 80 a month with all that. not included the better quality of the clothing. i havent had anything caught or ripped, i have an old pair of black levis, still look brand new too, so that part has been a gr8 added value of at least 300 bucks over a year plus the 80 a month. sounds about right, 1260 dollars over the year.

[pyotr]

Re: What have you done this year that has saved the most money?

cancelled my local phone service, cancelled my long distance service (was paying $26/mo for local, on average about $10/mo for long dist).

signed up for nuvio VoIP (I looked at voicepulse, vonage, and time-warner's offers first) - cost $15/month for BOTH local and long distance (500min/month) and i get free caller id, free unlimited voice-mail (an outstanding one which I can check online, receive email whenever someone calls etc.), free call forwarding (to my cell-phone when I'm travelling), etc.
AND I GOT THE FIRST MONTH OF SERVICE FREE.

Will save $21/month for the rest of the year (start-up cost including the phone adapter was $14 net after the free month factored in).

[shadon]

Re: What have you done this year that has saved the most money?

I saved $500 a year by shopping around for Car Insurance and increasing my Excess (I think you call it "Deductible" in the U.S) from $500 to $1500.

We also rang our Internet provider (who is also our Home phone provider) and changed from getting $5 worth of local call credits a month to 3 months a year free Internet (went from a $60 a year saving to a $200 a year saving). We still have all the same Internet and Phone Services as we had before the change.

[Ima saver]

Re: What have you done this year that has saved the most money?

I switched to a wonderful long distance company called Lightyear. My long distance bill has never been over $7 a month. I use a prepaid calling card when calling long distance within my state. 100 minutes has lasted me over a year.

[kristinecfp]

Re: What have you done this year that has saved the most money?

Re-insulated our house. Our gas bill is much lower, especially compared to friends and family's bills.