100 Ways to Improve 1% – Part 8
This post will be another part of my series “100 Ways to Improve 1%”.
If you are on the FIRE journey, then chances are you have already modified the “big-ticket” items when it comes to your expenses, this is looking at exploring some more fine-tuning touches you can make to your everyday life.
This list has been derived from the people at ChooseFI
Below are the links to the other sections that are part of this series:
Part 1 – Exercise and Personal Growth
Part 2 – Debt
Part 3 – Emergency Fund Savings
Part 4 – Home Expenses
Part 5 – Transportation Expenses
Part 6 – Groceries and Dining Out
Part 7 – Shopping and Services
Part 8 – Internet, Phone and Entertainment
Part 9 – Travel and Sightseeing
Part 10 – Earning Extra Money
Part 11 – Investing and Retirement Planning
Part 12 – Job and Career
Part 8 – Internet, Phone and Entertainment
62) Call Your Provider For A Better Rate
A lot of the time, as soon as you call your provider and tell them you are going to cancel, they will offer you either a better rate, or at least a better product. It helps to do some research to see what other competitors are offering so at least you have some bargaining power.
63) Switch to a Cheaper Provider
Similar to the above, if the provider is not able to offer a discount to you and you know a cheaper provider, then simply change provider and get the cheaper service. I do not see a reason to be loyal to any particular company when it is rare for them to show any loyalty in return.
If you can get a service that suits you for a cheaper price, then go for it.
64) Get a Phone Plan That Suits Your Needs
Phone plans can definitely get expensive, when you go for unlimited calls, texts and large chunks of data it can really take a chunk out of the budget. But if you look at your situation and you realise you do not need what is currently offered, then maybe look at reducing your plan to what you actually need. You might find that you do not need much data because you are around WiFi the majority of the time?
65) Consider Buying a Phone Outright and using a SIM Only Plan
A lot of phone plans are expensive because they incorporate the cost of the phone through the length of the contract. These contracts seem to be getting longer and longer, up to 36 months these days! If you feel you need a top of the line phone, then all means, go for it, but if you feel you can make do with a relatively cheap phone then that might be the best financial option for you.
For me, I do not use my phone a great deal, so I bought a Nokia for about $200 and am on a SIM only plan for about $10 per month. The phone might only last me a couple of years due to poor processing power, but it is enough for what I need, and I am a long way ahead than if I bought a new iPhone for $1,300 (or whatever they cost these days).
66) Optimise Your Streaming Services
It can be difficult to narrow down what Streaming service you want. You have one of your favourite shows on Netflix, but then Stan has better movies for you, but then Amazon has that new show you really wanted to check out. It can be easy to justify getting them all but then it ends up being a sizeable chunk of your budget spent on Streaming services.
It might be best to just have one streaming service at a time, it might give you less selection at any one time, but there really is a mountain of shows/movies to watch on each of these streaming services so I am sure you will be able to find something that can entertain you.
67) Share Streaming Services with Friends/Family
I believe they might be cracking down on this, but while you still can, if you wanted to keep your multiple streaming services, then sharing with friends/family might be an option. If you each pay for one service but able to watch on multiple devices, then you can keep the same cost but double your entertainment.
68) Consider if You Need Foxtel/Optus
Foxtel is ridiculously expensive, my parents have Foxtel and I think they pay around $150 per month for it. I shake my head every time I think about it, but it is what they want to spend their money on. They do use it a lot so I guess at least they get their money out of it, but they could easily replace their Foxtel with multiple streaming services and still have the same entertainment value at the end of the day.
69) Share Bills with Family/Friends
Bundling phone plans and subscriptions can be a great way to save money. Plenty of subscription services like YouTube, Spotify etc can be shared to reduce the individual costs. Even subscriptions like Microsoft Office can be shared by more than one user at a slightly increased price.
70) Cancel any Subscriptions You Might Have Forgotten About
Subscriptions are great for providers, they automatically direct debit straight out of your bank account for as long as you let them to. It can be easy to forget about these, especially if they are annual renewals.
It is important to check your bank account/credit card statements regularly to see exactly what costs are coming out. You might even be able to go through them all and see how much they all add up to and realise that maybe you could live without one or two of them.