10 WAYS TO SLASH YOUR BILLS BY UP TO $20,000 in 2022-3

Want or need to start saving a lot of money fast? Read on to learn of unique ideas, websites, apps to start saving up to hundreds of dollars per month.

Are your budget and time tight? Do you need to slash bills by up to $500 or even up to $1,500 month? Would you like to save more money for retirement, kid’s college fund and even to take a week vacation at a nice hotel or resort? Or perhaps you simply want to save more to travel and play more?

You could spend 10-15 hours a week working a part-time job or you can use our 10-Step Savings Strategy to cut your shopping and bills budget by up to $20,000 per year. I wrote most of this article in early 2020 and the our government extended the "2-weeks to slow the spread" and figured there was no soon end to crazy Gov lockdowns and mandates. I decided to not launch the site then. However in light of inflation rising this past year I decided a few months ago to launch Savvy Saver U.

Step 1 – Save up to $200-$400/month on grocery bills by spending just 1-2 hours a week using our proven system! > Save $2,500 - $5,000/Year

So, I’m not talking about extreme couponing or having to use multiple apps and spending several hours a week to save up to $50 or even $100 a week on your grocery shopping. I’m talking about a system my wife and I developed and refined to buy what we like and still save near 30% a week on grocery bills every week.

Before we begin to share about our Grocery Saving System, I’d like to highlight several FREE to join and use sites and apps that provide simple and easy ways to save money on groceries and shopping at stores such as Target, Walmart, Best Buy and hundreds of more top brand name stores and top brand name products. These sites and apps are great to save a lot.

Step 1 - Earn Cash Back and Save Money Using Grocery Store and Coupon Apps

1. Shopkick provides offer to earn points that may be converted into cash back rewards in form of gift cards by simply scanning product codes in stores such as Target, Walmart, Best Buy, Marshall's and many more top brands.

2. Ibotta, Checkout 51, Fetch Rewards, Makeena allow you to upload your receipt after a purchase to earn cash back in form of gift cards.

3. Grocery IQ and Food on the Table, GrocerEaze all let you shop by recipe and create your own shopping list. The GrocerEaze app is known for is its ability to add prices in its item database and if you see a lower price at one store, record it simply in the Grocer Eaze app so it remembers the lowest price for you.

4. Coupons.com is primarily known for printing coupons, though their app now enables you to scan offers to your rewards card to automatically get the discounts at the register. Plus it’ll show it on the receipt. You can also print out coupons to save even more money.

My favorite grocery shopping app we're not listing here. We use it as our staple app as part of our Grocery Saving System, which is included with paid membership. I will say you should be using your grocery store apps to the fullest to save the max you can.

Why and how did we come up with this system?

My family needed to save money in a simple way. We looked for very simple ways to save on groceries that would only take an hour or two extra a week.

My career background is strongly rooted in inventing retail loyalty, offers and fundraising apps that save shoppers time and money and enhance engagement. So, I was already in the mindset to develop a systematic, simple and convenient way to save money with the least amount of time invested. The great part is you’ll not need a special app (other than downloading grocery store apps to maximize savings) to implement our savings system right away.

When bills got tight, we cut back on dining out. We came up with a plan, refined it and soon saw our personal bills for our family of three being cut by $200+ a month in spending just 2-hours each week. That was four years ago and we now spend about only one extra hour a week to save about $50 a week on grocery shopping for our family of three.

If you are already a savvy grocery shopper, you are probably saving $25-$50 a week. I believe our system can double that amount.

This is a system that anyone can implement in America in any suburban or even rural community with several grocery stores within a few miles of each other. You can buy what most everything you like and still save an average of 30% on your grocery bills.

Step 2 - Slash your cable TV, Internet and phone bills > Save up to $125/mo. or $1,500/yr.

Do you still have a landline phone for your home? There’s $10-$20 per month in savings right there.

Next, do you really need cable TV service or premium cable TV service? You could add Netflix and Amazon Prime for about $25 per month. That’s $20-$70 per year savings. You can watch or catch the news on YouTube or Google. And you have not done so, you can also buy an HD TV Digital Antenna for as low as $20/TV to receive "Network TV" broadcasts.

And keep in mind bundling services can save you $10 to $30 a month over having mobile phone service with a separate carrier. That being said, you can save $20-$50 per month by switching mobile phone service providers. The higher end of that is if you have 3-5 phones in your home.

But wait there’s more! 😊

The alternative to cutting cable TV altogether is to reduce to basic cable plan. That can save $20-$40 per month.

If you really like your premium cable TV plan, then there’s still a way to cut your cost by up to $50 per month. It’ll take 15-50 minutes to save $300 - $600 a year?

There’s two ways to do this.

First is to switch cable TV, Internet and phone providers to lower bills. You have to be out of your 1-2 year contract you signed or you’ll have to pay an early termination fee. If you are in the clear you can switch and save a lot, but it can of be a hassle in having to set aside a half day to wait for cable company to install their services. You might have to take time off work and you cannot easily take your DVR TV and movies with you without being a bit of a tech guru. It might only be worth it if you really dislike your services or know, by switching, you’ll get a much better service.

If you do and can switch, you should expect a savings of up to $50 per month of savings on first year (depending upon plan) and it's even possible to get a free $100-$400 gift card too. Keep in mind you may lose your mobile phone bundle discount of $10-$30 per month. And make sure your getting apple to apple on Internet and cable TV services. Fiber Internet services are now being offered at same cost as traditional broadband cable Internet service in many major markets. Fiber services are more reliable and offer much quicker speeds.

If you don’t want to switch to save, then the best cost cutting option that does not sacrifice your services is to negotiate a better rate. I’ve personally have done this maybe 10 times now. Basically, I’ve been getting near the same rates as the first-year discount plan as when you switch cable TV companies.

So negotiating is not your game? Then you still have two more options to save up to $300-$600 a year and keep your same services.

First, you can hire a company that negotiates your bill lower for you. They split the savings with you 50/50. So if they cut your bill by $600 a year, you save a net $300 a year. Bill Fixers or Bill Slashers are two good companies to help you with that.

The next way can save you up to $600 a year and allow you to keep your same services. You can get my simple negotiation strategy, providing a step by step process, line by line conversation you’ll have with cable reps to save up to $50+ a month. It’ll take no more than 5 minutes to read. It will prepare you to maximize savings on your cable TV, Internet and phone services. This Premium Content is provide with paid membership.

Step 3 – Eat out less or stop altogether > Save up to $200 - $1,000/mo. or $2,500-$12,000/yr!

Now we all love to eat out. Not only do we LOVE our favorite restaurant food, we also love the time saved from cooking and time we get to spend with friends, family and co-workers. Now let’s consider possible alternatives to save up to thousands of dollars of month or year on meals.

Let’s say you are only going out to eat for dinner once a week and the average family meal is $50 ($200 Total over 4 meals X 4 people = 16 meals). And let’s say that once a week you and/or your spouse or boyfriend or girlfriend also eat out for lunch once a week. That might cost another $150 per month (9 individual meals). And let’s say your two kids also buy lunches at school and maybe eat at restaurants as well. Let’s say that’s $50 per week (40 individual meals per month and $200/month). So in all your family is spending $550 per month on eating out. Let’s analyze this a bit.

The total meals your family of four are you are eating out for is 65 (16+9+40). At $550 total cost to dine out over a month, the average spent per meal is $8.46 per meal.

Now, let say your current monthly grocery bill for family of four is $900 (which may be a bit high by $100-$300 depending on how much you are cost cutting on grocery shopping now. That and eating out 65 times a month, means your grocery bill may be a bit lower. This does not include snacks, alcohol, deserts, which may be another $100-$200/month). The meals supplied from eating homemade meals are 295 (360 total meals/month for family of 4 = 65 meals eaten out). So $900 divided by 295 meals = $3.05 per meal. What if you prepared all your lunches for kids? $2/meal savings X 40 meals = $80 in savings per month. What if you only ate out once a month each at work and once a month as a family (6 total meals)? 9-3 less meals eaten out X $13.40 saved per meal = $40 in savings. And lastly let’s say you reduced going out to dinner to once a month (4 total meals). 16-12 less meals eaten out X $9.45 saved per meal = $113 per month saved. So let’s add all that savings up. $80 + $40 + $113 = $233/month in savings. And that’s with still eating out 10 total meals a month. If you are ruthlessly seeking to save or must do so to get by, you could eat those 10 meals at home and save another $9.45 per meal = $95/month. So your total estimated savings by homemaking all your meals could be $328 per month! For a family of 5 that projects out to $410 savings per month. A family of 6 would save an estimated $492 per month!

So how did I come up with $2,000 potential savings per month on food and meal costs? Well some families eat out about 1/3 their meals. You know who you are. :)

Let’s say you and your spouse or boyfriend and girlfriend eat out every day at lunch. Let’s say the average meal is $12.50 (to be conservative). That’s 40 meals/month (minus days off) X $12.50 = $500/month. And let’s say you went out as a family to eat 2 times a week at a cost of $50 total for your family of four (That’s 4 meals X 2/week X 4 times/month = 32 meals/month). Let’s say the average meal is only $40 X 8 family meals = $320/month. And let’s say you and your spouse or boyfriend or girlfriend eat out twice a month just you two or with friends. Let’s say those meals cost $60 each and babysitting costs another $60. That’s $180 per month. And let’s say the kids eat out lunch every day at school. That’s $5 X 40 meals = $200. So let’s add that up. That’s total of $500 + $320 + $180 + $200 = $1,200/month!

Now let’s calculate the savings if you prepared homemade meals for all those meals eaten out. Those 40 lunches eaten out = 40 meals X $9.50 savings/meal ($12.50 - $3) = $380/month extra cost to eat out. Those 8 meals eaten out as a family every month = 32 meals X $7 savings ($10 - $3) = $224/month extra cost to eat out. Your and your spouse eating out twice a month with friends = 4 meals X $42 savings ($45 - $3) = $168/month extra cost to eat out. And if the kids meals are made at home = 40 meals X $2 savings ($5 - $3) = $80/month extra cost to eat out. Let’s add all that up. Meals eaten out = 40 + 32 + 4 + 40 = 116 meals eaten out, which equals about 1/3 of meals eaten out. The total extra cost to eat out = $380 + $224 + $168 + $80 = $852/month extra cost as a family to eat out near 1/3 of all meals a month.

How do we reach $2,000 potential savings a month by eating in vs. eating out. Well that was for a family of 4. A family of 6 eating out 2/3 of their meals could easily cost an extra $2,000 per month vs. eating in.

Step 4 - Stop Buying Coffee/Tea at Starbucks, Local Coffee Shop > Save up to $2,000/year!

So I get it. The morning coffee or tea is not an option to take off the table. I’m only here to point out how much you could save by making that coffee or tea at home every day.

So let’s say a pot of coffee (yes I said pot vs. Keurig individual serving) costs about 30-90 daily for coffee depending on the brand you use and how much coffee your family consumes. And the creamer costs about another 30-90 cents daily depending on how much you use and how much you paid for the creamer (if you use it). So that’s let say that's about $1.50/day for 1-2 coffees at home and 1-2 for the road.

Let’s say that tea costs about half that at 25 cents each (we buy on sale for 10-20 cents per tea bag). Let’s the average couple spends $1.75/day for coffee/tea at home 30 days a month. That’s $52.50 a month. Let’s say that the average couple buys coffee out 3-days a week each (25 times/month) and the average cup of coffee/tea is $4. The cost = 25 X $4 = $100/month. Let’s calculate the extra cost. 60 monthly morning coffees/teas per couple – 25 coffees/teas bought in stores = 35 coffees/teas at home = 58% X $52.50 (total 30-day coffee-tea costs per couple) = $30.63. Now the total extra cost of buying 25 coffee/teas in stores/month. $100 – $22 ($52.50 - $30.63) = $78/month extra cost to buy coffee in store 25 times a month. That’s $937/year extra cost to buy coffee/teas 3-days a week per couple. If that number is 50 times/month, the cost is $156/month or $1874/year extra to buy 50 cups of coffee/tea per month.

Now, some of you out there may have 2-4 afternoon or evening coffee/tea runs a week. This could add another $500-$1,000 per year!

And if it’s not coffee, it could be Red Bull or energy drinks 2-4 days a week, which at $1.75 each would cost $21/month if bought in bulk and $40/month if bought at convenience store. That’s another $250 - $1,000 per year!

Step 5 - Refinance loans, credit cards to cut interest cost > Save up to $50-$500/mo, $6K/yr!

Most all of us have debt. Those that don’t good job! We want to be where you are. So let’s talk about how to reduce interest paid and put a plan together that will pay off all debts besides mortgage in the next 2-5 years.

First, you must stop the bleeding. You must apply all the first four steps above in order to have extra funds to pay down your debt.

Next, you need to prioritize your pay down of debts. Pay off highest interest rate credit cards first.

There’s 4 ways you can do this which might make sense.

If you can do transfer the balance to 0% finance card for 12-18 months you can pay significantly less interest. Be careful to assess the 3-5% cost of balance transfer costs the credit card offers will charge. Look at the offer details to see what your interest rate will be on remaining debt when this 0% period ends. You should calculate the monthly payment needed to pay off debt before the end of the 0% period. If you can’t that is OK if you pay off most of the debt and will still save a lot compared to current credit card rates. Ideally pay it off though. It’s like taking a step up the mountain and knowing you achieved it more quickly than you would have without this plan.

If you can’t do a balance transfer, but do own a home, then it might make sense to refinance your home and take extra cash out to pay off all high interest rate credit cards (or even lower interest rate cards too). Right now is a great time to refinance as rates are low and home values are high. So if you’ve got equity and income qualify to do this, this might make sense. You might even be able to take out an extra $10,000 or $25,000 to pay off credit card debts and have a lower mortgage payment than you are paying now. If you do this and can afford it, take out a 15-Year mortgage to pay off your home and the debt earlier. Or let’s say you had 20-years left on your mortgage and refinance with a 30-year loan with a lower payment, you can simply make extra payments to still pay off your home in 20-years. There are tools to work with that will tell you what payment you need to make to pay off your mortgage in 20-years or whatever time period you want. We have a mortgage partner offering great, low rates and the tools you need to do this calculation. Plus, we have a great bonus offer from us if by simply applying to refinance your home. Click here to refinance and get a great bonus offer from us, which is a FREE, one-year Savvy Saver Media Premium Savings Content subscription or earn a $50-$100 credit towards paying off your refinanced mortgage. If you’ve been meaning to refinance but have been busy or it simply does make sense now, then you really should do this. You’ll be happy to see what our bonus offer is and happy about cutting your costs and increasing your savings every month!

The third option is to pay off all high interest rate credit card debts, which have a variable interest rate, by getting a much lower fixed interest rate, 2-5 year loan. So long as your credit is OK to good or better, you should be able to get a lower, fixed interest rate loan. I suggest choosing a 3-year fixed rate loan. Here’s why. Your credit card statement displays the payment it will take to pay off their loan in three years and how much interest you will pay. With this you can simply compare apple to apple your fixed loan costs vs. current credit card cost towards paying off in three years. The savings will be simple and clear. Plus, if you actually need a few thousand extra dollars to pay bills, you may find you can pay the same interest over three years with higher loan amount as you would have paid to pay off high interest credit card in three years.

The fourth way is to take out a loan against your 401K. This option may not be available for everyone, but if it is, it may be the best option compared other options. Why? The rate may be as low as 2% or lower and it’s a fixed rate. You can’t beat this. The loan will be repaid automatically from your paycheck over 4-5 years. You’ll know how much interest you’ll pay over 4-5 year term to compare to what you’d pay in three years on credit card. You can set aside extra funds saved from lower payment on 401K loan to pay off your balance at end of year three or sooner. I know federal employees can choose this option. Maybe most employers offer this option or a 3rd party loan provider can set up these loans. Whatever you do, only choose this option if it saves you more money over other options. You may also want to consider keeping your personal finance apart from your employer.

Step 6 - Cut your insurance costs > Save up to $500 - $1,500 a year!

OK, this is simple. Simply shop around by getting quotes from your home, auto, life and health insurance companies. It’ll take you just a few hours at the most to save up to $500-$1,500 per year in total.

Step 7 - Don’t pay full price at restaurants, retailers, service providers > Save up $1,500/year!

Buy using discount coupons offered via coupon mailers, newspapers, apps and websites. Always be sure to shop around before buying anything. You can most always save 10-75% by taking a few minutes to several hours to days depending on how big of purchase. Be open to saving by buying used items or waiting to buy certain items until they go on sale. The best rule is not to buy until you have spent the amount of time to know what is the best price and best product to buy or the best service provider to buy from. Once you know this you have the GREEN LIGHT TO BUY. Don't spend more time than what you need. You are not always going to save 30-75%. Sometimes the max savings will only be 10-30%. Be happy with it and move on to enjoy your day and life.

Step 8 - Trim your shopping for clothing and shoes > Save up to $4,400/year!

If you are buying new clothing, shoes every month, you may want to consider limiting this to once a season. Let's say you are spending $100 per month per person in your household. If you have a family of four, then you're spending $400 per month! So do you really need to be spending all this cash just to look cool? Do you really need new clothes? Can you make your current outfits work for another season or year? Of course most all of you can. If you limit shopping to $400 per season, then you'd save $3200 per year. If you limit your new clothing spend to $400 per year, you'd save $4,400 per year. Once a year budget limited to $100 per year per person? Yes it can be done through savvy discount shopping, but $100 per season is a reasonable savvy saver goal.

Step 9 - Watch movies, concerts and sports events from home > Save up to $500-$5,000/yr!

Going out for the night to the movies or a concert is a fun time. We love it! What I'm suggesting is to limit going out to the movies or a concert to once a quarter or year.

Not many movies, concerts or college or pro sports events are so awesome we need to see in theater or live in person. Heck, with our HD TV's nowadays and the incredible coverage, the view from home is much better than in person. If you've yet to buy that dream big screen HD TV and surround sound speaker system that may be a much better investment.

A night out at the movies costs a family of four $50-$60 before concessions. With popcorn, sweets and sodas costing $3-$10 each, the total could easily be $80-$100! If you do this once a month that's $1,200 a year.

A night out at a concert for mom and dad might cost $200-$500. If you do this just twice a year that's $400-$1,000 a year. And if you're paying for kid's concerts add another $100-$300 per year. I'm suggesting you limit going out to one live concert a year. You could easily save $500 a year by doing this. Attending just a few pro or college sports events a year could easily cost $1,000 for 2-3 tickets per event. And season tickets will cost thousands or even ten's of thousand's per year. If you're seriously seeking to save for kid's college or your retirement and you are way behind schedule to meet your saving and investing goals or you don't even have them planned out, then you might want to rethink spending all that cash. Limit to a few games a year or watch them all from home.

Step 10 - Slash Your Energy Bill! > Save up to $500/month or $2,500/Year!

I'm a big fan of fans. Turning on the AC feels great, but it can easily cost you hundreds of dollars a month to do so if you turn it on daily for hours at a time. Now, there are some places where it's over 100 degrees and/or the humidity is high where you might just have to turn on the AC to keep your home livable, but if it's only in the 80's or 90's placing a cheap $25 - $50 fan in your bedrooms and living room are much less expensive than turning on the AC. You might pay as little a a dollar a day per fan running 12-hours a day. AC might cost up to 20-40 times that (I've read and heard). Installing a ceiling fan in rooms might be a great investment.

And in the Winter, getting space heaters can save you money in the same way fans do. Though we don't live in a very cold climate in California. We rarely turn on our heater and don't have space heaters but a few nice blankets and wearing a sweatshirt does the job well to keep warm.

And lastly, installing solar panels on your home can be a very sound investment if you live in an area with mostly sunny days and extreme heat. Do your shopping around and try to go with a roofing contractor with ample experience as a solar power installer to get the best deal on a new roof and reducing your energy costs.

Well that's all the savings strategy we have for today. Go apply and see savings become real!