More Ways to Save Discretionary Income

Here are a few more ways you can investigate to save money in your monthly household budget:

When is the last time that you looked at your insurance policies?  Insurance companies "spread their risk" by use of a deductible.  Deductibles are the portion of the contract that the insured becomes responsible for in the event of a claim.  Suppose you had a small kitchen fire.  Unfortunate for sure! But then you call the insurance company to make a claim.  The insurance claims adjuster will walk you through the necessary process to get things repaired.  However, once the repairs are completed, he will issue a check for the repairs less the deductible.  If you have a $100.00 deductible, the cost for insurance is higher because the insurance company is assuming the majority of the risk.  If, however,  you have a $500.00 deductible, the monthly premiums would be less expensive. Your risk is higher because in the event of a claim, you would have to pay more of the repair costs.  With that in mind, how many kitchen fires do you have on an annual basis?  It is the old risk vs. reward scenario.  The higher the deductible, the less the premiums because you are assuming some of the risk alsongside the insurance carrier.  Feasibility for this savings must be determined on a case by case situation. 

Another great way to save money in addition to the coupon plan that was discussed yesterday, is to buy generic.  There are some things that you will absolutely want to buy as brand names.  This varies on an individual basis.  However, some products are the same, regardless of name brand.  You can compare labels to decide what you are willing to sacrifice.  When I first started comparing labels, I was surprised how many products were "packaged for" store brands.  This basicly means that some of the items that you will buy are made by the name brand manufacturers for the stores to sell under their own branding.  Just make sure that if you are buying generic over-the-counter medications, that they are actually the same as the brand names that you are used to purchasing. 

Last for today, consider selling some of your unwanted items.  There are many consignement shops that take unwanted apparel.  There are also many "gold-buyers" around to take your unwanted jewelry.  Do not sacrifice sentimental items.  There are also charites that will take unwanted items in turn for a tax write off that can save you big at tax time.

If you have any ideas for cutting costs, contact us at savingsenseinc@gmail.com.  We look forward to hearing from you. 

More cost cutting advice tomorrow.  See you then.