Cutting the Cable

For a while, I was a panel member for the local cable company to offer my opinion (never in short supply) on the services they offer, the WiFi in home and out in public, BETA-test APPs for the company, and generally socialize with the other panel members. For this service, we received a $10/mo. Amazon.com reward. Nice little perk for doing something that was actually fun for 30 minutes a week. I didn't have any real criticisms of the company, as we have had excellent service for over 12 years with them, rare service disruption, and good speed on our internet service. We are "triple play" subscribers - internet, phone and TV. Others on the board were complaining about the cost, and while it was getting up there, it was doable, considering we were getting all three services. I did agree that it bothered me that new customers get the price break to join, and those of us loyal customers with over 10 years of patronage didn't rate any perks for loyalty. It was noted by some that their calls to get a price break fell on deaf ears.

Then one day, we all received an email that the panel had run its course and would be ending in two weeks. I was going to miss it; I was surprised that I was actually sad about it. The next month we got our bill and it had gone up! Coincidence? I don't know, and maybe I should have paid better attention to the notices with the statement, but it was in my lackadaisical phase with the bills, just making sure they were paid on time and not paying attention unless an amount changed. The bill went from $159.00 to $174.00. I took note. You may be thinking that it was only a $15 increase. Sometimes it is just the principle of it. We didn't have anything fancy in the form of channels, no HBO or paid stations, no sports package, nothing special at all. We do have one of their DVRs.

This was part of the tipping point with me. Everything was just getting too expensive. Ten cents here, a dollar there, 15 dollars to them - where does it stop? I had to change the constant out flow.

Hearing people talk at work, I have heard that other cable companies made customers jump through hoops. It wasn't good enough to threaten to leave, you actually had to sign up with another company,  and have an appointment for hook up before they would lower your rates. A friend's mother was also told to go ahead and change - they didn't care! So the phone call to beg for a lower rate wasn't top on my list when I decided to take action.

Action started with printing out a list of the stations in our TV package. We both checked off stations we watch on a regular basis. Most of mine fell in the cheaper package, but my husband loves the History Channel. I was willing to give up the DVR, and he agreed to lose the History Channel to save some money.

I called the company and explained it was imperative I lower our expenses, and I would be returning the DVR and wanted the cheaper package for the TV. I did mention how much my husband loves the History Channel, but he was willing to give it up for the sake of the budget. Problem was, the packages I saw online were for the new customers, and that if I changed our package and dropped the one with the History Channel, our bill would actually go up $5.00. 'Scuse me? Go up? Yes, we were grandfathered in and allowed to keep our old rate as long as we do not change anything.

I think the feeling I had was how it actually feels to be between a rock and a hard place. I had to play hardball. I didn't want to do it, but I did. I said the words I didn't want to say: "Perhaps we need to change to the competition," followed by, "I hate to do it. We have been so pleased with your company for over 12 years." She checked the computer, and it was over 12 years, with perfect payment history. It meant nothing. There were no offers available at that time. She did, however, offer to connect me with  customer service for new accounts. I asked what good that would do, and she told me to tell them exactly what I told her, and they may have offers she did not. It was worth a try.

I was connected to a very nice young man, Anthony. I repeated everything I told the other customer service girl, and he checked our history also. Then he came back with the deal of a lifetime: he was able to give us the new customer deal, I could keep the DVR, AND - here it is - FREE HBO for a year. The rate was for one year, and I would have to call back in a year and look for new deals, but this was the nicest thing any company has done for me in longer than I can remember. I thanked Anthony many times, and I came away with a new respect for their customer service.

After taxes and fees, the new rate is $137.00, a $37/mo decrease. It paid to make the dreaded phone call, and I am not only saving money, but have a new-found respect for our provider.

Total savings for one year: $444.00.

Savings on Ice

We are relatively new boat owners, and we do use our boat more than the average boat owner. We are out on the water about two times each week, and the boat is in the water from April to November. On hot summer days, we spend a lot of time at anchor sitting and having a cool drink, and pack food for lunch or dinner. The cost of bagged ice can add up over the course of a year for boat owners, or those who entertain a lot, unless you make it yourself. Ice cube trays are tedious. Bags of ice in the freezer can take up a lot of room and leak. The cost of bagged ice to fill the cooler can be $8 a day, with each bag costing $4.00. There had to be a better, cheaper, way.

A visit to my father's house showed me a better way. He froze many blocks of ice using throwaway containers from margarine, or other items you buy in plastic containers with lids, and used the bricks of ice to filled his cooler. Brilliant! Free ice at the ready whenever you need it. I had to give it a try.

I found that the bricks of ice using larger containers were too large for our smaller cooler. I tried using sandwich-size Rubbermaid containers that I found in the pantry closet, sitting unused, to make bricks of ice for our cooler. The smaller bricks allowed me to put them in between the cans or bottles and put a layer on top. I also experimented with freezer bags with the ziplock tops to make pillows of ice for the cooler, hoping that they wouldn’t leave water throughout the cooler. It works, however some of the bags do burst and the water leaks out. Not a big deal.

There are only two small drawbacks, if you can call them that, and that would be the blocks need to be prepared a day in advance, and the need for enough space in the freezer to make the bricks of ice. The sandwich containers work well because they stack in the freezer and take up very little space. Also, recent news reports state that freezers that are well packed cost less to run. I have seen reports to the contrary, so you need to investigate this a little bit more on your own.

As for the savings, we would spend at least $100 on ice for boating season, and that is most-likely a gross underestimation. Now the ice is free.

Total savings: at least $100! 

The time savings is also noted - now we don’t have to go to the store before each time we go to the boat.

The Cost of a Gigabyte

We live in the electronics age, and there is no need to debate it. When I started using computers, we thought in terms of Kilobytes. KBs changed to MBs, then to GBs, now to Terabytes. And they cost. How do you put a price on connectivity? You and I don't, we are paying whatever the companies that service our needs decide. And it seems like they change their minds. A lot.

My foray into the world of mobil data started with a need to use my iPad at work. My original iPad was the WiFi version, and my room is in my place too far from the WiFi source to be able to take advantage of it. The computer in my room was not on the router either. I heard about MiFi - a personal WiFi device - that could get me connected. I was thrilled. We went to get the device, and when trying to choose a plan, they showed me a chart of potential use scenarios and the cost of the GBs. Anticipating using it a lot, and based on their chart, I got the 5 GB for $50/mo. plan. I got the 2 year contract, and went on my merry way. The device worked well, speed was good. I was happy.

Fast forward to the launch of iPad2, with 3G built in. The original iPad was great, and iPad2 was an excellent upgrade. The plus side was that if you didn't sign on to 3G during a monthly billing cycle, you didn't get charged. I fell for that line...hook, line and sinker. Seriously, who is NOT going to sign on if they are capable? The price of the 3 GB level was $30/mo. when I started my data plan. The MiFi sat and collected dust now. But I still have a contract, so I am still paying. My husband has iPad1, but he has no reason to use the MiFi because he is not that connected, aside from his computer. My husband has never texted. Yes, I heard your audible gasp. He can build super computers from scratch, but cannot send a text. He says it is all motivation. But I digress.

Do people actually monitor their GB usage? I know I didn't. As long as I didn't go over, and didn't see an over-use charge on the bill, I really didn't pay attention. [I did catch that the carrier charged me for texts that someone sent the MiFi, and I made them give me my money back and block texts to it. Just because it has a number, they can charge a text fee? You CANNOT text from a MiFi, nor read a text. Don't charge me! I wonder how much they make on that little scam a month!] Then I started on my quest to get the bills cut down, so I looked at the GB use on both devices. MiMi sat home collecting dust, and really only came out a couple times for work, and was used during hurricane Irene in August, 2011, because the cable went out and the home WiFi was down for 2 days. Other than that, I was donating $50.00/mo to the carrier. The iPad2, despite what I thought was heavy use for work, and some home use if I forgot to change the setting to WiFi, still never hit the 3 GB limit. I was wasting money on GB every month.

I called the cellphone carrier, who was also the MiFi carrier, and cut the plan down to their lowest plan: 250 MB for $30/mo. Yup! You read it right, it is not a typo. MB, not GB. I vented to the poor woman who was assisting me that it was a ridiculous amount of money for 250 MB. She said it was because 3G is not so popular anymore, and the plans are geared to 4G. I think that is company line for: Why don't you upgrade and buy the NEW device? It would have cost me $250 to cancel the contract early, so I had no choice. I just wanted to get to the end of the contract in October, 2012, and be done with MiFi.

Bottom line on MiFi: $20/mo. saving for 6 months left on the contract = $120.00 saved this year.

Back to the iPad2 plan.

I was getting 3 GB for $30/mo. The lowest plan is now 1 GB for $20. Again, the numbers are at the whim of the carrier. However, I have surprisingly NOT gone over the 1 GB, and am now saving $10/mo.

Bottom line on iPad2: $100 savings for the year, March - December, 2012.

Total data savings for 2012: $220.00.

Personally, I am not a big texter, and because I have the iPad, I never got a fancy phone. In fact, my husband and I both have our LG VX8300 phones since January of 2007. They work great, although in the past year I have had a couple kids ask me, "What is that?" The old flip phone is in perfect condition as we both use cases. It is not texting friendly by any stretch of the imagination, and now work wants to text me. The most frugal solution was to get Text Free, now known as Pinger (http://www.pinger.com) on my iPad.  FREE texting, and FREE phone calls APP to APP. I can talk to a friend in Greece who has the APP on her iPad, too, for free! How great is that? Texting is so easy on the iPad with the big keyboard. Pinger also allows you to buy phone minutes (you can have free texting on your iPhone, and buy 1000 minutes for $19.00). I would get an iPhone if I knew I could purchase a minimal data plan, and use Pinger exclusively. We share a 700 minute/mo. plan now with a major carrier, and have never gone over the limit.

So check your GB usage and downgrade if you can. The same would go for your calling plan. Our savings is $220.00 for a partial year. Next year will be even more. And check out Pinger, or any of the other services of that nature, and see if they are right for you. If you have any questions, just leave them in the comments and I will get back to you. And if you know if an iPhone can be bought with only a data plan, I would love to know that too.

Playing the Game to Win

Grocery shopping, I have learned on my budget journey, is a game. It is Me vs. Proctor & Gamble, Me vs. The Store, Me vs. Betty Crocker, and there was no way Betty was gonna win. Not if I had a say in things.

Why do I say it is a game...

I guess I started thinking of it that way to motivate myself to do my best at being a smart shopper, and allowing us to still enjoy all the brands we had used all along. Certain things about the grocery game annoy me, and pits consumer against company. Take a 2L. bottle of soda (pop in other areas of the country). The current cost is $1.89 - $1.99. The price has risen consistently over the years for flavored water with bubbles. A couple price increases were when most things rose in price because the price of gas increased, and I understand the cost to get goods to market was high. However, when the cost of gas decreased, the shelf prices did not. Not a penny. So the companies see they can still sell their product at the higher price, people bought it, and that was apparently a price point the market could bear. Now take into account that, on any given week, soda is on sale for 89-99 cents, and the companies are not being charitable and giving the product away out of any sense of benevolence, they are still making a profit that suits their profit margins. Think about that next time you pay full price for a bottle. When paying full price for a bottle hurts, you are now a member of the team, and you are in the game.

I am not singling out the soda manufacturers for any reason other than a quick comparison. Every company is guilty of the same pricing based on rising costs, but never lower the price when their cost goes down. That said - back to the game.

The object of the game, as I choose to play it, is to get the grocery brands we like, with few substitutions, but on sale either by store sale price or by coupon, and if the planets align and the sun is shining just so, a combined sale price plus coupon savings. Be still my heart. Extreme couponers live for those deals. They have elaborate tracking systems. Realistically, I am in the game to win, but not at the cost of devoting my life to this. An hour a week, yes, making it a living? No. So realistically, you can glean some information from this blog, and save a bit of cash, maybe even an easy thousand a year.

I stipulated the grocery brands we like because I have made the mistake of buying store brand food items and been disappointed. Once in a blue moon you may actually find a product that tastes pretty darned close, but to me, it is rare. I think there was a cereal in a bag years ago that was good, but paying $5.00 for a frozen pizza and throwing it away because it is inedible is a waste of money. The picture may look like DiGiorno, but believe me, DiGiorno's owners can sleep soundly that the store brand is no competition. I have found, however, that paper goods tend to be good buys for the store brand. Things we buy store brand include facial tissues, paper plates, plastic cups, plastic cutlery, napkins, sandwich, freezer and kitchen garbage bags, and dishwasher soap. You may have other things you have tried, and if you like them, great! Leave me a comment and let me know what else to look into.

That covers the obvious savings of store brand. Now let's look at popular brands and how to save.

My shopping game starts each week with the delivery of the local store circulars. We get about 8 or so different ones every Wednesday, and I look at the big 3 that we frequent. By "look at" I mean I check them for any coupons that will take say $5.00 off your total order of $30.00 or more. The store that offers that is in the lead for the week as to who will get our business. They will at least get a portion of it. That means $5.00 of free food or goods, and $5.00 more stays in our bank account. Every little bit helps.

The circulars for all 3 of our choice stores are online by Thursday, some go live on Wednesday. I wait and look at them all in one sitting. I quickly go through the categories and add items to the cart that we use. I never buy an item because it is on sale, just to buy the sale item. It has to be a brand we like. If we don't like it and it gets tossed, that is no savings at all. I now have three lists, and I can see that 2 stores have our brand margarine on sale, and one is 50 cents cheaper. They also have 15 items we use on sale, whereas the other store has 8. It's a no-brainer. The $5.00 off your order coupon wasn't at this store, so I will look at the items for the store with the coupon, look at my coupons, see what I can get there, and make a quick special trip.

Some people will shop many stores. My mother was a consummate budgeter, and she shopped many different stores in a week to save money. I did not get her genes for patience.

So, to summarize the grocery dilemma of over-spending on groceries, and playing my little grocery game, it boils down to:

1. maintaining a well stocked pantry,
2. knowing what is in the pantry and refrigerator before shopping,
3. reviewing the weekly store sale circular,
4. making a list
5. shopping for sale items,
6. using my clipped coupons
7. using store saving coupons for total order
8. and keeping the preparation time expenditure to an hour or less a week.

With those points made, it is not rocket science, and no I didn't invent any of it, and you may do it better than I do. I know that. But sometimes, just once in a while, you can connect with someone and make a difference. And they, maybe even you, didn't have to spend a dime for some online download, or a dollar for a book. Plain and simple, these things worked for us, and took our weekly grocery bill from a $200.00/week average to $120.00/week average. Total annual savings = $4,160.00.