6 Ways to Cut Your Most Expensive Bills Without Giving Up Anything
You’ve done what you can to cut back your spending.
You brew coffee at home, you don’t walk into Target and you refuse to order avocado toast. (Can you sense my millennial sarcasm there?)
But no matter how cognizant you are of your spending habits, you’re still stuck with those inescapable monthly bills. You know which ones I’m talking about: rent, utilities, cell phone bill, insurance, groceries…
Although we can’t swipe these off the table for you, we can stop you from OVERPAYING them…
1. Stop Paying Your Credit Card Company
If you have credit card debt, you know. The anxiety, the interest rates, the fear you’re never going to escape…
And the truth is, your credit card company doesn’t really care. It’s just getting rich by ripping you off with high interest rates — some up to 36%. But a website called AmOne wants to help.
If you owe your credit card companies $50,000 or less, AmOne will match you with a low-interest loan you can use to pay off every single one of your balances.
The benefit? You’ll be left with one bill to pay each month. And because personal loans have lower interest rates (AmOne rates start at 2.49% APR), you’ll get out of debt that much faster. Plus: No credit card payment this month.
You don’t need a perfect credit score to get a loan — and comparing your options won’t affect your score at all. Plus, AmOne keeps your information confidential and secure, which is probably why after 20 years in business, it still has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.
It takes less than a minute and just 10 questions to see what loans you qualify for — you don’t even need to enter your Social Security number. You do need to give AmOne a real phone number in order to qualify, but don’t worry — they won’t spam you with phone calls.
2. This Company Could Replace Nearly Everything You Own in Case of an Emergency
Think about it. Basically everything you own — everything you’ve worked hard to afford — sits in either your home or your apartment. What happens if someone breaks in? There’s a fire? A massive water leak?
Unless you have insurance, you could be out of luck.
You might be thinking, I can’t afford insurance. But with a company called Lemonade, prices start at as little as $5 a month for renters or $25 a month for homeowners.
Even better? No phone calls. No lengthy sign-up process. The whole process takes just 10 minutes.
Just answer a few questions about your home or apartment to get started.*
3. Cancel Your Car Insurance
Here’s the thing: your current car insurance company is probably overcharging you. But don’t waste your time hopping around to different insurance companies looking for a better deal.
Use a website called EverQuote to see all your options at once.
EverQuote is the largest online marketplace for insurance in the US, so you’ll get the top options from more than 175 different carriers handed right to you.
Take a couple of minutes to answer some questions about yourself and your driving record. With this information, EverQuote will be able to give you the top recommendations for car insurance. In just a few minutes, you could save up to $610 a year.
4. Killing Time on Your Phone? Play Bingo for up to $83 Per Win
Our smartphones are the world’s greatest time-killers. Browse Facebook, Twitter, TikTok or Instagram. Watch a video on YouTube. Play some Minecraft or Roblox.
Oh, and there’s bingo. We found a free iPhone app called Bingo Cash that lets you play for real money. You could get paid up to $83 per win.*
You might be thinking: There’s got to be a catch. This is definitely one of those spammy apps, right?
But there really isn’t a catch. Sure, you can pay to play in some higher-stakes tournaments, but there’s no pressure. And, in fact, there aren’t even any annoying ads.
The game is based on a classic Bingo format. You’ll battle it out against other players at your same skill level. Everyone gets the same board and sees the same Bingo balls. The top three players in a game can win real money — anywhere from $1 to $83.
Over on the App Store, it has a 4.7-star rating (out of 5).
To get started, just download the free app and start playing your first game immediately.
5. Let This Free App Save You $340/Year on Gas and Food
It’s no secret that the cost of living is on the rise — especially when it comes to everyday expenses like groceries, dining and gas.
But an app called Upside can help you earn real cash back every time you dine or fill your tank — to the tune of $340 per year for frequent users.
The Upside app uses a map feature to show you local gas stations where you can beat the pump price by as much as 25 cents per gallon. Regular users earn an average of $106 per year on gas alone.
On top of that, Upside can help you earn an additional $234 each year with cashback offers at thousands of restaurants and grocery stores, making your everyday expenses even more manageable.
Just download the Upside app and create a free account, then browse the map to find participating locations. Claim an offer, pay normally with the physical card that’s also linked to your Upside account and follow any additional steps in the app
Upside will keep track of all your cash-back earnings. You can cash out any time via your bank or PayPal account, or exchange them for a gift card for brands like Starbucks and Amazon. You’ll get your money in two days or less.
Join the millions of people who earn more than $300 annually just for buying what they need. Download the Upside app to get started — it’s completely free, and gets you cash back at more than 50,000 businesses.
6. Find Out If You’re Overpaying
Wouldn’t it be nice if you got an alert when you’re shopping online at Target and are about to overpay?
That’s exactly what this free service does.
Just add it to your browser for free, and before you check out, it’ll check other websites, including Walmart, eBay and others to see if your item is available for cheaper. Plus, you can get coupon codes, set up price-drop alerts and even see the item’s price history.
Let’s say you’re shopping for a new TV, and you assume you’ve found the best price. Here’s when you’ll get a pop up letting you know if that exact TV is available elsewhere for cheaper. If there are any available coupon codes, they’ll also automatically be applied to your order.
In the last year, this has saved people $160 million.
You can get started in just a few clicks to see if you’re overpaying online.
Capital One Shopping compensates us when you get the extension using the links provided.
*Lemonade is available in Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Wisconsin.
*Bingo Cash and Bubble Cash: Real Money tournaments are not available in the following states: AZ, AR, IA, LA, SC, WA
