How Many Monthly Bills Are You Committed To?

“It’s only $10/month!” A common refrain heard on TV, radio, and printed in magazines – “Satellite radio is $9.99/month! Netflix is only $8!” Have you ever stopped to add up all those little inexpensive monthly bills? I bet they can add up to a pretty penny if you aren’t careful. It is incredibly easy to fall for the “only” when it comes to signing up for new services in our lives, but each and every monthly bill you sign up for takes away from your free time and bottom line… meaning you have to work that much more, save that much less, and deal with yet more paperwork & bills. Because I was giving this some thought the other day, I sat down and wrote out all my monthly responsibilities to see just what I was paying for (and in turn, working for):

Cable TV/Internet/Home Phone Service for $139/month – As soon as this promotional deal ends from Comcast, I am definitely ditching the home phone and might also be ditching the cable TV as well. I have a few more months to decide.

iPhone Service With AT&T for $98/month – This bill isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, as I use my iPhone for phone calls, emails, and running my businesses. Thankfully, this is the cheapest plan (including taxes and some texting) you can get on AT&T with an iPhone, and it works for me.

Netflix for $8.99/month – I am on the one at a time but unlimited monthly plan. I watch about 3 movies (and much more through their streaming service) so it’s worth the $9 a month, which is much cheaper than renting or buying movies through iTunes

Web Hosting for $149/month – This is how I make a living, so I can’t really cheap out on web hosting. It’s a little more than I could be paying somewhere else, but I have 24/7 live support with my account, so it’s still cheaper than hiring my own IT team.

That’s about it, really, other than for heat/AC/gas/water service, which adds up to around $40/month or less. I have considerably cut down on monthly reoccurring expenses compared to how many I used to have, and it has definitely simplified things around here – financially and mentally.

How many monthly bills are you committed to? Are there any that are truly bringing equal value to your everyday life in exchange for how much you are paying?

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