Penny Penching Bernadette

I have been trying to cut off some unnecessary bills. Not that I have many. I personally do not subscribe to magazines, go bar hopping, no vices such as smoking or drinking. I have just one expensive taste-BAGS. Other than that, I stick to basics. In fact, I love Wal-mart. I buy anything I could possibly buy at Wal-Mart. If it's not available there, then I go somewhere else.

What could possibly be better than Wal-Mart?

I was inspired by a recent article regarding a stay at home mom who said that she was saving money by just looking at the basics. So, I mentally thought of what  can I live without. Please do not say, BAGS. At this point, I can not do that. They say the rule in changing is knowing in you that you can actually be successful with the change in mind. I know I can not  give up my bags yet. I plan to buy my great purchases only now, though. No more buying just because it is on sale.


Anyway, I cut off our HBO subscription = 11.99, Pinoy TV=15.99, renegotiated our cable services= from $64.00- $55. That's an incredible savings of.... tada....$36.98! You see, I do not have time to watch anyway, I mean not on a daily basis. I like curling up on a book better, or listening to music. So HBO is out. I left the sports package we have for Hubby. The Pinoy TV is lousy! Programming is awful, visual grapic is yucky and I do not have time. Honestly, If I can only have just DateLine Philippines, I am all set with my Philippine vitamin of the day. I sure want the kids to be exposed to Philippine culture, if only for a bit, so TFC should be good enough. Besides, as Pherry says, all they do is cry and shout at each other, or that he finds it crazy that everyone thinks Willie Revillame is God. Please, tell that moron to STOP! I went online to compare the channels available with the different packages they have. The programming from my $64 package is only different because of a few channels that don't even mean much  to me, so click, click click and my monthly subscription is $55.00... oh that sounds more like it! Besides, I found a better way to watch my TV shows. I will let you in on a secret. Now, I watch my TV shows at HULU.com. Free and just 15-30 seconds TV show breaks. Perfect. Try it! You can watch anytime you want, anywhere there is internet connection. It is so amazingly clear and legal! Beats Netflix in my book.

Here's a screen shot of House (Down Low) episode on Hulu.com.

 My phone bill? Have you ever heard of MagicJack? If you have been living underneath a rock, here's some newsflash to you- get your MagicJack now! $49.00 a year, that's including the tiny magical gadget. Then, $19.99 per year therefater. What could be better than that? All you need is your PC and internet connection. Some might say it is unreliable, complicated and what-not, but I can spend 30 minutes to figure out saving hundreds a year for years and years to come! The average phone bill with basic subscription is $35.00, in a year that would be $420.00, plus extras for voicemail, call forwarding, call waiting... with magicjack, it all comes FREE! It even emails you the voicemail so you can access anywhere you are. I might sound like an endorser... LOL. So, I do not have phonebills... period. What's an additional bonus is that you can buy it and give to your families abroad. They will have a US or Canadian number, therefore  it will be local call, no hefty long distance charges! Ha!

I love my magicjack, i bought one for my sister in the Philippines! Look, Ma, no more long distance bills.

I do have cellphone bill. Huge cellphone bill. That's because we have 4 lines. We have the Nation 700 plan. First line is $60.00, less 15%, because of my Harvard affiliation and 9.99 - 15% for the rest. We have 3 phones on unlimited data plan, which would be $90.00 for all.  Note that we do not have text messaging service. For me, if I need to say something important, I call. I used to have it, $30 for unlimited text for 4 people? Bleeech! The kids are not into it yet... I try to train them not to.What sucks is that, with ATT, you pay for incoming text too, 20 cents for text and 30 cents for MMS... unbelievable.. ATT please! The reason people do not subscribe to this service is because they do not or seldom use it. You already bill the person sending, why bill me too? You have to squeeze money both ways!

So, with little changes, I should be financially sound this 2010. Ha! Now, what to do with all the money saved? Get the iPad. It might just save me from buying books, I heard the iBook app is awesome. Ok, ok... I am behaving. I am so not good.

So tell me, wha little things you do or forego to save?