Your Fund – Reduce your monthly bills

I decided that I was going to challenge ourselves to “Coupon to Disney” in early June of 2009. I never doubted for a minute that we would be able to. People really don’t realize how much money is absorbed back into their budget. You get that $5 rebate check and you deposit it into your checking account and spend it on a hamburger and it’s gone before you know it. But if you take that $5 and add it to your Disney fund, it really starts to add up. You get excited that you saved that $5 and it inspires you to save even more.

The best thing about Couponing to Disney is that each time you make a deposit to the fund (even if it is a quarter), you fill inspired. You fill elated. And you feel the Disney magic. It’s awesome! And it’s so easy to get the kids involved too. Using the Disney fund, you can encourage the kids to not spend money. When you are in the store and they beg for that cheap, flimsy toy, you can ask them “Do you want to spend $2 on that toy or do you want to add it to the Disney fund?” If you make deposits to the fund a celebration, they might just choose to save the money! This is teaching your kids the value of a dollar at a very early age!

You also start questioning your purchases more. Do you really need another purse? Or can you take that money and add it to the Disney fund. My philosophy is if you were seriously considering spending the money and you resist, add it to the fund! You would of spent it anyways….

You’ll also start thinking about where your money goes. Do you really need a $70 a month gym membership? Do you really need that $30 Netflix subscription. You’ll think things through my thoroughly before you commit to spending your money. If you eliminate or reduce a bill, the difference can be added to your fund instead of absorbed into the budget!

It won’t take long for the money to add up if you are committed to putting any and all extras that you can to the fund. The idea is for the money to not come out of your paychecks. What I mean by this is that you don’t earmark an amount out of the budget to be deposited to the Disney fund. All of the money for the Disney fund comes from creative sources. Use your monthly income for paying off debt, saving for retirement, etc. Couponing to Disney is finding all the money that is usually absorbed into your budget that you don’t realize is there!

And if Disney isn’t your thing, you can Coupon to anything you want! Coupon to Italy, Coupon to a cruise, Coupon to a bigger tv, Coupon to pay off debt, Coupon to pay for retirement, a new car, etc etc. Anything that you dream of having/doing can be within your reach!

So sit back and let me teach you how to “Coupon to Disney”…..

The VERY first thing you have to do when you decide you want to Coupon to Disney is to find the extra money in your budget. Take a piece of paper and write down all your monthly bills. Figure out an average amount for your utilities and write that down.

Now, review your list. Did you write down every little monthly bill that you have? Subscriptions, school fees, etc etc. Go look through the last month of bank statements and make sure you didn’t miss anything.

Do you see anything that you can eliminate today that you don’t need?

Next you need to call each utility about your bill and see if you can reduce the amount you are paying. When you call the cable company, I’ve found I have better luck at reducing the bill if I talk with the cancellation department instead. Be sure to eliminate any channels you don’t need! Call the cell company and see if you are eligible for any additional discounts. We get 5% off our bill because our cell company (AT&T) has an agreement with his employer.

Make sure you call every single one and ask if they can reduce your bill. You might be surprised. Also if you haven’t gotten an insurance quote lately, I suggest that you call 3 different agencies and get a quote and then let your current agent know. Also go over your coverage with your agent. My Mother In Law was paying $110 a month for insurance on her truck. We took over the policy and reduced the coverage. She had the lowest deductible, highest possible coverage plus she also had additional coverage she didn’t need! The new bill was $45 a month! Raising the deductible up the next level can really make a huge difference. We have a $500 deductable on the vehicles and $1000 deductable on the house.

Now if you were able to reduce or eliminate any of the bills, I want you to earmark the money you saved for your fund. Yes this is kind of coming out of your monthly income, however you wouldn’t of taken this initiative and would be paying the higher prices if it wasn’t for the fund. So I call this found money! Make sure you make a point to put this money in the fund every month. Don’t forget or it will just be absorbed into oblivion.

Also, since you have made an estimate on your utilities, if it is ever less than the predicted amount, that difference goes in the Disney fund. For example… I estimate my power bill at $175 a month. When it’s less than $175, I put the difference in the fund. If not, that money saved just gets absorbed! Even if it’s $1, it still goes in the fund. Now if my power bill is over $175, I just pull that money out of other areas of our budget. I don’t take the money out of the fund. How you want to do it is ultimately up to you. But your goal is to estimate your power bill high and not go over that amount but maybe twice a year. I always go over in the hottest and coldest months.

Please comment and let me know how much money you found in your budget! And don’t forget to commit to putting that money every month into the fund! If you aren’t committed, it won’t grow.

Be sure to check out all the ways you can add to your fund as you Coupon to Disney!