Frugal Living - how are you managing?

This isn't related to inflation/economy, as I always have these kinds of results in general.. the utility company sends out "home energy reports" a few times per year, and the one I received the day before yesterday says my energy use in June-July was 52% lower than efficient homes...

The "units" represent a combination of electricity and gas... mine was 306 units, efficient homes were 644 units, and similar homes were 1,170 units!
I'm guessing the difference is because most/many people around here run t.v.'s and AC's nearly 24/7, plus their microwaves. I only watch t.v. a few hours at night, rarely use AC, unplug power bar and converter box when not in use.
 

I try to switch auto insurance every 2 years to avoid the rate creep all insurance companies work on. I also always pay semi annual, most insurances companies will charge you as much as a $3 per month fee for paying monthly. That's $36 annually. If your semi-annual payment is $260, then you will be paying an extra 7%. $520 X .07 = $36.40. Or $556,40 annually. It's not the $100 payments that hurt, it's the $10 ones that will eat your lunch.

I just lowered my wireless data plan to 1GB. My wife uses it for pics we haven't gone over that in 3 years, really never. My rate dropped down $4.36 & still get unlimited talk & text. Saved another $52.32 annually. That's an $88 savings next year. Watch the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves. My phone is powered off & stored away along with bluetooth turned off & I use my DSL modem for wifi service rather than the provider's. Both have smartphones but mine is not in use, except for emergencies.

Just today I got an email from Hulu - PRICE RAISE!!! - My monthly AD free rate was going from $12.99 to $14.99. Thinking back I remember that the movie selection on Hulu was lame (for lack of a better word). Decided that a 15% raise was unnecessary, for the content they offer. Cancelled the offer and my subscription saving myself an additional $15 per month = $180.00 annually. Thank you Hulu for the motivation.

Discovered that many of the same shows I've been watching on the PBS Masterpiece subscription through Amazon Prime are also on the free PBS subscription. I was paying $5.99 for that, so cancelled and went with the free one. Saved $5.99 = <$72.00 annually.
 
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