Incredibly Easy Ways to Save Money on Utilities and Cars continues the series on Incredibly Easy Ways to Improve Your Life.
This is also the third of three posts on Incredibly Easy Ways to Save Money.
See here for what this series is about, and scroll to the bottom or click here for a list of other entries in the series. Also see the end of the post for details on submitting your own incredibly easy life-improvements.
Note: Some links here are affiliate links, meaning I get a small commission when you purchase them, at no additional charge to you. I only suggest things I honestly believe in.
Incredibly Easy Ways to Save Money on Utilities and Vehicles
Saving money on your utilities and automotive costs is one of the easiest ways to save significant amounts of money.
These tend to be large recurring costs. If you set up a system that will lower your costs, you’ll automatically get those lower costs every month indefinitely. And that can quickly add up to thousands of dollars.
That will have a much bigger impact than saving a couple bucks on toothpaste.
Here are some incredibly easy ways to save money on your utilities and Vehicles.
Saving Money on Utilities
1. Replace your HVAC air filter every three months
There’s a shockingly large amount of people who have central air conditioning, but don’t realize they should be changing the air filter every three months.
Many don’t even know their HVAC system has a changeable air filter, or where it is.
Air filters cost around $6. And failing to regularly change them means you’ll have to replace your HVAC unit much sooner, to the tune of $20,000 or so.
Not to mention a dirty air filter means your unit is consuming much more electricity, costing you far more than that $6.
Even if you rent and the lifespan of the HVAC unit isn’t your problem, you still pay for the electricity you’re wasting.
(Plus screwing over your landlord is a jerk move. And it’s bad for the environment.)
2. Put your e-mail address on your phone’s lock screen so someone can return it if it’s lost
Despite what the doom-and-gloom media and negative nellies would have you believe, most people are pretty decent.
If you lose your phone, the most likely result is that it will end up in the hands of someone who wants to do the decent thing and return it.
Except how do they know who it belongs to and how to get in touch with you?
Make it easier for this hypothetical do-gooder by putting your e-mail address on the lock screen. Then they have a way to contact you.
Anyone stealing your phone would be able to easily find your e-mail address after cracking into the phone anyway, so you don’t have to worry about this helping a thief.
3. Threaten to cancel your cable if they don’t lower your bill
More and more people are cutting the cord and getting rid of cable TV.
But that’s not incredibly easy. Maybe there are shows you like that you don’t want to give up.
What is easy is getting them to lower their prices, because they really don’t want you to cut the cord.
Call up your cable company and tell them you want to cancel because it’s too expensive.
They’re likely to give you a deal where you’ll pay significantly less.
And even if they don’t, they definitely will give you a chance to change your mind before shutting off your cable.
So the only risk in trying is that you may seem a bit wishy-washy to some stranger on the phone you’ll never talk to again.
4. Buy your own internet equipment instead of renting from your provider
(Submitted by Nate W)
Check the bill for your internet provider. Are you paying an equipment charge, or rental/lease charge?
If so, you’re likely renting a router and/or modem from your provider at an outrageous rate.
Buy your own and stop renting one. It will be much higher quality, and removing the rental charge will pay for it after a few months.
5. Get a smart thermostat if you use central AC
Smart thermostats, like Ecobee and Nest, typically cost between $150 and $250.
If you have central AC and live somewhere hot, a smart thermostat can easily save you this much in a couple months. This can be worthwhile if you rent, not just if you own your place.
You may also be able to get rebates from your local utility lowering the price on a smart thermostat even more.
Depending on where you live and your particular utility, these rebates may even be ongoing. I’ve gotten free money from Los Angeles Department of Water and Power every year since I bought my Ecobee. At this point, the rebates add up to more than I paid for it.
Plus, it’s super convenient to be able to change the temperature by yelling at your house instead of having to physically walk to the thermostat like a caveman.
Saving Money on Vehicles
6. Get your routine auto maintenance and oil changes, but on the manufacturer’s schedule, not the service center’s schedule
(Submitted by Nate W)
Your car needs routine maintenance and oil changes. Not bothering with them will kill your engine and cost you a lot of money.
But the idea that you need an oil change every 3 months or 3,000 miles is from a bygone era.
Check your owner’s manual for the manufacturer’s recommendation. If there’s a range, pick the longest timeframe/largest amount of miles in the range.
When you get oil changes, the service center will put a sticker on your windshield telling you to come back in 3 months or 3,000 miles, because of course they want to get your money as often as possible.
Ignore that sticker.
7. Get referrals to an honest mechanic, and use that honest mechanic for your regular maintenance.
It’s no secret that a lot of mechanics are sleazeballs looking to take advantage of their customers’ ignorance.
But there are also plenty of good people who are mechanics.
So ask people you know in your neighborhood to find one of the good ones.
If you don’t know a lot of the people in your neighborhood, go on Nextdoor to ask. You’ll probably get several people recommending their friends/cousins. But if ten different people suggest the same shop, that’s a good sign.
If all else fails, check Yelp. But Yelp can be gamed, so you’re better off with referrals.
Don’t go to one of the big chains like Jiffy Lube or Valvoline.
Their business model is to lure you in with cheap advertised prices, then scam you by insisting you need a bunch of expensive unnecessary services.
Plus, have you ever noticed how all the mechanics at these shops are really young? It’s because this is their first job.
If they had enough experience to know what they were doing, they’d be working somewhere better.
True story: A friend of mine took his expensive sports car to one of these quick oil change chains. They forgot to put all the parts back on when they finished, so the oil drained out of his car, and an hour after he left his engine blew up.
He had to spend years on legal battles trying to recover the cost of the car they destroyed, and after all the court costs and his lawyer’s cut, he ended up down tens of thousands of dollars.
You’re better off, and will ultimately spend less, getting a $30 oil change from someone competent and honest. That’s much better than getting a $15 oil change from a clueless teenager who may wreck your car, and even if he doesn’t will insist you’ll immediately die if you don’t spend $400 on stem lube and tire balm.
8. Buy slightly used cars, except for economy cars
A mid-range car that’s a year or two old is nearly as good as a new car, but much cheaper. This is a much better deal.
But this isn’t the case for economy cars, like a Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic.
Used economy cars that are a year or two old are nearly the same price as a new car. In some cases, there are sales and incentives that make a new car cheaper than used. So in this case, you’re better off buying new.
9. Buy cars at the end of the year or end of the month
Car salespeople, whether for new or used, have quotas and incentives that impact how much they’re paid, which are tied to the calendar month.
If you come at the end of the month, when they just need to sell a few more cars to reach some threshold, they’ll be extra-motivated to make sure they get the sale done.
So you have more negotiating power and can squeeze them for more discounts.
This is even better at the end of the year, when the entire dealership and manufacturer will have huge end-of-the-year sales. If you can time your car purchase for the last week of December, you can often find new cars cheaper than used cars.
10. Check prices on TrueCar and Edmunds, but use a throwaway e-mail and fake phone number
TrueCar and Edmunds are great resources for car buying. They allow you to comparison shop between many dealerships in minutes without leaving your house. And since the dealers are competing with each other, you’ll get the best deals without having to negotiate.
So you get the best prices, with less effort, without the unpleasantness of haggling. A triple win.
But one warning with this. They require you to enter your name, e-mail, and phone number. As part of the deal, they pass this information on to dealers, who will then harass you for months.
The e-mail address you give needs to be something you can access because that’s where they’ll send the car buying information.
So set up a new Gmail address that you’ll use just while you’re car-buying, and then never look at it again after you’ve bought your car. Then it doesn’t matter how much spam it gets.
And just type ten random digits for your phone number so you won’t get any calls from dealers.
11. Get pre-qualified for a credit union or bank auto loan before car shopping
As I mentioned in 13 Incredibly Easy Ways to Improve Your Finances, interest rates are so low these days that you’re better off financing a car, even if you can afford to pay cash for it.
(But don’t use that as an excuse to get a more expensive car than you need.)
You still want to get the lowest interest rate possible, which is unlikely to come from the dealership.
So contact your bank to ask to be pre-qualified for your loan. Even better if you belong to a credit union.
If you don’t belong to a credit union, think about whether you have a connection to someone who does. A spouse, parents, adult children, siblings, etc. See if they’ll pre-qualify you for a loan.
This sounds like a stretch, but remember that banks and credit unions make their money from loans. They want your business, especially if you have good credit.
It’s okay if the connection is tangential. When I was 40 years old, I got pre-qualified for a loan through the credit union associated with my mother’s former-employer, four years after she had retired.
Then when you buy the car, at the point where the dealer starts trying to convince you to finance the car through the dealership, wait for them to tell you their rates. They’ll almost certainly be higher than what you pre-qualified for.
Tell the dealer you already pre-qualified for a loan at a lower rate. Show them the letter you have from the bank/credit-union confirming this.
They’ll likely come back and offer you financing at a rate that’s close to, but still higher than what you pre-qualified for. Tell them that’s ridiculous, and you aren’t going to take a loan that’s at a higher rate than you’ve been offered.
If they eventually match the rates you’ve been offered, it’s fine to take them up on that. Financing through the dealer is slightly more convenient than financing through an external source.
12. Never get the extended warranty
Never ever ever get extended warranties.
For cars or anything else.
They’re a ripoff.
You’ll spend far more money over your lifetime buying warranties than you’ll save on the incredibly rare occasions (if ever) that something breaks, is covered by the warranty, and the warranty provider doesn’t find some excuse to avoid paying.
Economist Dan Ariely literally makes his students swear an oath to never buy an extended warranty, and he’s smarter than you or I am.
One Final Tip
Over the last three Incredibly Easy articles, (13 Incredibly Easy Ways to Improve Your Finances, 17 Incredibly Easy Ways to Save Money While Shopping, and this one), I’ve given a total of 42 tips on how to save money.
And while they’re all incredibly easy, the sheer volume of them can be overwhelming.
It’s worth taking a step back to remember that money isn’t the most important thing in the world.
Some things that matter more are your time, happiness, energy, sanity, and relationships.
Which brings me to one final tip. Not about saving money, but the opposite:
13. Don’t get hung up on small amounts of money
Small amounts of money are small amounts of money. A couple of bucks every few weeks isn’t going to make any difference to your life.
Don’t be penny-wise and pound-foolish.
Also don’t be penny-wise and happiness-foolish.
For example, if you and your friends all got meals that are close to the same cost, just split the bill evenly. It’s not worth calculating each person’s share to the penny.
(Though don’t do this if one person got lobster, two appetizers and four glasses of wine, while another person only got a side-salad.)
Throw pennies away instead of saving them.
Don’t agonize over small price differences.
Pay an extra $20 to make your vacation much more pleasant.
Ultimately, money is a tool that you use to live the life you want.
Don’t lose sight of that.
Let money serve your life, not the other way around.
Do you have any thoughts on the items on this list?
Or suggestions of others to add?
I’d love to hear from you.
If you have suggestions of incredibly easy ways to be happier, or any other ways to improve your life, please send them to me so I can include them in a future entry. You can comment here, e-mail stevenraymarks at gmail.com, or tweet/DM to @YourselfHelping.
Other entries in the Incredibly Easy series:
- The Incredibly Simple, One-Sentence Guide to Investing
- 10 Incredibly Easy Ways to Improve Your Health
- 10 Incredibly Easy Ways to Be Happier
- 11 Incredibly Easy Things to Stop Doing to Be Happier
- 15 Incredibly Easy Ways to Improve Your Sleep
- 13 Incredibly Easy Ways to Improve Your Finances
- 17 Incredibly Easy Ways to Save Money While Shopping
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