Payment Adjustments

REVIEWING BILLS
I received our new Health Insurance Premium statement today and for the first time in 3 years our premium went down by $82 dollars! On the year that is just under $1000. If I were to invest that $1000 into a low yield investment account at 5.2% return for 35 years. My $1000 would be just under $6000 dollars. Yes, $82 a month does not seem like a lot, but when recognized over a large duration of time, $6000 to me is worth celebrating. If I choose not to invest the $82, this increased cash flow for our monthly budget now allows for Payton and Elliot to do a few more outings to the local Community Center, or enroll in a soccer camp. I like to celebrate anytime I am able to see a savings in our budget and receive the for the same quality of service.

SUBSCRIPTION AUDIT
Not only do I review our Health Insurance Premiums, but once a year I will go through our reoccurring subscriptions and determine if they are still necessary for our family. This year here are a few that I reviewed and how I determined if they were worth keeping or canceling.

• YouTube Music:
  • ​Do we listen multiple times a week? Could we utilize a free music streaming service for the music we enjoy?
• Amazon Prime:
  • ​Do we order enough to make the $99 dollar fee worth the free shipping? Does having Amazon Prime cause us to order more than we need?
• Google Drive Storage:
  • ​Did we just upgrade because we have not had time to clear off our unwanted videos and photos? Could we use an external hard drive to save on GB storage?

​Although, we determined to maintain theses subscriptions for 2019, we did decide to eliminate a few others. We canceled a $50 donation we had been giving to an organization we are no longer connected to. Additionally, we canceled our cable due to having Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and Apple TV. This saved us an additional $65 per month. 

At the conclusion of my bill pay and subscription audit I was able to save us just under $200 dollars in cash flow per month. I have not determined yet where I will allocate this extra cash, but I am excited to see the new opportunities we will have going into 2019.