There are so many things we need to pay for to survive – from insurance to rent to student loans – that cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars every year. But sometimes as little as five minutes can mean a lower interest rate or insurance quote. Read on to learn more!

Find an Independent Insurance Broker

Car insurance in particular is notorious for steadily increasing premiums. And getting quotes from insurance companies takes so much time and effort. But did you know there are people who do that for you? Independent insurance brokers collect some basic information from you, do the research and share the best 2-3 quotes with you. And it’s all free to you! Instead of you paying them, they earn a referral fee from the insurance company you ultimately sign up with.

Refinance Student Loans

What’s great about refinancing student loans (as opposed to other types of debts) is that there are no fees to do it. So any time your credit score improves, you can get a better interest rate and ultimately reduce how much you repay. To view your options, I recommend using the NerdWallet tool – it takes about 30 seconds and shows you up to 8 options.

Utilize Auto Pay

I love this one for monthly bills that stay the same. For example, our cell phone service provider is T-Mobile and we receive a $10 discount every month for using auto-pay. That equates to $120 every year!

Another example is your mortgage. Some banks reduce your interest rate by as much as .25% if you auto-deduct your monthly payment. Keep in mind this usually requires your checking or savings account be at the same bank as the mortgage.

Pay Up Front

From childcare to insurance, we’ve saved hundreds by paying up front. Amazon Prime, for example is $119/year (so about $10/mo) versus $12.99 if you choose to pay monthly. Even something as significant as your rent could be 5-10% cheaper if you negotiate with your landlord to pay for a year up front. You won’t know if you don’t ask!

Become a Member

Use this method selectively: you should become a member where you do business or spend money on something you need. For example, my husband and I are Fuel Rewards members at Shell gas stations where we receive 5 cents off every gallon of gas. This really adds up for someone like my husband who commutes 76 miles round trip everyday.

Similarly, we each have an EZPass which is a device for paying tolls on turnpikes. The device saves us both time and money because we don’t have to stop the car to pay the toll and the turnpike charges lower rates for EZpass users. We even save enough to offset the 75 cents per month our state charges in maintenance fees for each device.

In Conclusion

Review your highest expenses – can any of these methods be applied?

And, more exciting, what will you do with those savings? Pay off debt faster? Go on vacation? Invest in your retirement? Maybe a combination of all three? Have fun thinking of ways to reward yourself!