The fastest way to lower your bills is to start with the biggest ones and work down. Housing, insurance, debt payments and utilities are where the real money is. Canceling one streaming service helps, but a single phone call to your insurer or internet provider can save more than a year of skipped lattes.
This guide walks through 11 ways to lower your monthly bills, in the order most people should try them. Each one says what to do, how long it takes and where to go next if you want more detail. If your whole budget needs work, start with our guide on how to cut expenses, then come back here for the bills.
Which bills to lower first
Not every bill is worth the same effort. This table shows where to spend your time.
| Bill | What to do | Time it takes |
|---|---|---|
| Internet, cable and phone | Call and ask for the current promotional rate | 20 minutes |
| Subscriptions | Cancel what you have not used in 30 days | 15 minutes |
| Car insurance | Get a new quote and compare it to your renewal | 10 minutes |
| Electricity and heating | Adjust the thermostat and water heater | 10 minutes |
| Groceries and gas | Plan meals, use cash back apps | Ongoing |
| Mortgage, student loans, cards | Remove PMI, change repayment plan, lower your rate | A few hours |
11 Ways to Lower Your Monthly Bills
1. List Every Bill and Find the Three Biggest
Pull your last two bank and credit card statements and write down every recurring charge. Most people find a few they forgot about, and almost everyone is surprised by which bills are the largest.
Sort the list from biggest to smallest and circle the top three. Those are the ones to work on first. If you would rather have an app build the list for you, our roundup of the best budgeting apps covers the ones that pull in your accounts automatically. If money is very tight, read how to budget on a very low income before you cut anything.
2. Call Your Internet, Cable and Phone Providers
Providers give their best prices to new customers and quietly raise them on everyone else. Calling to ask for a lower rate is the single most reliable way to lower a bill, and it usually takes one call.
Here is what to say:
- Ask for the cancellation or retention department. They have discounts regular agents do not.
- Say your bill has gone up and you are comparing other providers. Name one that serves your address.
- Ask what promotional rate they can offer to keep you, and whether a cheaper plan covers what you use.
- If you rent a modem or router, ask what it costs per month. Buying your own often pays for itself within a year.
If you do not want to make the calls, Rocket Money will negotiate for you. You link the bill, its team contacts the provider, and you only pay if they get the bill lowered. The cost is a share of what they save you in the first year.
3. Cancel the Subscriptions You Forgot About
Free trials that rolled into paid plans, a second streaming service, an app you opened twice. Small recurring charges are easy to miss because each one looks harmless on its own.
Go through the list you made in step one and cancel anything you have not used in the past 30 days. You can always sign up again later. For streaming, keep one service at a time and rotate when you run out of things to watch. Our list of the best money saving apps includes tools that flag recurring charges for you.
4. Switch to a Cheaper Phone Plan
If you are on a postpaid plan with one of the big three carriers, you are probably paying for more than you use. Check your data usage in your carrier app. Many people on unlimited plans use only a few gigabytes a month.
Prepaid carriers run on the same networks as the major carriers and often cost far less for the same coverage. You can keep your phone and your number. If your phone is paid off, there is very little reason not to compare.
5. Cut Your Electric and Heating Bill
You do not need new appliances to lower a power bill. These changes cost little or nothing:
- Adjust the thermostat. The U.S. Department of Energy says you can save as much as 10% a year on heating and cooling by turning the thermostat back 7 to 10 degrees for 8 hours a day, such as while you are asleep or at work.
- Lower the water heater to 120 degrees. Many are set higher from the factory, and you pay to keep that water hot all day.
- Switch to LED bulbs. They use at least 75% less energy than incandescent bulbs and last far longer.
- Unplug or use a power strip. TVs, consoles and chargers draw power even when they are off.
- Ask about a budget billing plan or time-of-use rates. Your utility may also offer a free home energy audit.
For more low-effort ideas around the house, see our list of 56 ways to live cheap.
6. Shop Around for Car Insurance
Car insurance is one of the largest bills most households never question. The average policy costs about $1,282 a year according to the Insurance Information Institute, and rates for the same driver can differ by hundreds of dollars between insurers.
Compare quotes every time your policy renews. Use the same coverage limits and deductibles on each quote so you are comparing like for like. Then ask your current insurer about discounts for paying in full, going paperless, a clean driving record and low mileage.
It takes a few minutes to check. Get a free car insurance quote from Farmers with your ZIP code and compare it to what you pay now.
7. Bundle Your Renters or Home Insurance
Most insurers discount both policies when you buy them together, and the savings on the car insurance side is usually worth more than the entire cost of a renters policy. If you rent and do not have coverage, bundling can make it close to free.
Our guide to the best renters insurance shows how the bundle math works and which discounts to ask for.
8. Spend Less on Groceries
Food is the most flexible large expense in most budgets. Plan a week of meals before you shop, buy store brands and build the list around what is on sale. Those three habits do most of the work. We cover the rest in how to save money on groceries.
Then get something back on what you buy. Fetch gives you points for a photo of any receipt from any store, and the points turn into gift cards. See more options in our list of the best apps to save money on groceries.
9. Pay Less at the Pump
Gas prices can differ by 20 or 30 cents a gallon between stations a few blocks apart, so check prices before you fill up. Keeping your tires at the right pressure and combining errands into one trip also cuts how often you need to.
Upside pays cash back on gas you were already going to buy. Claim an offer at a station near you, pay with your usual card and cash out to your bank or PayPal. It stacks with your credit card rewards.
10. Lower Your Debt Payments
Debt payments are often the largest bills of all, and they are more negotiable than they look.
- Mortgage. If you pay private mortgage insurance and your loan balance has reached 80% of the home’s original value, you can ask your servicer in writing to remove it. Refinancing only makes sense when the rate you can get is clearly lower than the one you have, so compare mortgage lenders before you pay for an application.
- Student loans. Federal borrowers can switch to a plan that sets the payment based on income. Start with our guide to student loan repayment plans. Refinancing with a private lender can lower your rate, but you give up federal protections, so read should I refinance my student loans first.
- Credit cards. Call the issuer and ask for a lower rate or a hardship plan. Then follow a payoff plan like the ones in how to get out of debt and how to manage debt.
11. Ask for Help Before You Fall Behind
If a bill is more than you can pay, call before it is late. Companies have far more options for a customer who asks early than for one who is already past due.
- Utilities. Ask about payment plans and whether you qualify for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps with heating and cooling costs.
- Phone and internet. The federal Lifeline program gives eligible households a monthly discount on phone or internet service.
- Medical bills. Ask for an itemized bill and check it for errors. Nonprofit hospitals are required to have a financial assistance policy, and most will set up an interest-free payment plan if you ask.
What to Do With the Money You Free Up
Lowering a bill only helps if the savings go somewhere. The simplest method is to move the exact amount you saved into savings on the day the old bill used to be due.
Start with a small cushion. Our guide on how to start an emergency fund explains how much to aim for, and the best online savings accounts pay far more interest than a typical bank. Once that is in place, pick a target from our list of savings goals or work toward your first \$1,000 saved.
Frequently Asked Questions
Call your internet, cable and phone providers and ask for the current promotional rate, cancel subscriptions you have not used in 30 days, and get a new car insurance quote. Those three steps can be done in an afternoon and usually produce the largest savings.
Internet, cable, cell phone, car insurance, credit card interest rates and medical bills can usually be negotiated. Rent and utilities are harder to negotiate, but utilities often offer payment plans and assistance programs.
Contact each company before the bill is late and ask about a payment plan or hardship program. Look into LIHEAP for energy bills and the federal Lifeline program for phone or internet service. Pay housing, utilities and food first.
It can be if you do not have the time or patience to call yourself. These services typically charge a share of the first year of savings, so you keep more by negotiating on your own, but you pay nothing if they do not lower your bill.
Review recurring bills at least once a year, and any time a promotional rate ends or an insurance policy renews. Prices tend to rise quietly for customers who never ask.
The Bottom Line
You do not have to do all 11 at once. Pick the largest bill on your list, make one call or get one quote this week, and move the savings somewhere you will not spend it. Then do the next one.
