Hard times, such as the 2020 Novel Coronavirus pandemic, encourage us to revisit our finances to uncover places where we are overspending or spending money on things we aren’t using. We may also be looking to cut expenses completely depending on the way our financial status has been impacted during this situation. Sometimes, the best places to save money are places we wouldn’t immediately consider.
Review your subscriptions
Subscriptions are great, because we keep getting the item or service we have paid for without even having to lift a finger. Because subscriptions are so effortless, they are also easily forgettable. Review your bank and credit card statements for any subscriptions you might have forgotten. You might also find subscriptions you rarely, if ever, use. These are great places to start when trying to trim expenses. While reviewing, see if there is anything you can combine – for example, if you have Spotify Premium, you can get the ad supported version of Hulu for free through your Spotify subscription. You may also consider downgrading subscriptions – for example, paying for fewer Netflix screens or the ad supported version of Hulu instead of the version without ads.
Pause gym memberships
Gyms are all closed right now for the sake of social distancing. To save money, you can cancel your gym membership or put it on hold until gyms reopen. While you are unable to visit the gym, use social media like Facebook and Instagram to look into home workouts you might enjoy even more than visiting a gym.
Talk to your car insurance company
A factor in calculating car insurance premiums is how many miles you drive. Some car insurance companies may be willing to lower your payment amount during the pandemic if you are not traveling to work daily. Some companies are also pausing fees and cancellations for late payments so that customers who need help are able to stay insured during the pandemic. Call your auto insurance company to see how they can help.
Reduce or cut cable
As video streaming options advance and diversify, there are more options than just cable or satellite for watching television. If you’re trying to save money, a time with no televised live sports would be a great time to test reducing your current cable plan or putting it on hold. Once sports come back, there are lots of options to watch sports without needing cable, too.
Ask for refunds for season passes or season tickets
Sports and theme park adventures are on hold for the time being. Check with the theme parks, museums, etc. that you have season passes for and see if they will refund you all or part of the money for the months you are unable to visit. If you have season tickets for sporting events that have been postponed or cancelled, you may be able to get a refund or a revised rate based on the games that will actually be played.
Use browser extensions like Rakuten or Honey
Save money while online shopping by using money-saving browser extensions. Companies like Honey, Rakuten, Ibotta, and CouponCabin allow you to earn cash back when you make purchases through their app or internet browser extension. Even when two different extensions have similar benefits – for instance, finding coupon codes and cash-back offers – it can’t hurt to have both installed. The list of retail sites that work with Honey isn’t necessarily identical to the list for Ibotta, CouponCabin or Rakuten, so installing more than one of them increases the chances you’ll be able to find a deal no matter where you shop. These companies get commissions for sending members to websites, such as Amazon, Target, and thousands of other stores, and they share that commission with you, giving you cash back on purchases you would already be making.
If you are in the midst of a hard financial time, please do not hesitate to reach out to our Contact Center at 888-777-9982. We will get through this together!