Every dollar counts these days and the more you can save the better.  Here are a few things I did this year to save some money.

1. Cable -  I know a lot of people signed up with Comcast with a special promotion for a year.  If you are now paying regular price for your services, give comcast a call  (1-800-COMCAST) and tell them that you want to downgrade your cable TV service to the very basic (the $11 plan)  service because you can’t afford paying the full price of digital cable.  The customer service rep will send you to an account rep and they will ask you why.  Again, tell them that it just costs too much and they will give you a special deal, but you will have to sign a contract with them for a year.  I saved $25 a month on my cable TV service which equals to $250 a year.  You can also do the same with your comcast internet service.  Just tell them you no longer want your internet service because you are going to go with DSL.  They will give you a special promotion price to stay with them.  This has worked for me and my friends, but you may get a certain customer service rep that is unhelpful.  If you do, just hang up and try again.  If you are a new customer, sign up through comcastoffers.com to get the best deals.  Do this today as it only takes a few minutes of your time. Thaks BMac for finally pushing me to do this.
2. Landline Phone - This really depends on how much you use your landline phone.  Our family strictly uses cell phones and since most everyone we know is on Verizon, it works out great.  If you have a high speed internet connection with comcast, then it is probably a better deal to get phone service with them as well as you will get better rates with bundled deals.  If you work for a big company like we do, make sure you to check to see if you get a Corporate discount.  I got 15% off my Verizon bill by connecting my corporate e-mail to my account.
3. Trash - Get a reduced price on trash service if using Allied Waste (BFI) right now.  When the gas prices rose up, so did the quartely price of trash service from Allied Waste.  When I finally switched, it cost around $84 a quarter for Allied Waste to pick up my trash.  If you are still paying that amount, call them and tell them you are going to switch and they will lower your price.  I decided to switch to Simmerly Sanitation (770) 877-3830) which I have received great service from and they have not raised my price like BFI did.  It’s$54 a quarter with no additional fees.

You have any other suggestions? Please comment below.