Gotta spend some money to save some money
We made a list of things we wanted to do in 2013 to either a) save money or b) improve our home. So, saving money and spending money.
The first thing we did? Got rid of cable and phone. We've been complaining that our Comcast bill is outrageous and we finally decided to do something about it. We called Comcast and switched our plan to internet only. We collected all the boxes and remotes and took them to the Comcast store (which by the way, took us over 30 minutes of waiting in line because so many people pay their bill in cash here- can't get bank accounts....). We then bought some digital antennas and are pleasantly surprised at how good they are. If you didn't know we got rid of cable, you wouldn't be able to tell (well, unless you want to watch MTV or ESPN). We took our old tvs (we had two box tvs) and put them in front of our community and bam! two hours later they were gone. People love free stuff. Well, until they realize they'll have to buy digital converter boxes to make them work. We also bought a new larger tv for downstairs so we could move that one to the office in order to move THAT one to the bedroom. The guest bedroom is without a tv now (sorry future guests). So, we spent A LOT of money save *hopefully* more money in the long term. To replace the home phone, we got VOIP. I know most people don't even have a home phone, but I need a fax, so don't want to be without.
We also changed our home security provider which will save us each month as well. They can work with VOIP and the guy is retired FBI who was recommended to us by our neighbor, so we're happy with that. Our current group has raised our rates twice in 4.5 years. This guy has been charging the same thing for 15 years. I like the sound of that.
Our next project is tile. I want tile. Our home was crappy build-ten-houses-at-a-time builder grade and there are lots of projects we have wanted to do. We had our sister in laws dad over, who is a handyman/contractor of sorts and went over all of the home projects on our list. The floors in all of our bathrooms will be tile and a backsplash will be added in the kitchen. Now to choose the tile- that's the hard part.
The first thing we did? Got rid of cable and phone. We've been complaining that our Comcast bill is outrageous and we finally decided to do something about it. We called Comcast and switched our plan to internet only. We collected all the boxes and remotes and took them to the Comcast store (which by the way, took us over 30 minutes of waiting in line because so many people pay their bill in cash here- can't get bank accounts....). We then bought some digital antennas and are pleasantly surprised at how good they are. If you didn't know we got rid of cable, you wouldn't be able to tell (well, unless you want to watch MTV or ESPN). We took our old tvs (we had two box tvs) and put them in front of our community and bam! two hours later they were gone. People love free stuff. Well, until they realize they'll have to buy digital converter boxes to make them work. We also bought a new larger tv for downstairs so we could move that one to the office in order to move THAT one to the bedroom. The guest bedroom is without a tv now (sorry future guests). So, we spent A LOT of money save *hopefully* more money in the long term. To replace the home phone, we got VOIP. I know most people don't even have a home phone, but I need a fax, so don't want to be without.
We also changed our home security provider which will save us each month as well. They can work with VOIP and the guy is retired FBI who was recommended to us by our neighbor, so we're happy with that. Our current group has raised our rates twice in 4.5 years. This guy has been charging the same thing for 15 years. I like the sound of that.
Our next project is tile. I want tile. Our home was crappy build-ten-houses-at-a-time builder grade and there are lots of projects we have wanted to do. We had our sister in laws dad over, who is a handyman/contractor of sorts and went over all of the home projects on our list. The floors in all of our bathrooms will be tile and a backsplash will be added in the kitchen. Now to choose the tile- that's the hard part.