It’s actually not hard. All you have to do is sit down, look at your recurring expenses, and figure out how to cut each one. Taking the time to investigate and cutting monthly costs can create massive savings to you, and is probably worth more than $100 an hour in time!

There are multiple ways to do this but let’s start with your largest bill, your mortgage. Have you looked at your interest rate and how it compares to current rates? Check out http://www.bankrate.com/ to see how your rate compares. If you can save 1%, it’s probably worth it if you have years to go. Another change you can make to your mortgage is to pay it every two weeks instead of every month. By doing this you actually make an extra month of payments every year. 26 weeks of payments = 13 months. The other option is to take your monthly amount, divide by 12, and add the extra on every month. $1200 mortgage payment = $100 extra per month. Why are you doing this? Well paying one extra month a year takes 7 years off your 30 year mortgage! 7 years X $1,200 = $100,800. I don’t know about you but I could use an extra $100,000! Yes, I know you are paying the extra $100 a month for 23 years, but that’s only $27,600. Cutting your rate from 5.5% to 4.5% on a 200,000 mortgage equates to savings of $44,000! Play around with this calculator and figure out how much you can save! http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/mortgages

What’s next? How about insurance – life, car, home. When is the last time you checked around to see if you are getting the best deal and if you have the right coverage for your needs? Increasing your deductible from $250 to $500 may well be worth it if you rarely file claims. Spending a few minutes looking at all these bills can save you hundreds of dollars per year. Just ask the lady from Progressive.

The dreaded cable and cell phone bills! These can both be over $200 a month. Do you have a TV you never use that has a $10 a month box attached to it? Do you even watch all the channels you are paying for? Are you still getting the deal that you signed up for? Just call them up and find your way to the cancellation department. These are the people empowered to cut your bill if you threaten to leave. Just say hey my bill is x and it seems very high compared to value I am receiving. I am thinking of canceling my service or moving to company x, is there anything you can do to help me lower my bill?

Are you in debt with your credit card? (First off, this is a big mistake! You need to pay it off!) What’s the rate they are charging you? Call the credit card company and ask them what they can do to lower your rate. If you are out of debt, check around to make sure you are being rewarded for using your card. Most companies will offer 1% rebates with no annual fees. If you spend $1,500 a month on your card that is $180 a year in rewards! Remember not to overspend, buy things you don’t need, or carry a balance.

Depending on where you live, you may also be able to shop for better utility rates on your oil, gas, or electric service. What other recurring bills do you have that you can either eliminate because you don’t use it (Netflix, gym membership) or call and simply ask – “is there anything you can do to help me lower my bill?”

By taking a few minutes to look at your recurring expenses and making a few phone calls, you can end up earning yourself well over $100 an hour!

Bonus Question: Whenever they tell you what they can do, just ask “is that the best you can do?” and don’t say another word, until they answer you!

Please share your success and tell us how much you were able to make an hour!