Ah, the new year. Time to start fresh!
And since you’ve already cut 2021 from your life (albeit, not by choice, but because, you know, time), you might as well keep going. Keep cutting those toxic people, choices — and bills — from your life
Yep. It’s time to get rid of those greedy companies handling your money, charging you too much and taking advantage of their market share.
Here are the biggest bills you should be cutting out of your life this year — and how to replace them with better money choices.
1. Cut Your Greedy Bank Out of Your Life For Good
Sure, a dollar here and a dollar there in fees and charges didn’t seem so bad when you checked your banking account at the end of the year.
But those dollars really added up throughout all of 2021. The average person loses $150 every year to monthly maintenance fees, overdraft charges, wire transfer fees and more.
So in 2022, say “no more!” to those seemingly innocent charges your big bank is silently siphoning out of your account — and switch to a free Aspiration Spend and Save Account.
Yep, with a free Aspiration banking account there are no monthly fees and no overdraft charges — plus, free access to 55,000 ATMs.
Plus, you’ll get 5% back when you swipe at certain stores, and they give you up to 83 times the normal national interest rate on your savings balance.
Not too shabby!
Enter your email address here to get a free Aspiration Spend and Save account. After you confirm your email, securely link your bank account so they can start helping you save on fees and get extra cash. Your money is FDIC insured and they use a military-grade encryption which is nerd talk for “this is totally safe.”
2. Cancel Your Car Insurance
Here’s the thing: your current car insurance company is probably overcharging you. But don’t waste your time hopping around to different insurance companies looking for a better deal.
Use a website called EverQuote to see all your options at once.
EverQuote is the largest online marketplace for insurance in the US, so you’ll get the top options from more than 175 different carriers handed right to you.
Take a couple of minutes to answer some questions about yourself and your driving record. With this information, EverQuote will be able to give you the top recommendations for car insurance. In just a few minutes, you could save up to $610 a year.
3. Ask This Website to Help Pay Your Credit Card Bill This Month
No, like… the whole bill. All of it.
While you’re stressing out over your debt, your credit card company is getting rich off those insane interest rates. But a website called Fiona could help you pay off that bill as soon as tomorrow.
Here’s how it works: Fiona can match you with a low-interest loan you can use to pay off every credit card balance you have. The benefit? You’re left with just one bill to pay every month, and because the interest rate is so much lower, you can get out of debt so much faster. Plus, no credit card payment this month.
If your credit score is at least 620, Fiona can help you borrow up to $250,000 (no collateral needed) with fixed rates starting at 2.49% and terms from 6 to 144 months.
Fiona won’t make you stand in line or call a bank. And if you’re worried you won’t qualify, it’s free to check online. It takes just two minutes, and it could save you thousands of dollars. Totally worth it.
All that credit card debt — and the anxiety that comes with it — could be gone by tomorrow.
4. Slash Your Cell Phone Bill By $450/Year and Keep Your Great Service
Did you know you don’t need to pay big network prices to use your phone on the best network in the country?
A cell phone carrier called Twigby lets you keep your phone and only pay for the data you need on the best nationwide network (we did some digging — it’s Verizon).
Yep, you can use your phone for as little as $6.75 a month and save hundreds of dollars on your bill. And if you need to up your data in the middle of the month, you’ll only pay the difference in plan prices — instead of those hefty overage fees.
Twigby makes it really easy to switch, too. And don’t worry — you get to keep your phone number. When you sign up for a contract-free plan, they’ll send you a new SIM card in two days. All you have to do is pop it into your phone and you’ll be running on the best network in the U.S., for less. Need more lines? You can add up to 10 lines to your account and choose exactly what you want for each.
And if you have any questions or need someone to walk you through it all, they have their own U.S.-based customer service team available to chat with you.
So, if you’re ready to keep your top-quality cell phone service but lose the expensive monthly payment, make the simple switch to Twigby.
Kari Faber is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.