Some monthly fees are a necessity, such as paying your rent or mortgage, while others can be eliminated without a great change in your lifestyle. Some necessary fees, such as insurance, may be able to be reduced with some research or a phone call.
Here are some ways that you can reduce common monthly fees that don’t give you much back.
Magazine Subscriptions
Did you know that you can cancel most magazine subscriptions and then get a refund for the difference remaining, even if you have already paid? How many of those magazines are actually being read, and is it worth it to keep them? You may be able to get your favorite magazines for free if you check daily deal sites. You can also get magazines from the library, either to read there or to check out. You can also usually buy old magazines from libraries for pennies. This is a good idea for craft and recipe magazines, especially.
Gym Memberships
Are you really getting the most out of your gym membership? It may be time to cancel it and get your fitness elsewhere for free. Why not walk or run in the park, do free work out videos or score some free fitness equipment from FreeCycle? Don’t waste your money on something you aren’t using. A good way to figure out the worth of your membership is to divide the membership fee by the number of workouts you do in any given month. This will tell you your per workout cost.
Storage Fees
Until you are moving and need short-term storage, you are usually better off with getting rid of all of the stuff that you are storing in an outside facility. Unless you have prize art in the storage locker or something of great value (which shouldn’t be in a locker anyway), you’ll probably wind up paying more for storing your stuff than it is worth. Eliminate the extra and cancel the fees.
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