How We Make It Work: Bills-- boring, boring, boring!

This is kind-of a boring post, but I thought I'd save the dressing post for Friday so I can link to another blog, and I have yet to take any pictures of my decorating-- plus having 4 kids here, 2 of whom have the flu has not been conducive to a clean house!

Alright, let's get to it!
Vehicles:

Nathan and I both drive vehicles that are over a decade old.  He has a Honda and I have a Toyota.  We both paid $4000 for our vehicles many years ago and God has really blessed them with "long life" :)  Seriously, God has blessed us with our vehicles and we always pray that He would continue to keep them going until we are in a position to afford new ones.  In the past, when one of the vehicles has had mechanical problems, we've always been tempted to throw in the towel and buy a vehicle with payments.  However, we've also known that the amount it cost to fix our old vehicle would be about the equivalent of 2-3 months worth of car payments.  Which is why you can find me, wind blowing through my hair from the window that refuses to roll up, singing my own songs since my radio broke, happily payment free :)  This month, we are finally selling my Camry for another used vehicle and I have to admit, I am super excited!  However, not having a car payment has helped enable us to live off of a limited budget each month. 

Old Faithful (and my messy garage!)

Utilities:
The only things that we may do a bit differently are no home phone-- only one cell phone, no cable-- rather the internet please!,  and we utilize a payment equalizer on our bills.  Basically, the equalizer ensures that despite the suffocating temps of an Arizona summer, our payments will remain the same all year long.  We also make sure to use our major appliance only during off-peak hours; this makes a huge difference for Phoenix residents.

Insurance:

Auto- Because of the status of our vehicles, we haven't had a need to have comprehensive coverage on our vehicles.  This saved us quite a bit, as did switching to Geico (much as I hated to do that to our local agency.)  I am hoping that once our finances are a bit more steady, we will be able to switch back to our local office.

Health:

Nathan took advantage of two discounts his employer was offering.  One was a tobacco-free incentive and the other was a health exam.  By taking these two tests/questionnaires, we were able to save $100 from our health insurance premium each month.

Moral of this Story: 

Can switching to Geico really save you 15% or more on car insurance? 

Does a former Drill Sergeant make a terrible therapist?

I love that commercial!