Insurance shop around, bundle everything under one roof... with that said cheapest is not always best, figure out what coverage you need for everything,
absolutely, and beyond covering traditional 'losses' i'm evidence of where the few extra dollars a month for 'loss of use' is well worth it. think of how much lodging runs in your area (short term-motel/hotel, long term-renting) and how it would impact your budget if you had to pay for both your mortgage AND that lodging (b/c damage to a home doesn't take you off the hook for the payments). we were out of our home for just a couple of weeks due to covered weather related damage-still ran in the thousands for lodging, meals...even though we have the highest deductible our homeowner's permits it was still a drop in the bucket vs. paying it out of pocket (those who have been w/o homes for months during reconstruction will greatly support this). a good 'emergency fund' should at minimum have the amount of one's highest deductible.
Don't go crazy, one of our friends cut out dental, eye and prescriptions on his health insurance... and now they are waiting till he can re-enroll for next year, so he can go to the dentist
gosh yes-esp. with little ones. dd took a minor fall off a bike that when all was said and done racked up medical costs of over $60,000 in the first month alone. we had opted to pay more for an hmo and ended up a couple hundred out of pocket. my co-worker who always scoffed at those of us that paid the higher rate while he opted for the cheapest plan had a child who was diagnosed with an illness same month-$60,000 in bills within days and he was on the hook for 20% AFTER he met his high cost deductible.
Cable/ internet/ cord cutting.... Our friends did the cord cutting thing, and thought wow its so much cheaper until they realized that not everything was included that they needed then once that they got what they wanted and needed, it was more than the cable bill, and less reliable service... So know what you are getting into
also-if you even have the option of reverting to the old coverage. our contracts are so old with our providers they don't even offer them anymore as a neighbor who opted to 'cut the cord' found when his usage costs skyrocketed through a cheaper looking provider. he tried to go back to his old plan and found it hadn't been offered in years to 'new subscribers' (which if you cut service and want to reestablish you become).
I began to treat savings like any other bill. Instead of trying to cut costs and save what's leftover, I divided my annual savings goal by 12, added that to my list of bills and used whatever was left over for discretionary purchases.
i've got 3 accounts that auto transfer from checking each month so i don't have to think about it or budget for it AFTER the fact-
'xmas'-it's actually for all bday/holiday gifts. a small amount adds up so that when birthdays, valentines day, easter and christmas roll around i don't have to find money in my regular monthly budget.
'reserve'-it's uses have changed now that my kids are older but i used to throw about $20 or so a month for back to school expenses and school expenses in general (field trips, book sale...). i'll agree though with someone else who posted about buying kid's clothes when they are on sale vs. needing it-i still do this with certain items. bathing suits sold off at 75% off 2 months ago in our area-that's when we bought next years, winter coats will start going on clearance in january-that's when my kids always got the ones for the next school year.
kid's shoes are a crapshoot on sizing/growth-those i NEVER tried to buy ahead of season, anything else i could eyeball what size they would need.
'savings'-true, actual savings that are there in an emergency or want.
