Are you using what you pay for?

Most humans, including myself, are creatures of habit.  When the same thing happens regularly we tend to assume that it is normal and we should continue to do what we've always done.  I believe that this is a dangerous trap to fall into when it comes to your finances.

A prime example are monthly bills such as internet, TV and cell phone plans.  I know that during my University years I never checked my average usage for internet and cell phone.  The bill simply arrived, I paid it and life continued as normal.

This changed when I moved and I had to change service providers.  To be honest, I felt rather silly standing in the store wondering how many cell minutes I would use in a month.  After all I had owned a cell for three years.  Still, I wasn't sure what my usage was.  The same thing happened for internet.  I ended up going with fairly low packages for both of them and they have worked out quite fine.

Now I have a new routine.  Before I pay my monthly bill I take a look at my usage in minutes and GB. If I am using less than what I am paying for then I start looking at other packages that they offer.  Could I downgrade and save some money?

While I wish that during my university years I had paid closer attention to what I was paying for and what I was actually using I prefer to learn and move on.  I would advise everyone to check their monthly usage and if you are consistently (for the past 3 months or so) using less than what you are paying for start looking for cheaper packages.  Same goes for life changes.  Are your teenagers leaving the nest?  Could it be that there will be less web surfing than before?  Are you sharing cells with a spouse and can move to one phone?  You won't know until you ask yourself these questions.

Got questions?  I'd love to hear them!