• Housing: If your rent is too high, you may want to consider finding a less expensive place to live or sharing the costs with a roommate. You may be able to find a roommate who shares your interests at the website www.rentbuddies.com.
• Property Taxes: If you feel your taxes are too high or assessed incorrectly, you could consider challenging your property tax assessment.
• Homeowner’s Insurance: You may want to do a comparative price analysis to see if there can be a savings. Check out www.netquote.com for a sampling of prices. But remember that your home is likely your most valuable asset—so make sure you have enough coverage and that you compare apples to apples!
• Heating and Cooling: Check with your utility company to see what programs they may offer for weatherizing and insulating your home, and check out new heating and cooling systems.
• Electric Costs: Government studies show that if your replace 25% of your high-use areas with fluorescent lighting, you will save on your energy bill. See www.energyguide.com for other tips, and practice what you always heard as a child: “Turn off the lights!”
• Water Heating: There are four options: use less hot water, turn down your water heater’s thermostat, insulate your water heater, and buy a new, more efficient water heater.
• Telephone: Shop around for local and long distance service. You can also drop long distance service and purchase calling cards. Check out www.nobelcom.com or www.callingcards.com.