Cutting back is often necessary before moving forward.

I found this great article on How to Lower Your Monthly Tech Bills.  Some of the examples (like using Restaurant.com for buying discounted gift certificates) I don’t think really pertain to Tech, but they are great ways to reduce your expenses.

I’ve highlighted some of them below for you, with some added commentary.  Enjoy the savings!

1. Ask for a price break from your cable or cell phone company. (If you still have cable, I’d think about two things: 1) You can watch most stuff free online and 2) Watching TV is NOT what wealthy people do)
2. Monitor your electric use. Two options: 1) Kill A Watt ($27)  2) The Energy Detective ($140-200).  The famous management quote by Peter Drucker “What gets measured gets managed” applies here.
3. Get rid of your cable DVR. See rationale in #1.
4. Use the web to sample new music. With the internet, it’s much easier to sample and only buy what song you like instead of spending $15 for a whole CD.
5. Surf the web (and use other electrical devices) at night when electric rates are lower. I understand if you feel the need to do work during the day, though :-p
   
6. Use a programmable thermostat to set the temperature for different times of the day.
7. Use Motion Sensor Lighting. One you can even use by just screwing a light bulb into it. 
   
8. Save on Printing and Storing Photos. Use sites online like Flickr or Shutterfly and Snapfish. It’s also the easiest way to store, share, and actually make use of your pictures.
9. Get an Internet Phone instead of a regular landline. Digital phones – VoIP – (Voice of Internet Protocol) are a much less expensive alternative.  You can use Vonage or Skype to make calls to others; Skype-to-Skype calls are free.

For the full list, click here.

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