Improve

The NYC household diet

Teri Rogers Headshot - Floral
By Teri Karush Rogers  |
May 20, 2009 - 2:48PM
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A friend recently cut $721 from her family’s monthly household expenses and agreed to post the slash-and-burn details here:

•    Canceled AT&T phone service and switched to digital service by Time Warner Cable.  Savings: $95/month

•    Cut out premium cable channels except for HBO. Savings:  $34/month

•    Lowered minutes on Verizon monthly cell phone plan: Savings: $25/month

•    Reduced housekeeper visits from every week to every other week (don’t worry, the housekeeper has other clients eager for her time).  Savings: $125/month

•    Called up parking garage and asked them if they could match another garage’s rate of $300/month. The garage agreed to reduce its rate from $425 to $350. Savings: $75/month

•    Applied for NYC resident parking tax exemption.  Savings: $25/month

•    Qualified for free safe deposit box at Chase, where she has her checking, savings and mortgage, and canceled her other safe deposit box.  Savings: $33/month

•    Reduced Poland Spring deliveries from five to three large jugs a month. Savings: $20/month.  

•    Reduced delivery of Gevalia coffee from seven to six boxes a month: Savings: $10/month

•    Shops at Fairway instead of Fresh Direct. (She says Fairway is cheaper for the same stuff.).  Savings: $90/month

•    Switched to wines costing less than $15/bottle:  Savings: $80/month

•    Donated to charity the contents of her family’s locker at Manhattan MiniStorage because they never use it anyway:  Savings: $49/month plus the tax write-off for the donation

•    Hustled her 3-year-old out of diapers: Savings: $60/month

TOTAL MONTHLY SAVINGS: $721/month

How have you saved money around the house? Post your tips here.

Teri Rogers Headshot - Floral

Teri Karush Rogers

Founder & Publisher

Founder and publisher Teri Karush Rogers launched Brick Underground in 2009. As a freelance journalist, she had previously covered New York City real estate for The New York Times. Teri has been featured as an expert on New York City residential real estate by The New York Times, New York Daily News, amNew York, NBC Nightly News, The Real Deal, Business Insider, the Huffington Post, and NY1 News, among others. Teri earned a BA in journalism and a law degree from New York University.

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