Money Savers

Brian and I have been looking for ways to cut some costs and bring up the savings lately. Two things have really brought the bills down.

• Safe Gaurd- Because we do not get insurance coverage through Brian's employer (Addie is covered through the Florida KidCare program for health, dental, and vision- a total blessing! Wish I had known about that program sooner.), we have found the most affordable health coverage we could find. However, dental is not covered. Not to worry. There is a dental supplement called Safe Gaurd. For $20 a month, Brian and I can have dental work done at a fraction of the cost. We get a free cleaning and x-rays every year and the cost of some dental work is drastically cut. For example, Brian broke two teeth a couple of weeks ago. He went for a free estimation at a local dentist (before we signed up for Safe Gaurd). They were going to charge him $2,233.00 to put crowns on two of his molars. We decided to look for a better price elsewhere. My dad told us about SafeGaurd. After looking up the information, we found that a crown would cost $250! So for $500 Brian can have his two molars taken care of. The program does have a specific list of doctors that work in cooperation with it, so for those who are partial to their doctor, this plan may not work. Click here for more information.


• Changing our phone, cable and internet services- Although this was the most time consuming job that we have done, it was my favorite because we really worked on this one as a team. On Saturday, while I was off scrapbooking with my dear friends Cathy and Kenberly, Brian was looking up prices and comparing them to see what deals and packages there were. When I came home, he had a little piece of paper all scratched up with his notes. On Monday he made phone calls, cancelled services, and gave me times when I could expect service people at the house to take away and bring the hardware. I also found other deals and prices, checked them against what he had, made some phone calls, called him back to keep him abreast of what was going on, and set up our accounts online. After it was all said and done, our phone, internet, and cable bill went from $142.00 originally to about $80.00. We stripped away all of the extras, and kept all of the plans simple and basic.

And just to let you know, everything is going to be changing today, so there may or may not be a post tomorrow. But you can always check in to see. Have a great, money-saving Tuesday!