The following are some money-saving tips that some of our online users have left on our Web site, https://www.clantonadvertiser.com/:

Change cell phone providers

We are changing to a new cellular phone provider. The contract on our current plan expired a couple of months ago. We forgot about it and we have found a plan with more options and more minutes at a $40/month discount. So keep up with your cellular contract expiration and start checking around for better deals. Sometimes it pays off.

– Michael Wells

Ditch the satellite

I recently made the decision to end my satellite television subscription. Sure, I had to live without ESPN and the History Channel but my primary reason for having it was to get local television channels. I invested less that $200 total in a low signal, HD digital antenna and two converter boxes for two older TV’s and am now getting every Birmingham station clearer than ever and have already saved enough to pay for the antenna and converters.

Another suggestion – if you watch a lot of movies look into Netflix. I’ve been on Netflix for two years now and haven’t set foot in a rental place since. I sat down and figured up what I paid in 2006 in not only rental fees but late fees (often not on the movie I wanted, which was out, but something I got just to have something to watch) and figured in 2007 I saved close to $350 (not including gas spend driving to and from the rental place).

– REK1138

Reduce energy costs

I was being frugal when frugal wasn’t cool or PC. Heat at 63 in winter, A/C at 80-82 in summer, if in use at all, ceiling fans in use. I travel a lot on my job so when I know that I’ll be away for more than three days I turn off the breaker going to the water heater. I don’t pay to have “security” lights on my property, which in my opinion only serve to enable theives to be able to see what they are doing. At night I beleive that it should be dark, so I don’t have every light in the house on, only a lamp at most. The cumulative effect of this is an average power bill of $55 to $75 per month, depending on how much I am away, for a 2500 sq.ft. house. Alabama power had me to fill out a survey so that they could give me tips on how to conserve energy. Using their tips my bill would be about $130 per month, according to them. I think I’ll stick with my own tips.

– November162000