 TITLE: How Much Money Can You Save by Being Frugal? CONTENT: Reduce Your Monthly Bills\n-------------------------\nYou might not pay much attention to them, but your monthly bills present plenty of opportunities for savings. Here are three common monthly expenses that you might be able to adjust.\n1.  Utilities and similar services: We often take these expenses for granted and don't give them much thought. However, taking a closer look could yield significant savings. For instance, you might save money on your cellphone service by shopping around for a better deal with a different carrier. You also can cut costs by putting off buying a new cellphone. Other ways to reduce your utility bills include shopping around for cheaper internet service, installing a more efficient programmable thermostat, unplugging unused devices and upgrading to energy-efficient appliances.\n2.  Housing: Keeping a roof over your head is probably your costliest monthly expense. So, how do you decrease your housing overhead? Among the things you might weigh are refinancing your mortgage to a lower interest rate (and a lower monthly payment), downsizing to a smaller place, renting out an unused room, getting a roommate, renegotiating your rent or relocating to a lower-cost area.\n3.  Recurring monthly costs and subscriptions: Particularly if these recurring expenses are automatically paid every month, you might forget just how much you're spending on them. Go through your bank account and see which costs recur on a monthly basis. Then ask yourself: Am I using what I'm paying for? For example, you might not have worked out at the gym for three months, yet you're still paying for a monthly membership. Or you might be paying for more video-streaming services than you realized. Do you really need every one of them? To rein in recurring monthly expenses, go through your budget to uncover and then cancel ones that you can do without. END