Bessie Hassan | Money Expert at finder.com.au

Bills can make up a big portion of your total monthly expenses, so finding ways to cut them down can save you lots of money in the long run. Monitoring your expenditure and finding ways to spend less can make a huge difference.

According to new research from finder.com.au, 42% of Aussies are too lazy to question their provider about an unexpectedly expensive bill, which suggests that we need to get more active when it comes to saving money on our bills.

If you’re ready to make a conscious effort, read through our simple tips for saving money on your household bills.

Find a better deal

The first thing you can do to cut down on costs, especially after receiving a massive bill, is compare the prices of similar products. You may be able to find another provider that can offer you the same features for a lower price.

If you do find something better but you’d rather not switch, you can call your current provider and ask them to offer you a better deal (and if you’ve been a loyal customer you can use this as leverage in your negotiations). Providers don’t want you to leave for a competitor and will often be willing to make some changes in order to keep you. If they can’t, then it may be time to move on.

 Only pay for what you actually need

If you haven’t been keeping track of what bills you’re paying and how much each of them cost, it’s time to go through your bank statements and figure it out. You can then create a draft budget that should give you a better idea of where your funds are going and whether you’re paying too much for features or services that you don’t use.

A lot of the time, you’ll find that you’re paying for things you don’t need. For instance, you might not need 10GB of data or 100 minutes of international calls a month. By switching to a different plan, you could save yourself over $100 a year. You also might find that you’re paying for services such as Netflix or Spotify that you can cut out altogether.

Once you’ve figured out where you can cut costs, your budget should be looking a lot better.

 Pay your bills on time

Remembering when your bills are due isn’t always easy, so it’s a good idea to have a system in place to help you do so. You could do something as simple as setting reminders on your phone for when your bills are due. You could also set up a direct debit via online banking so that your bills are automatically paid at the right time each month. Just make sure that you’ll always have enough in your account to pay your bills every time. If you don’t pay your bills on time, it could negatively impact your credit score.

You could also try setting up automatic payments with Gobbill. This tool allows you to have more control over your bill payments without having to worry about remembering to pay them on time.

 Set up bill smoothing

Bill smoothing can be extremely useful for those large bills that only come round a few times a year. Electricity providers will generally allow you to set up bill smoothing so that you can pay in smaller increments.

In cases where bill smoothing isn’t available, you can setup your own makeshift system. For example, if your quarterly electricity bill is $2,100, you could set aside $700 a month or $350 fortnight to prepare.

Be savvy with your water and electricity usage

Doing little things around the house to save on water and electricity can definitely help to reduce the cost of your bills. Usually, the largest portion of your electricity bill is for heating and cooling, so try putting on another jumper or a pair of pants before resorting to switching on the heater.

For water usage, make sure you turn off the tap while brushing your teeth and try taking shorter showers.

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Making a conscious effort to reduce your household expenses and to think about how much you are spending is the best way to save on your bills. By making a small effort now, you can reap the financial benefits well into the future.

The new financial year is always a great excuse to implement some money-saving strategies and get the ball rolling for the year ahead. Here are six tips to help you get started:

Set Up a Savings Plan

Budgeting doesn’t have to be complicated. Simply review your spending: What areas of your spending are unnecessary and what things can’t you live without? Whether your priority is a new car or a daily coffee, encourage good habits with your spending. Make a budget that you understand and is realistic for you to follow.

Shift Money to Repay Debt

There’s no avoiding some form of debt these days. Set yourself a timeframe and add repayment of debt to your budget. Credit card debt in particular has the potential to incur high interest and fees on top of your debt, which will extend the amount of time required to pay it off. There’s nothing more relieving than removing the debt cloud over your head. If possible, shift any spare cash from savings and transactional accounts to reduce outstanding loans.

Take Out Private Health Insurance

Individuals and families on incomes above the Medicare levy surcharge (MLS) thresholds are liable to pay a surcharge for any period during the year that they do not have a private patient hospital cover. To avoid this extra cost, seek private health insurance with an approved health care fund for the next financial year.

Salary Sacrificing

Seek financial advice to identify the potential benefits of reducing taxable income, by allocating a certain amount of your pre-tax salary to be paid directly into your superfund. This financial year, you can put up to $25, 000 (for under 50s) of your pre-tax earnings into super under a concessional tax rate.

Keep Track of your Tax Deductions

Keep yourself organised and avoid the last minute paperwork by keeping track of your tax deductions. If you have expenses that can be paid before the end of the financial year, pre-pay these and reduce your tax total.

Join Gobbill and Save Time

An increasing number of people are working from home. If you work from a home office, then you have the potential to claim tax deductions on your home utility bills, landline and mobile phone bills, home and mortgage insurance, as well as internet. Rather than making home business payments manually, sign up to Gobbill and automate your payment process. Bill payment information can be easily exported for tax time, just with an easy click of a button.

Do you search for your bills and receipts in a shoebox? Make tax time easier by using Gobbill to pay and store all your bills.

Watch our video to see how simple it is in Gobbill.

When calculating your tax deductions, login to Gobbill and simply navigate to the “All Bills” screen from the main menu.

Then click the “Export to CSV” button. A list of all your bills details and payment history is there for your tax deduction claims.