Gobble, Gobble! Avoid these bill-stuffers
News Room | Columns by CUB's Executive Director | Gobble, Gobble! Avoid these bill-stuffers
In honor of the upcoming holiday, CUB compiled a list of the top five biggest bill-stuffers. These charges don't fill us up—they empty us out. Drop them, and you can save up to $500 a year!
1. Line-Backer.
Watching football might be a Thanksgiving tradition, but this Line-Backer never shows up on the field—just on our phone bills. This optional AT&T insurance plan, for $96 a year, covers repairs to phone wires inside the walls of your home. One big problem: Those repairs are needed on average about once every 20-30 years. Drop it!
Watching football might be a Thanksgiving tradition, but this Line-Backer never shows up on the field—just on our phone bills. This optional AT&T insurance plan, for $96 a year, covers repairs to phone wires inside the walls of your home. One big problem: Those repairs are needed on average about once every 20-30 years. Drop it!
2. "Leftovers."
Cell-phone users may be wary of high "overage" rates, but a bigger problem is "leftovers"—calling time paid for but never used. In fact, CUB and Validas, the makers of the free CUBCellphoneSaver.com, found an average of more than $200 a year in wasted calling time on bills. Consider downgrading to a plan with fewer minutes, or go with a prepaid cell phone.
Cell-phone users may be wary of high "overage" rates, but a bigger problem is "leftovers"—calling time paid for but never used. In fact, CUB and Validas, the makers of the free CUBCellphoneSaver.com, found an average of more than $200 a year in wasted calling time on bills. Consider downgrading to a plan with fewer minutes, or go with a prepaid cell phone.
3. Power gobblers.
Plugged-in but unused appliances eat an average of $100 a year in wasted power. Turn off and unplug appliances, and use a "smart" power strip. You can find a long list of money-saving actions for your home at our free service, CUBEnergySaver.com.
Plugged-in but unused appliances eat an average of $100 a year in wasted power. Turn off and unplug appliances, and use a "smart" power strip. You can find a long list of money-saving actions for your home at our free service, CUBEnergySaver.com.
4. ComfortGuard.
See if your Nicor Gas bill is stuffed by this optional $4.95 monthly gas-pipe insurance plan. An analysis by the Illinois Attorney General's office and CUB found that ComfortGuard was hardly used, and the annual cost was more than the average cost of pipe repairs. REMEMBER, you don't have to pay for ComfortGuard to have Nicor investigate a gas leak. The company does that for free. (Peoples Gas sells a similar service, Pipeline Protection, for $2.95 a month.)
See if your Nicor Gas bill is stuffed by this optional $4.95 monthly gas-pipe insurance plan. An analysis by the Illinois Attorney General's office and CUB found that ComfortGuard was hardly used, and the annual cost was more than the average cost of pipe repairs. REMEMBER, you don't have to pay for ComfortGuard to have Nicor investigate a gas leak. The company does that for free. (Peoples Gas sells a similar service, Pipeline Protection, for $2.95 a month.)
5. Incandescent Light Bulb.
The traditional, incandescent light bulb has a Thanksgiving-sized appetite—for energy. It uses 75 percent more energy than a Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulb. Each CFL can help you save up to $10 a year on your electric bill.
All told, these utility-bill stuffers cost nearly $500 a year—not counting the $200 a year in bloated landline calling plans our Phone Savings Center exposes.
The traditional, incandescent light bulb has a Thanksgiving-sized appetite—for energy. It uses 75 percent more energy than a Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulb. Each CFL can help you save up to $10 a year on your electric bill.
Take CUB's advice and ditch these bloated charges, and you'll only eat turkey this Thanksgiving—not feel like one.