In rough times, which bills could you stop paying?
Posted
Sep 23 2008, 08:30 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
"Vh" at Funny about Money and other bloggers focused a critical eye on their finances after another blogger raised a serious issue: If you were to cut back, which regular bills could you stop paying?
This exercise would force you to make some tough decisions, too. But isn't it better to do it now than when you really have to?
The first to go on vh's list would be a catch-all category that includes newspapers, magazines, clothes and miscellaneous junk, followed by the yard man, and life and long-term-care insurance. In fact, in a worst-case scenario, this Phoenix resident figures she could pare nonfood expenses down to $857 a month. (She owns her house.)
This discussion morphed from a post by our partner blogger Trent Hamm at The Simple Dollar, who figured out which of his monthly expenses is his least important bill. It's emusic. He had already quit Netflix and World of Warcraft, and trimmed the fat from his cable and cell phone bills.
That post prompted British blogger "Plonkee" at Plonkee Money to prioritize her monthly expenses. Vh and other bloggers followed suit.
Vh has five categories she thinks are essential, topped by health insurance and followed by payment on a second mortgage (a "renovation loan"), utilities, car registration and property tax, and food -- an expense she admittedly could trim. (Read her post to see the dollars and other details.)
Of course, if she lost her job, health insurance would jump from $26 a month to about $500, which would hardly be affordable. She writes:
Whoa! In other words, unemployment -- the only circumstance that would require me to prioritize my expenses with an eye to lopping off the least crucial ones -- could force me to cut the most important item on my list. Now there's a thought!
