VALDOSTA — Living on a budget that’s tighter than Snookie’s spandex has taught me a few tricks here and there. Not that I am one of those people who tries to get out of paying their bills, I just simply recognize the distinct difference between cheating and survival. So, I am going to share with you a few secrets of the budgeteer trade that will be sure to lower your monthly bill payments.

Medical bills can be as unexpected as Casey Anthony’s not guilty verdict (oh, too soon?). When your budget barely covers life’s everyday  necessities, it can be difficult to have enough put back to cover bills from an accident or an illness. I know what you’re thinking, get health insurance! Sadly, I do have health insurance and for a lack of a better analogy, Pamela Anderson’s top covers more  than my insurance does. My deductibles are so high that it’s like I don’t even have health insurance until I’ve been to the doctor for the 100th time in a year. So when I get bills for things my insurance won’t cover, I either do one of two things. Sometimes, without calling the doctor’s office, I just send in what I can. That may be $10 one month and $40 the next until I have the amount paid down. Most doctor’s offices understand that a lot of people don’t just have a few hundred bucks lying around. However, some doctor’s offices don’t allow this. So, what I do in this instance is call billing and explain to them my financial situation. Nine times out of ten, the office works with me and sets up a payment plan where I send in a certain amount  every month until the balance is paid off. Now, every once in a blue moon I deal with someone who clearly hates their job and has no interest in doing me a solid. In those circumstances, I straight up tell the people that I don’t have the money to pay the  bill in full and they can either get what I can give them that month or get nothing at all. While this sort of attitude should only be used as a last resort, sometimes it is necessary because after all, a home girl has to eat.

Another thing that slowly creeps up on you is credit card debt. While most credit card payments are $10 here and $50 there, when you have a few credit cards, those little payments add up. If you find yourself in an overwhelming predicament, you can look into consolidating your debt. First, add up how much you’re paying monthly to your debt and look at the interest rate on each credit card. Once  you have done that, call a loan institution like USAA and look into getting a loan that will pay off your debt in full. It is important to make sure that before you except the loan, you make sure that the monthly payment is less than the total you are already  paying monthly to your debt. Also, don’t stick yourself with a significantly higher interest rate. Usually, if you take out a secured loan which means you have like a paid off car as collateral, you will be able to get a pretty reasonable interest rate. That way you are saving money monthly and also in the long range because you won’t be paying as much interest. If you have more than three credit cards, look into closing a few of the accounts. If you have a bunch of open lines of credit, lenders can view that  as a liability.

The thing that probably trips most people up is services like phone, satellite and internet. While you may think that there is no way to  lower those payments, there actually is and I stand as proof. For example, my satellite bill was just way too high for comfort. I had already lowered my package to the bare minimum and even took away insurance on my box. I was still not satisfied with the  amount, so I called the satellite company and told them I was having a really hard time coming up with the money for my bill and they offered me a discount since I had always paid my bill on time. A lot of cable and satellite companies have discounts like this, but they don’t advertise them, you just have to call and ask. With the economy and job market as rough as it has been, a lot of companies know that cable, phone and internet are no longer necessities in some households. Most services are going to do  whatever they can to make sure they keep your business.

Those are just a few of the tricks I use to keep my monthly payments down. For more tips, tricks and even local deals, keep an eye out on my Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/Brittany’sBudgetDiary. While you’re there, don’t forget to like me and become a member of the budgeteer revolution! You can also e-mail me at brittany.mcclure@gaflnews.com. Until next Sunday, stay classy and stay on budget.