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I could say, "Spend Less!" and the article could be over. We all know that cutting monthly expenses requires us to spend less. It really is simple...spend less than you make and save the difference.

That's a great motto to live by and should be the foundation to everyone's spending each month. But we all can't just live by a motto. We have to use strategies that will help us reach this goal of spending less than we make.

There are lots of great money saving strategies, but this strategy will allow you to save every month without even thinking about cutting costs. All you have to do is make one phone call or one trip to the store. Most major companies are willing to help out their customers. What's this simple strategy?

Take a day and call every company that sends your family a monthly bill.

This could definitely take a while. Some companies require you to jump through hoops just to talk to a representative, but it is definitely worth the effort. I recently used this strategy to cut down on some of our monthly expenses. Below is a list of companies that I contacted this month.

Comcast: Our internet provider is Comcast and they only have one competitor in our area. Thus, we are kind of stuck when it comes to lowering this bill, but I made the call earlier this month. The representative was very helpful and our bill was cut from $80 per month to $60 per month. Monthly Savings: $20 - Yearly Savings: $240
PS Vue: This month, we decided to drop our TV streaming service. We have started to watch TV less and less. Since we are watching less TV, what's the point in paying $30 a month for a service we aren't using? Savings: $30 - Yearly Savings: $360
Beachbody: I have been using Shakeology for over two years and this expense fit right in our budget easily each month. With the added expense of a child, you want to find a way to cut as many expenses as possible. Therefore, I called Beachbody and cancelled an order of shakeology each month. Savings: $100 - Yearly Savings: $1200
Primal Blueprint: I had a health supplement delivered every 3 months to our house. I still have 3 bottles of this supplement in our pantry, because I am not a big fan of the flavor. Earlier this month, I was notified that I was being charged $45 for the auto shipment of this supplement again. I contacted the company right away. They cancelled this order and all future orders immediately and refunded me the charge. Savings: $45 (every 3 months) - Yearly Savings: $180

Related: Tips to Saving Money on TV

I may have only contacted four companies this month, but these four phone calls will save my family $195 dollars this month alone and $1,980 over the course of a full year. Now, for the next 12 months, I get to enjoy these savings without even thinking about them.

That's 12 months of automatic savings for a simple phone call and none of these calls took longer that 10 minutes. That's less than an hour of work for $1,980. Seems worth it to me. There are many more companies that could easily be contacted and simply asked for a lower rate. Below is a list of ideas for other companies to contact:

Cable Provider: My wife and I don't have a cable provider, but we have family that have saved $20-$30 a month by calling and asking for a different package or a lower price. Some of these deals made with a cable company will only last for a year, but that's a year of savings.
Water Bill: I'm not sure if you can lower the rate charged on your water bill, but it couldn't hurt to ask. I have never tried this.
Electricity Bill: This one is tricky to calculate a straight savings each month, because it is dependent on your electricity usage. You could benefit from lowering you cost per kWh. My wife and I was able to lower our cost per kWh in November and have seen lower electricity bills.
Cell Phone Bill: Our Cell Phones have become a large monthly expense for families and cutting this expense can be huge. I was able to change my plan in February and now save $15 each month for my cell phone plan.
Car and Life Insurance: You can always call your insurance provider and ask to switch the plan to lower your monthly bill or you could shop your insurance. I did this with our auto insurance over a year ago and saved close to $100 every six months.

Taking the time to make these calls can be annoying. These calls are not the easiest and some companies are very stubborn on their prices. It never hurts to try. I tried this month and lowered my monthly bills by $195. What could you accomplish with and extra $200 each month?

Take some time, make some phone calls and lower your monthly expenses.

If you have already done this, share the amount that you have saved by using this strategy. Did I miss any monthly bills? Share them in the comments section below.