Want to plug into big savings? Shine a light on your utility bills

This week's Grand Experiment has really flipped the switch on some big savings.

The budget category is "utilities" and, as with every week of this project, I aimed to cut at least $100 out of my family spending. That included water, electric, cable TV, phone and cell phone service. If it comes out of a wall at my house, it was fair game for the budget ax.

The goal of this experiment, as loyal readers will recall, is to cut 100 bucks a month from my family's top 10 budget categories until we've sliced $1,000 -- an even grand -- from our spending.

And this week, thanks to technological innovation, online scammers and my own sloth, I more than made my goal.

You should scrutinize any regular monthly bill at least every other year if you want to hold down costs. Plans for cable TV packages or cell phone service are ever-changing, introductory deals expire, service charges mysteriously appear, while new competitors offer attractive deals. A thorough audit of each charge on a bill and an hour or two of comparison shopping can be more than worth your while.

My first stop was the cell phone bill, where I found that our 700-minute minimum package was no longer the minimum. Since we rarely come anywhere near that limit, I could trim that to the new minimum of 550 minutes and save $10 a month.

Another $15 in savings came from canceling a broadband connection option I "temporarily" added before vacation, so that I could use my cell phone as a modem for my laptop. Then, of course, I forgot to cancel it, and the charge wound up on every bill for months afterward. A final $15 came when my carrier, Verizon, introduced a new, cheaper data plan. Total savings: $40.

My next target: Cable television. Like every American, it's my new 21st century right to absolutely hate my cable company and, between the $100-plus bill every month and the service-with-a-sneer, loathing my cable company was easy as hating professional soccer.

Knowledge equals savings

Now the widespread use of fiber-optic cable means that I can switch my cable, Internet and home phone service to AT&T, my phone provider. The combined package keeps my 200 cable channels while dumping a movie channel I never watched, but which I was required to take to get the movie channel I do watch.

The new U-Verse package cuts a combined bill of $225.84 (minus fees and taxes) for cable, phone and Internet to $145, for a savings of $80.84. The package includes unlimited long-distance service, too, so I can cancel our long-distance carrier, which has averaged $3.60 a month this year.

Buried in my phone bill was a third-party charge of $14.95 for something called Orbit Telecom voicemail, some kind of Web-based voice messaging service. Someone in the house -- likely my son, Li'l Money -- clicked on a pop-up ad while browsing the Web, and unwittingly signed us up. That was easily canceled with a call to Orbit, while the AT&T service rep refunded the charges.

But wait -- as they say on late-night TV ads -- there's more! My old, slow Internet service had been $44.95 a month when I signed up four years ago, but that price dropped long ago. All I had to do was call to get the lower rate, but I never asked. The service rep kindly refunded two months of that charge to make up for the overpayments. In addition, my new services come with introductory prices that save a combined $324 during the first six months. I also get a $200 AT&T gift card.

Adding it up, and it's $139.39 in ongoing monthly savings, plus $653.80 in temporary discounts or refunds, including the gift card.

While gas, water and electricity plans don't offer these kinds of savings, there are billing options that level-out your monthly charges, to make budgeting more predictable. And all my utility providers will automatically bill to a credit card, which eliminates any late fees if the dog accidentally eats your bill.

The lesson is clear: Do a checkup on your home technology and saving on your utilities won't be a lesson in futility.

boconnor@detnews.com">boconnor@detnews.com (313) 222-2145