5 Things That Will Cost More in 2013

Here are more items going up in price this year and ways to fight back.

1.  Satellite tv costs are going up. Dish Network is raising rates by about $17 depending on your area. They were supposed to start the new rates on Jan. 17, 2013, so you might be seeing this in your bill soon.  DirectTV is raising their rates on Feb. 7th by around 4.5%. What can you do?

How Do You Watch TV?

You will not have to pay these rates if you are a new customer with a promotional price. You are an old customer, right? How to become a new customer? Wait until your current contract is up and switch to the other cable company. Or find out their competitor's promotional rate and let your old cable company know why you are switching. If they don't give you a decent offer, it's time to switch!  When your new contract is finished, rinse and repeat! The cable companies say their programming costs are up; supposedly that's for including new channels. Whatever. Do what you have to do. You might decide that cable tv is a better deal. Then again if you are not watching much tv, you might want to cancel your satellite tv altogether when your contract is up. More and more people are doing that. You can still rent DVDs or buy them on ebay for inexpensive viewing.

How Many Smart Phones on Your Bill?

2.  T-Mobile Smart Phones will cost about $200 more. That's because they are no longer subsidizing the cost of your phone. They say that it all comes out to about the same as before because your rates will be lower. Why do I have the feeling that those rates could creep up after a while? So you pay more upfront in the contract and supposedly are slowly getting the extra $200 back over the lower monthly fees. You could always try to buy a phone from another provider with their contract if you don't want to pay more at the beginning. Click here for more details on this at CNNMoney.

3.  Public transit fares are going up. You save a lot by taking mass transit over driving, but there will be price increases in many US cities. Partly this is because of lower tax revenue during the recession. Can you work just 4 days a week instead of 5? If you are allowed to do that, you would have to work 10 hour days instead of 8 hour days. That's not very attractive for most people. The bright side? You get a 3 day weekend every weekend! Or maybe your employer will allow you to work from home 1 or 2 days a week. If none of these ideas work for you, look for other ways to cut your working expenses, like bringing your lunch/snacks/coffee(made at home) to work or spending less on your work clothing.

4.  It costs more to mail packages and stamps are up to 46 cents. We only buy Forever Stamps that can be used no matter what price the stamps rise to. Of course, you don't want to stock up on stamps too much unless you know the price is going to rise again soon. We don't use many stamps anymore because we pay almost all our bills online and use email a lot. So this increase doesn't affect us much. The price of mailing packages is going up too, and we do send packages fairly often. I'm looking at sending lightweight gifts, gift cards, and ordering gifts online that can be delivered directly to the recipient. Saves a lot! You can also compare shipping rates from other carriers, like FedEx, DHL, UPS, and Airborne.

Save on Baseball?

5. Baseball tickets for major league games are out of the park. If you're a Mets fan, "the cheapest tickets for opening day or the home games versus the Yankees will run $63--more than double last year's cheapest seats."  Other baseball teams have price rises this year too. Alternatives? Go when they play less popular opponents, go less often, make it a once a season treat, or watch at home. Eat before the game and carry snacks? You could also learn to love a minor league team in your area.  They need lots of love and often provide great entertainment at much lower prices. Look for other inexpensive entertainment ideas to spice up your summer. There are tons of things to do! 

Click here to read Part One on fighting inflation in 2013. It deals a lot with rising basic food prices and ways to cut your food costs.
  
 Click on any of the labels below this post for ideas that can fight inflation.