Living as a tenant brought to my attention just how wasteful I am with my money. Paying utilities is the biggest pain in terms of time, attention, and money. Simply using less power and water caused me a lot of grief yet provided marginal savings. Following the math revealed a surprising fact — paying big would most often qualify me for a discount of some sort.
I'll take the power bill as an example. Every month, I pay about 25 BAM (~US$15 at 2021 exchange rates). Each bill is processed by a bank, which charges 0.60 BAM for it, regardless if I pay online or at the teller's. It dawned on me that this fee is the way to cut down on the power bill.
When I did the math, paying the same bill twice a year, 150 BAM at a time, nets me a 2% discount on the power bill. In essence, paying this way across 4 years nets me one 25 BAM power bill written off. Paying once a year provides a marginal improvement of the discount but severely limits my mobility.
I tried the same thing when I went to buy oranges. I normally buy 1–2 kilograms at a time, which lasts me a day. This time, I asked for an entire crate of oranges, which ended up weighing 16kg, including the crate. I got a 2% discount on that bargain as well. The store owner was happy to give me a discount, though it sounds miniscule. I also got to keep the wooden crate, which store owners jealously guard!
Lugging them back home did take some effort, but I found it exhilarating. The secret was carrying the crate with my abdominal muscles, not my arms; the arm muscles only keep the weight in place.
I went to buy a few skincare products. The pharmacist gave me a 10% retiree's discount, which I never knew about. From now on, I plan on asking the pharmacist: "How many products do I need to buy to get a 10% discount?"
So far, paying big has turned out a splendid strategy. One caveat is to check expiry dates so you don't end up throwing away what you got for a little bit cheaper than everyone else.