At least that’s the conclusion I came to after reading the dozens of inspiring stories posted by group members as part of the Week 1 “Check Your Bills” Savings Challenge. Group members reported catching errors and other slip-up in almost every type of bill or account statement, from cable and cell phone plans, to bank and credit card statements, to bills for everything from health care to lawn care! Collectively, group members reported saving literally tens of thousands of dollars just by paying close attention to what they were being charged and not being afraid to ask questions and point out discrepancies when they found them.

Thanks to everyone who posted their stories, and particularly to those group members who posted tips and reminders we can all use to monitor our finances and catch costly mistakes and other issue. Tips like: grocery shop as a team, so that one person can constantly watch the cash register and check for pricing errors (nittynurs); keep asking to speak to the next supervisor up the ladder until you get the answer you want (melissa55); threatening to take your business elsewhere really works when trying to resolve a dispute (gailcats); check to see if you’re entitled to a credit on your sewage bill if you use a large volume of water to fill a pool or water your lawn, since sewage charges are usually based on water consumption rather than actual water discharge (kltnatale); and – one of my favorites - if you receive a credit/refund for an item, make sure they also refund any sales tax you paid on that purchase as well (robertkentlaub).

Yep, lots of great stories and tips, but in the end I’m declaring DebbieK75 as the winner of the Week 1 “Check Your Bills” Savings Challenge. DebbieK75 shared a number of inspiring stories and tips about how she’s saved money over the years by being on the ball when it comes to reviewing her bills. But I think the tale that caught everyone’s attention was the story of DebbieK75’s “shocking” electric bill -- an overcharge of $1,700 which she thankfully caught before it obliterated her checking account!

Thanks again to everyone who participated, and I hope even more folks will participate in this week’s “Break a Bad Spending Habit” Challenge. A reminder too: Make sure you are fully registered in the Challenge to eligible for the prizes… a number of strong contenders in the Week 1 Challenge were not eligible because they are not fully registered, including entering a goal in the Savings Tracker tool.

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