A la carte: A menu or list that prices items separately.
Websters Dictionary
They say you might have it all.
But what if we dontwantit all?
No Interest Til Almost 2027?
About 80% of those whohavecut the cord did it because of the price.
American households that still have a pay-TV service are paying an average of$103 a monthfor it.
(The top five requested channels:ABC, CBS, NBC, Discovery Channel and History.)
Did you know?
Pay By the Mile for Car Insurance
Susan Gibbons doesnt drive much.
She works from home.
Sometimes shell swing by the supermarket or the doctors office, but thats about it.
And she only pays$35 a month for car insurance.
All my driving is around my neighborhood, says Gibbons, 55, of Philadelphia.
A few miles here, a few miles there.
So she foundMetromile,a startup trying to revolutionize the auto insurance industry.
It offers low-mileage drivers a unique new option: pay-as-you-go insurance coverage.
Founded in 2011,the insurer is also betting millennials will be tempted by cheaper, customized car insurance.
Metromile is currently available in California, Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington.
Next, the company plans to expand into Florida, New York and Texas.
Customers typically pay a flat fee of $35 per month, plus 5 cents per mile.
Metromiletracks your mileagethrough a equipment plugged into your cars diagnostic port.
Before she switched insurers, Gibbons had been a State Farm customer for 30 years.
She figures her car insurance bill has plummeted by $720 a year.
Wilson was with Verizon Wireless for years, but was frustrated because it cost so much.
He was paying around $180 a month for cell service for himself and his wife.
I felt like I was paying for double internet home internet and phone internet.
Its an MVNO, a Mobile Virtual web link Operator.
It buys connection wholesale from the big wireless carriers like Sprint and Verizon, and resells it to customers.
The cost savings is extreme, Wilson says.
Now, for both phones, were paying maybe 60 bucks.
Those precious bins are off limits!
Some flyers feel like theyre being nickel-and-dimed by this trend.
Butthats not how we see it.
We see it as a way to get cheaper plane tickets.
The basic economy fare works much like the fares for low-cost carriers like Allegiant or Spirit.
You get a seat, and thats about it.
If you want to bring a carry-on or choose your seat, youll pay extra for it.
You get to fly in a United or American Airlines cabin instead of in a cramped low-cost carriers seat.
And you have the option to purchase in-flight food and entertainment that low-cost carriers dont even offer.
Thats life a la carte, people.
Or will you skip the guac and save a buck?
Its up to you, the customer.
Its the dawn of a new age.
Mike Brassfield ([email protected]) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder.
He likes having choices.
Probably not as good as youd like.
It always seems like an uphill battle to build (and keep) a decent amount in savings.
But what if your car breaks down, or you have a sudden medical bill?
Ask one of these companies to help…
