One lesson we can all learn from the rich

I read with interest this week a story from the ABC about things rich people do to save money. 
 
Janine Allis, the founder of Boost Juice says she always rings around to get the best deal from her energy provider and bank. Even though Janine is worth an estimated $66 million and is no doubt a very busy woman, she still finds time to check whether she is getting value for money.
 
There’s a lesson there for all of us: nobody gets rich by paying more than they have to for basic utilities, and nor should the rest of us.
 
(You can click here to see the latest Energy special offers for FiftyUps if you haven’t shopped around in a while.)
 
I never understood, until recently, why some people will drive suburbs away to save a couple of cents on fuel.  Then I realised that if one petrol station is charging $1.49 cents a litre but further down the road there’s a big neon sign out the front of another service station that says $1.43 cents a litre, it’s a no brainer what you’re going to do. And doesn’t it feel good when you save money!
 
But it can be easy to let the details of some bills slip through the cracks when they are not in front of you every day. 
 
With things like your energy bill and home loan interest rate, it’s not in front of you every day. If the actual saving you could make by switching was spelt out in dollar terms as petrol is, via big road signs on every corner you would probably be more inclined to act. 
 
The onus is on you, the customer to contact your provider and ask the question. “Am I on the best deal you have?” If you’re not happy with the answer, use a comparison site to see what’s available in your area. 
 
I checked out energymadeeasy.gov.au, the government comparison site this week and after being asked a few easy questions, it appears I’m on a pretty good deal with my current provider. That doesn’t mean I’m going to sit back and forget about it. 
I will check again mid year to see if anything’s changed, or maybe around the time when my winter power bill is due.
 
I’ll also look at any future offers from the FiftyUp Club of course – and so should you.

You can check out the Fiftyup Club’s current energy offer with Alinta here.