What can be cut?

It's been hard saving lately. I feel we cut everything that can be cut. Last year we cut off the cable and saved $130 a month or $1,560 for the year. We switched to AT&T for the phone and internet at $75 per month but that too started to increase so we called AT&T and said we want the land line to be eliminated. We weren't using it anymore. We only occasionally used it; mostly using the cell phone. And the cell phone is a pay-as-u-go type so we know exactly what that will cost per month and nothing more. But AT&T called us back and said that the phone and internet were linked and they couldn't eliminate the phone line. You and I both know that's a lie. They can turn of anything they want to.. but in arguing with me they lowered my bill to less than the internet would be by itself. I'll be saving $480 over the next year. However at the end of the year the price will go back up again. And once again, I'll have to call and complain or try to turn something off to get a better price. This is all competitive, I understand, and unless you complain you get what you get. Are we back to the old way of shopping? Dickering for the best prices? Apparently.

During the winter months, our heater went out. We couldn't afford to have it fixed right away so we sat in a cold house. We used a small space heater to heat only the room we were in, and then went to bed with it. It's not that we wanted to cut our utilities intentionally, but we did. And recently I got a grateful note from PG&E stating because we participated in the "cut your utilities during the winter" program, we get a 20% decrease on the next bill. Nice. We didn't intend to participate but now I'm kind of glad the heater went out. We saved about $250 over the winter and another $50 off the most recent bill.