With the economy in the toilet and showing now no immediate signs of improving, it’s a good time to analyze your monthly expenses. I’ve come up with five ways you can save money without requiring you to change your lifestyle. In other words, you won’t notice the difference except for the extra money in your pocket.

1. Increase insurance deductibles.
The general goal of insurance is to never use it. By increasing your deductibles, you lower the premiums. Before you do this, be sure to have enough cash on hand to cover the higher deductibles should something happen. If something doesn’t happen, you come out ahead. If something does happen, you’ll still come out ahead in the long run.

2. Switch to VOIP (Voice over IP)
I used Vonage for several years, then switched to greener pastures. The green pasture went out of business and I’m now back with Vonage. Our phone bill is less than $18/month. How does that compare to your phone bill?

3. Become a hypermiler
Taking a few steps to improve your gas mileage can ease the burden of higher gas prices and it’s safer too. My gas mileage improved by around 3mpg when I started using the techniques. Another way to save on gas is to combine errands when possible. Not only will you save on gas but will also cut down on the wear and tear to your car.

4. Use a cash back credit card
I currently use Chase Freedom, which gives me 3% back on certain spending categories like gas and groceries and 1% back on everything else. When I signed up I got an extra $50 after reaching $200 in cashback earnings. I don’t know if that deal still exists, but I highly recommend it if it’s still available. Remember that this only works to your advantage if you’re paying off your credit card every month because these don’t have the lowest interest rates. If you carry a balance from month to month, you’d probably be better off finding a 0% APR offer and paying it off as fast as possible.

5. Ask for a discount
Any subscription-based service you are paying for may be giving new customers discounts. All it takes is a quick phone call to get the same discount yourself. You may have to pull out the threat of cancellation (if you’re willing to switch), but many times you won’t. Just asking if you’re getting the best plan is often enough to save money.

Good Housekeeping and The Simple Dollar have even more ways to save your hard-earned money.