Bills are just as certain in life as death and taxes, and no matter how you live, there will surely be monthly expenses — even Survivorman has to come home to pay the mortgage. But if you're not paying attention, you could be overpaying for a lot of your bills without giving them a second thought. Here's how to streamline your expenses and save money in 2017.

Eliminating Debt

Streamlining your bills is pointless when there is debt hanging over your head. If you have outstanding credit card debt or high-interest loans, use one of these two methods to pay the balance down quickly:

Avalanche Method: Pay as much as possible towards the credit card or loan with the highest interest rate while paying the monthly minimum to the other accounts. Once the first debt is paid, take that same amount and add it to the payment of the account with the second highest interest rate. The debt will start to "avalanche" as your pay down more accounts.

Snowball Method: The snowball method is just like the avalanche method, except that it starts with the account with the lowest balance first and works its way up, regardless of the interest rate. This is a good motivator because you can quickly pay off the first account and see early progress.

Streamlining Necessities

Most expenses can be eliminated, but some are unavoidable. For the bills we have to face, there are ways to lower our payments or streamline the way we pay:

Mortgage/Rent: Banks and rental companies will sometimes offer rate or interest discounts for enrolling in monthly autopay. You can often save a quarter of a percent in interest (which adds up over the years) by setting up monthly autopay.

Electric & Utilities: If you live in a bigger home with several family members, it could be worth it to change your utilities to a “peak usage” plan, which charges more during the workday and less during peak hours when the whole family is home. However, this might not be the best plan for couples that work odd hours.

Cell Phone: There is a good chance your cell phone plan is ripping you off. If you’re in the market for a new smartphone, or even if you want to keep your phone and research new plans, chances are this is one out there to save you money. Look at regional carriers, as well as the big four.

Cutting Waste & Buying in Bulk

Cable: Online streaming is too good to keep cable in 2017. Services such as Netflix, Hulu and HBO Now, combined with a digital antenna that delivers free HD local channels, gives you 99 percent of the experience of cable for a fraction of the cost and almost none of the annoying commercials. Even live sports such as Thursday Night Football are starting to broadcast for free online.

Auto Insurance: There are several ways to lower your car insurance premiums — avoiding collisions and traffic violations being the most obvious — but paying in bulk helps save cash over time as well. Instead of paying monthly for premiums, see if paying in chunks of three or six months offer a better rate. And if they don't, find a car insurance company that does.

Membership Stores: Not everything is cheaper at stores like Costco and Sam's Club, but you can save big on many items when buying in bulk. Non-perishable food items like canned goods, rice, beans and frozen foods are a great value at membership stores.