I’ve posted many times how I saved $83 on my monthly bills by calling my car insurance company, my cell phone company, and my home/internet provider.  How did I get the discounts?  I asked for them.  That’s it, I just asked for them.  You can too, be persistent and hopefully you’ll receive some great discounts like I did!

You have to pay for your internet, cell phone, cable, television, home phone, and car insurance each month.    Hard core financial consultants would say that you can live without a few of them – cable, internet, home phone.  They may say these are luxuries. I have certainly recommended some clients cancel them – but honestly – life is for the living and a lot more fun when we have these ‘luxuries’. If you can afford it – try cutting what we’re paying instead of cutting it out altogether.

Car Insurance

I think that insurance companies will randomly raise rates just to see if you are paying attention. Okay, so I know there’s some kinda actuarial science behind it, but I’m just sayin’. My car insurance went up even though I had nothing new on my record when the rates in my area were adjusted.  I called my insurance agent to see if there was something that could be done.  My agent asked me a list of questions to see what additional discounts I qualified for and I ended up paying $20 less than my initial payment each month. Note for all you naysayers – my driving record – not stellar, I have a lead foot and the points to prove it. I’m not proud of that, but if I can get help – so can you.

Cable and Television

There is no doubt about it: cable and television are absolute budget killers.  Depending on the number of televisions which you have, you can pay upwards of $150 a month on your cable and internet bill.  That number can go even higher depending on the other services you have.

Now, if you know me, you know that I hate paying any more money than I have to for anything. You can contact your cable provider and ask for their latest deal. If they say it’s not for you, threaten to leave – they may transfer  you to customer retention and that’s where the savings begins. If it’s a no go still –  I found that I could get my favorite television shows and movies through a combination of using <a href=”http://www.netflix.com”>Netflix</a> and <a href=”http://www.hulu.com”>Hulu</a>.  For less than $20 a month and the price of a good wireless connection, you can get all of your shows for a lot lower price.  For the small fee of having your favorite tech person over to the house, you can get all of these connected with no hassles.

Cell Phones

We can’t get away from cell phones and carriers know it. They’ve done a good job of getting us hooked on them – I can attest to that! The cool thing is that there is a lot of competition, which means good deals for customers.  I occasionally call to see if there are any deals that I can get with my cell phone provider.  I shop around, just to see if there’s anything new.  As it turns out, I was able to drop my bill from $147 to $118 just by asking for the discount. 

Internet

Often when you bundle services you can save. Internet has become quite expensive in the last few years – because we are completely dependent on it for everything from phones, to T.V. to our appliances! Call to see if you can bundle to cut down on your costs.

When you’re looking at the high bills, see if there’s any possible way that you can get a discount.  Remember that the folks who are on the other end of the line don’t want to be responsible for losing a customer.  They just want to make sure that you’re happy.  If you’re nice and you give them the chance to help, they’ll find ways to lower your bills.

Let us know how it goes!