FreeImages.com/Nerijus J
Does an extra $500 sound good right about now? What if I said you could save over $500 in just under an hour? I did just that the other day. My husband and I were looking at our monthly budget and he had remarked that we would need to start budgeting more money in our everyday bills. I was hoping to put some more money toward paying down our mortgage, so this didn't exactly thrill me. Over the last year some of our bills have been slowly creeping up so I finally decided to do something about it.
I called a few of the companies that the monthly bills were with and negotiated a lower rate. I took our Comcast bill (phone and internet) from $59.99 to $39.99. Then I called the local paper and had the monthly charge adjusted from $11 to $7. Finally, I called our alarm system company and had the monthly charge adjusted from $50 to $28.99 plus one month free. Total this added up to $569.11 and it took less than one hour total.
I was thrilled with the deals that I received. Plus, it was so easy to do. I read recently that companies would rather keep their customers that they currently have than find new ones. So they were all very happy to adjust my rates.
How did I do it? I checked online for some of the best deals with each company. Then, I looked into the deals from their competitors. With both Comcast and ADT I said that I was looking to save some more money each month and how could they help me. I mentioned that I had seen better rates online. They both asked for the rates that I had seen and then offered me the new rate. With both of them I didn't need to go under contract so I can still switch providers at any time.
With the paper there is no local competitor, so I just mentioned the deal online that I had seen. Again, they quickly agreed to match that rate. It was so easy.
If you have any of these bills you may want to try to negotiate a lower rate. I was nervous at first, but I am so glad that I took the time to call. Just remember, you are the customer and they do want to keep you as a customer. I spent less than one hour and now have an extra $50 a month to put towards my mortgage. It may not be a lot, but every bit helps.
Do you ever negotiate monthly bills?
Kristen @ Joyfully Thriving says
Well done, Julie! I haven't done this - but should give it a try. Internet is the only thing we have - other than utilities, but I am curious to see if I could get any adjustments. As much as I don't like talking on the phone, I do like saving money! I'm going to add it to my list of projects.
Julie says
I am the same way, I hate talking on the phone. But, it was worth it to save the money.
Holly@ClubThrifty says
Great job! Yep, I do this all the time. I just renegotiated my AT&T internet bill. They were going to double it because the introductory period was over. Ummm....nope!
Julie says
Good job catching it before it doubled! I have been known to slack off for a month or two before calling.
Tammi says
I do this with both Centurylink and Directv. They both give me a discount for a year to retain my business and tell me to call back when that is over to see what they can do for me then. BTW they help every year!
Julie says
Great Job!
Janeen says
Awesome job! My husband is the one who does the negotiating around here. He's always pitting the internet providers against one another. The one thing we're still holding onto is our land line. It costs a bit of money, but we're not quite ready to part ways just yet. I imagine it'll be gone soon and we'll be telling our grandkids someday how we used to have phones that couldn't be carried out of the house 🙂
Julie says
We still have our land line too! Our security system needs it, and I love the security system enough I am willing to keep the land line. 🙂
Lydia @ Thrifty Frugal Mom says
Oh, that's awesome! And it makes me realize that we should look to see if there are any of our bills that we could do this with again. It's been a bit, but we've done it with our electric provider several times and also believe it or not, with the insurance for our home.
Julie says
I haven't looked into the insurance for our house in a couple years. Thanks for the reminder!
Kristia @ Family Balance Sheet says
Good reminder, Lydia. It's been a long time since I've reviewed our home-owners and auto insurance rates.
nathalie says
hi Julie! I just found your article thanks to pinterest, and i'm soo envious! i' m french, and i tried to negociate my phone bill, but they don't want to keep customers, they say : " sorry, but if you want a lower price go to another compagny". OMG! i was shocked! i'll definitely try again ;).
Julie says
I had the same problem for a while with my cell phone bill. Finally I did just go to another company! I hope you have better luck next time.