Negotiating Bills
I realized the other day that negotiating your bills is not something everyone does, or even knows about, so this will be my topic today. Honestly, I didn't know about this until several years ago when we were going through a tight financial period, (my husband was relocated with his job and I had to stay behind causing us to pay for two households) a friend suggested that I call all of my bill companies and negotiate my bills with them. Before this I had no idea you could negotiate your household bills, so I tried it and the very first time I saved well over a hundred dollars a month, just by taking an hour and talking to the billing companies. I now have started doing this every six months to a year as cable, internet, cell phone companies are always changing hands or offering lower deals. I did this again this week and very successfully lowered three of my bills, and actually gained more services!! Here are my tips for negotiating your bills:
1) Be Nice - Do not call up and scream at the person who answers the phone demanding your bills be lowered, call up and be overly friendly. It is not the employee who makes policies and sets prices, but if you are nice they are more apt to offer you something that not everyone knows about. For example, I called my TV provider this week and the woman I spoke to was having computer difficulties on her end I was patient and very understanding which I could tell she appreciated and it paid off, I received two brand new state of the art DVR receivers, HBO for half off and my monthly bill lowered over $10/month. Always make sure to thank the person who helped you.
2) Be Firm and Do Your Homework - Have your account screen up on your computer so that you know what their most recent services are and what they are offering to new customers. I called my phone provider and pointed out that new customers were getting a very discounted rate just for signing up while I was a faithful 10 year client, they immediately took $30 off my monthly payments no questions asked for the rest of my 2 years plan. They also increased my data, not too shabby.
3) Don't Be Afraid to Call Twice - If you are getting nowhere with a customer service agent, thank them, hang up and try again. I wouldn't suggest doing this unless you haven't re-negotiated your bills in a while.
4) Go in With No Expectations - Don't make the phone call thinking "I am going to get $50 off my cell phone bill", if you do that you will be in for disappointment. I always go into the phone calls with little to no expectations and am always pleasantly surprised.
5) It Doesn't Hurt to Call - I usually call and negotiate my bills every 6-12 months, it has resulted in me saving hundreds of dollars a year. This is especially important as TV, Cell Phone and Internet companies sometimes charge you more and you don't even realize it you just pay your bill.
These tips are really meant for your TV, Internet, Cell Phone, Insurances, etc; however you can apply them to Credit Cards if you have them. In the day when we used to have credit cards I applied this to my interest rates which also resulted in money savings.
I know you might be wondering if you are a stickler for saving money why do you have TV service? This is usually the first thing money saving websites will tell you to cut. Quite frankly, I would rather have cable than the internet, I love my TV service. If you have all streaming sites you are paying for a whole bunch of different sites and a lot of times you can't get everything, and I want it all when it comes to TV.
Well I hope this inspires some of you to do some negotiating! Happy Saving!!
1) Be Nice - Do not call up and scream at the person who answers the phone demanding your bills be lowered, call up and be overly friendly. It is not the employee who makes policies and sets prices, but if you are nice they are more apt to offer you something that not everyone knows about. For example, I called my TV provider this week and the woman I spoke to was having computer difficulties on her end I was patient and very understanding which I could tell she appreciated and it paid off, I received two brand new state of the art DVR receivers, HBO for half off and my monthly bill lowered over $10/month. Always make sure to thank the person who helped you.
2) Be Firm and Do Your Homework - Have your account screen up on your computer so that you know what their most recent services are and what they are offering to new customers. I called my phone provider and pointed out that new customers were getting a very discounted rate just for signing up while I was a faithful 10 year client, they immediately took $30 off my monthly payments no questions asked for the rest of my 2 years plan. They also increased my data, not too shabby.
3) Don't Be Afraid to Call Twice - If you are getting nowhere with a customer service agent, thank them, hang up and try again. I wouldn't suggest doing this unless you haven't re-negotiated your bills in a while.
4) Go in With No Expectations - Don't make the phone call thinking "I am going to get $50 off my cell phone bill", if you do that you will be in for disappointment. I always go into the phone calls with little to no expectations and am always pleasantly surprised.
5) It Doesn't Hurt to Call - I usually call and negotiate my bills every 6-12 months, it has resulted in me saving hundreds of dollars a year. This is especially important as TV, Cell Phone and Internet companies sometimes charge you more and you don't even realize it you just pay your bill.
These tips are really meant for your TV, Internet, Cell Phone, Insurances, etc; however you can apply them to Credit Cards if you have them. In the day when we used to have credit cards I applied this to my interest rates which also resulted in money savings.
I know you might be wondering if you are a stickler for saving money why do you have TV service? This is usually the first thing money saving websites will tell you to cut. Quite frankly, I would rather have cable than the internet, I love my TV service. If you have all streaming sites you are paying for a whole bunch of different sites and a lot of times you can't get everything, and I want it all when it comes to TV.
Well I hope this inspires some of you to do some negotiating! Happy Saving!!
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