This post is short and sweet and to the point.
Folks, I cannot stress how important it is to check all of your accounts for possible savings at least once a year. This includes your bank accounts, your credit accounts, your utility accounts, and more. Basically, you should review every account that involves a financial relationship at least yearly.
It’s easy to do this. Just call the customer service number and ask if there are any better deals than the one you currently have. You may have better results if you do a bit of research (on the web or in person) before you call, but it’s not strictly necessary. Taking one hour out of your year to do this can yield huge savings.
What prompted me to write this? Well, my mother just got a new laptop computer with a wireless card. When I offered to set it up for her, I asked what she was paying for internet service. For dial-up internet and phone service, she was paying $79 a month. This seemed high to me. (I’m willing to be that she’s had the same plan since signing up for internet service over a decade ago.)
“Do me a favor,” I said. “Call the phone company and ask what it would cost to get DSL.”
“I don’t understand,” my mom said after she did some research. “They say that I can get voice mail, DSL, and phone service for $60 a month, but that’s less than I’m paying now.”
That’s right: For $19 less per month than she’s paying now, my mother can get a faster internet connection and voice mail. That’s a savings of nearly $230 a year — and improved service — simply by asking. (Plus, they provided a wireless router for free!) But the phone company had no incentive to tell her this. They simply waited until she called to ask.
Remember: Nobody cares more about your money than you do. If you don’t take steps to improve your financial situation, nobody else is going to do so either. In most cases, wealth isn’t about luck. Wealth is about taking charge of your money, telling others what you want instead of letting them tell you what you’re going to get. And it’s about taking care of the little stuff, like how much you’re paying for DSL and phone service.
So, go out there and call the phone company and the cable company and your bank. Find out if there are any better deals waiting for you. Don’t wait for a discount — ask for one.
This article is about Basics, Hints and Tips, Real-Life
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Discounts work in favor of the seller, or they won’t stay in business long. And they do work. I have called several times fully intending to cancel my cable (I don’t really want it, we just like being able to watch our hometown sports that aren’t on broadcast TV up here) and ended up keeping it because they offered me such a cheap rate. If the price were higher they wouldn’t be getting my business at all.
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I routinely renegotiate my internet/cable and cell phone plans. One thing that caught me though was my bank. I have done business with them forever and never thought much about it until one day I noticed the packages they offered online, including the one with no fees if you have direct deposit. I called and said “I’ve had direct deposit for years, why am I paying a fee?” and they said they didn’t have the manpower to analyze every account so when they changed fee structures or packages it was up to the consumer to request a change. So I did. It took about 1 minute to do but they wouldn’t refund me any of the fees I had paid unnecessarily for god knows how long.
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When I asked Qwest if I could get a discount, the CSR said sure! He guaranteed to get me a bargain rate by “packaging” my services. When I pointed out my services were already packaged, he said they were not. The result was a bill that was almost DOUBLED!
After months of wrangling that finally ended in complaints to the state corporation commission, the president of Qwest (yes–I got his name, phone number, snail-mail address, and e-mail address), and the state and federal attorneys general, the mess was finally untangled. I now get my communication services through Cox.
Watch out for any telephone company rep. I would never proactively call a phone company and try to deal with one of their CSRs. That’s a job for a lawyer.
That said, many merchants will cut prices on goods if you ask. Also, if you have high-deductible insurance, many doctors will give you a better price, especially on routine exams, if you pay in cash.
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I’m uncomfortable haggling, but force myself to do it from time to time.
I’ve never been charged an Over the limit that I wasn’t able to get out of, and always get the price to come down a bit.
I don’t feel bad. If they were losing money on the deal, they wouldn’t offer it.
Its most important with auto purchases.
I’ll never forget the deal I almost took before computing It out and realizing the great payment they were offering translated to a 36% interest rate!
I’m sorry, but that’s NOT an honest company trying to make an honest profit from honest services rendered.
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@ Tyler Karaszewski #29
The reason that you don’t see the same type of bargaining between employers and employees as between (some) customers and phone companies is that employees wouldn’t put op with that. Few people would decide to work for a company that couldn’t provide a reasonably stable income, so this rarely happens.
Phone companies, on the other hand, do put up with bargaining or they could just tell people like J.D. to take it or leave it.
Different circumstances different interactions. That’s the beauty of the free market.
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A lot of stores will automatcly give you a discount simply by asking for it, Headquarters train the clerks not to divulge the discount unless the customer asks first.
When my cellphone contract expired and since I was not useing it much I called to cancell it and go with a prepaid plan however the cell phone countered with a secreat rate plan called the loyality plan for $19.95 per month and after added fees totaled under $25.00 per month.
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I have had a lot of success with asking for discounts the past few years, especially with medical services. I am self-employed and have not had health insurance in several years (no comments, please, I know I’m taking a risk). I have asked each of my doctors and labs for a discount if I pay cash because I am “self-insured,” and every single one of them has given it to me. I got my mammogram last year for less than half what I would have paid if I didn’t ask (I know because they quoted me a price and I asked for the “self-insured” discount)
I don’t feel guilty because I know what their fees were when I was using my insurance from a previous job.
And another place I have started asking for “a better price” is at hotels. I travel for business several times a year and have started asking, “Is that your best price?” Sometimes they say yes, sometimes they offer me a discount.
I figure, it never hurts to ask, the worst thing to happen is that they say no.
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DO IT NOW!
I just saved myself over $700.00 in web hosting fees by calling to find out what I can do with my account.
It turns out I was paying for a lot of additional features that I just don’t need, and their support was able to re-categorize my original hosting plan to their new one-size-fits-all plan which saved me an additional $10.00 / month!
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Great post – and the larger the ticket item (house, car) the larger amoount of money saved!!!
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Another tip from a sales associate to piggyback Sam: reference a past discount you saw or coupon you missed. I work at a retailer that rarely discounts products or gives out coupons and when we do they are almost always to preferred customers. SO, if someone comes in and talks to me about a sale or discount they just missed and they are NICE I honor it 99% of the time. In recent years this is happening more frequently and I think it’s because of online discount share sites – just another reason to do some research. Happy shopping!
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This is something that is just unheard of to so many people. Even me till recently. Even big box retailers will negotiate the price.
And even if they won’t, guess what?
It never hurts to ask!
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It always amazes me how much the typical company will care less about their customers the longer they ARE customers. Then pull out the red carpet for the new ones who really have no equity in the relationship.
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A really cool post. Not only checking discounts and deals, but if you negotiate with banks and other financial institutions, they may reduce your debt radically. You must, however, initiate the negotiation. No service provider would approach you for a discount unless it’s for their benefit
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Oh, I wish I had the courage to do this more often.
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i called my cell phone company (verizon) and cable company (WOW!) and with less than 10 minutes on the phone, i had a better tailored plan that will save me $240 over the next year.
i personally wonder about the economy of haggling in most retail environments. what is the difference in spending time and resources going to several different venders and haggling for the lower prices when you can use google and search for the lowest price. in corporate retail operations, i think its typically bad form to haggle; i doubt that big box or mall retail managers have the power to haggle (serendipitous sandals not withstanding #16).
in other instances of less formal commerce (yard sales, resale shops, pawn shops, repair services, etc.) i do feel it is appropriate to haggle and i enjoy doing it. haggling with people from other countries is especially fun. in dearborn, michigan there is a HUGE muslim population influx. as is true with many first generation immigrant families, many set up small businesses. i once got a 50% discount on a car repair because i went to three different auto repair shops and had them put their lowest price on a business card, that i showed to the other shops. haggling is fun.
@BradKP- you are absolutely correct about lenders being willing to negotiate with debtors. in 2004, i offered lump sums to two creditors that was about 10% higher than the total amount of the actual charges i had racked up (before i got smart). i begged for a parental TARP and paid my parents off the $13K and have never been in any consumer debt since. they were never willing to take less than the principal, but didn’t much care for fees or interest that had accrued; you are absolutely correct that it is incumbent upon any person to initiate the negotiation. youtube has some wonderful videos about how to negotiate.
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@ #47 Samantha – Been there, done that. If you try to bluff your way into a discount and they call your bluff and try to cancel, just say at the last minute, “You know what? Nevermind. I’m going to keep my service.” I’ve done it before, you have nothing to lose.
Also, call during working hours to get the retention department. The after hours folks often don’t care if you cancel, but the retention people are paid by keeping you.
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I find the best negotiation tool is silence. The longer you sit without saying anything, the more the price magically goes down. I saved 20% on termite treatment and 15% on new gutters by using this technique. Easy!
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