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Monday, June 15, 2009

Every Penny Counts

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A few months ago, I was talking to a lady in my town, and as usual, the first topic was the economy, the price of gas, inflation ect. ect............She told me that she was actually paying less on her cable bill since she called and complained that it cost too much! I couldn't believe this, but, one morning, feeling a little braver than usual, I called my cable company and, feeling really stupid and a little rebellious, told them that I thought my monthly bill was too high. There was a short pause, and then the lady excused herself for what seemed like an hour. She finally returned, and told me that she would lower my monthly bill for one year by $20.00. Would that be ok? Yes!
Feeling empowered, I called my cell phone company, grilled them on their newest promos, and saved another $15.00.
By the end of my morning power trip, I had managed to save about $50.00 a month.
In all, this taught me a valuable lesson. It never hurts to ask, and if you don't ask, you'll never know what you can do. Companies will very seldom send you a note saying, "Excuse me, but I think you are paying us too much."
Here are a few of the areas I started out with, and I'm sure there are many more.
  1. Do check with your telephone and cellular companies and see if they are running any specials. While you're at it, double check your current services to see if you are actually paying for things that you never really use.
  2. Check out your cable or dish service and see what they can do for you. They might not be as obliging as mine, but it's worth a try. Also, they might be running really good rates for new customers, and it never hurts to point out that loyal older customers need breaks too!
  3. It may not be a money-saver, but I like to pay my utilites on the budget plan. At least that way I'll know what to expect.
  4. Check over your car and house insurance. I recently realized that we were paying collision on a car that has been in storage for fifteen years.
  5. If you have a water softener and are paying rent each month, take a look at how much you have spent. It might be cheaper to buy it outright, and since it's used, they will cut you a good deal.


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