You always hear on blogs and from friends about how they called their cable provider, internet provider, phone company, etc. and were able to save a ton of money each month. Hundreds even.
In the last few months I have tried to make my cell phone bill, internet bill, and my satellite TV bill lower.
Do you want to know how it went? Not well.
My cell phone bill ended up working out for me in the end but it was almost a disaster. Instead of saving the $20ish I should have, I was being charged $20 more. Because they wanted to make it right, I am now paying $75-80 less than I normally did. So that one did work out but it could have gone terribly wrong had I not gotten the worker that I did.
Today, I tried changing my internet plan to one that was the same speed but cheaper. The one I was on was a very old, grandfathered in plan. It took me over an hour and four service reps to find out that:
1- The plan I wanted wasn’t the same speed as I current had as I was informed, but slower.
2- The plan I wanted wasn’t available to current customers.
They changed my plan to one with slightly faster speed than I currently had and saved me……$3 per month.
A few months ago I tried to save on my TV provider but they couldn’t do anything for me either unless I changed to a package that had none of the channels we watch almost daily.
So frankly, I’m a bit frustrated. I want to know why this works for so many other people but not for me. I could sit here and dwell on this. I could get angry.
Or I can move on. I can find other ways to save money instead. I can consider this to be a challenge to get creative. I can be grateful that my cell phone company went above and beyond to fix their mistake. I can put my time and energy into saving on my grocery and household expenses.
I’m choosing to get creative about our other savings and be grateful for what I have been able to do. Because really, in the past year, by changing some companies like our car insurance and some plans, I have managed to save us $106/month. That isn’t a massive savings but that is $106 more per month I can use to pay down our debt.
If you don’t want to do your own negotiating be sure to check out my post about Bill Shark. Such a great and simple service!
What about you? Have you been able to negotiate your bills lower or are you like me and pretty well stuck with what you have? How have you handled that?
Dianne says
Hi:)..found your blog through pilgrims and strangers. Very nice. I ran into the same thing. We never have any wiggle room except for food. We dropped our cell phone company and got a pay as you go with dirt cheap smart phones allowing us to drop internet. We cancelled dish tv and just use an antenna and the library. Family of 7..and yes we do watch t.v;)
I am wondering if you have any posts on saving on groceries? And do you aim for organic/non gmo stuff? I have needed to relax on that some. Good job on your savings though!!
Julie says
I do not aim for organic but I do try to do more whole foods and less foods with preservatives, dyes, fake stuff, etc.
I do have a few posts on savings on groceries.
https://www.happyfrugalmama.com/2014/10/planning-a-frugal-grocery-trip.html
https://www.happyfrugalmama.com/2014/04/the-best-time-to-grocery-shop.html
https://www.happyfrugalmama.com/2014/02/beginners-guide-to-frugal-cooking.html
I have a few more. You can find them here: https://www.happyfrugalmama.com/category/food and here: https://www.happyfrugalmama.com/category/shopping
Dianne says
Thank you Julie…the internet and some blogs sure can make one feel like a “failure” if not eating all organic..etc..atleast thats my experience:)
Julie says
I know exactly what you mean. I think eating organic is a healthy option but not the only option. And even though some people can make it work financially, I can’t. I find just eating less fake food stuff and more real food is the option that works for my family and budget. 🙂