Bill Negotiation: How to Save Money on Your Bills

Did you know you may be just a few phone calls away from putting an extra $500-$1,000 or more in your pocket? All it takes is a couple of minutes and a little courage to call and negotiate or shop your bills like your insurance, credit card, TV, phone, and other subscriptions. We’ll explore the why and how in this episode of the More Than a Pastor Show.

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Bill Negotiation: How to Save Money on Your Bills

More than 75% of Americans say inflation and a tough economy are making it harder to cover their bills, according to a recent LendingTree survey. Even more concerning, 40% report they’re struggling more with monthly expenses than they were a year ago.

If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Whether you’re in ministry or not, the rising cost of living is affecting everyone. And in today’s episode we’ll share easy ways you can save money by negotiating your bills.

Two Basic Ways to Lower Your Monthly Bills

Did you know you're a few phone calls away from putting an extra $500-$1,000 or more in your pocket? All it takes is a couple of minutes and a little courage to call and negotiate or shop your credit card, TV, phone, and insurance rates. And this can go one of two ways. You either:

1. Save money when your current provider works with you to give you a better rate
2. Save money when you switch to a new provider who offers you a better rate

You'd think that companies would offer their best rates to loyal customers, but for many, they do more to get a new customer than keep an existing one. So if you don't mind switching every year or two to a new provider, you can save a lot of money.

Examples of How I've Saved Big Money by Switching Providers

Here are a couple of examples of ways I've saved thousands of dollars by switching providers.

Saved $960 Switching TV Providers

A couple of years ago I saved $960 a year on my TV service by switching from my local cable company to YouTube TV. That was a significant bonus for our budget!

I really love YouTube TV, and I think it's one of the best TV deals out there. If you'd like to save money and try YouTube TV out for yourself, please use my YouTubeTV Referral Link. I do receive an affiliate commission if you decide to become a customer, but I never recommend things I wouldn't use myself.

Saved $2,000 Switching Insurance Providers

Just this week I saved $2,000 for the year on our home owners and auto insurance policies! I live in Michigan, which has just about the highest auto insurance rates of any state in the country. So every year I ask my independent insurance agent to shop around and mind me the best rates.

Two years, ago, we were insured by a company I’ll call company A. A year ago when it was time to renew, our rates with company A skyrocketed for some reason. So we switched to company B and we saved over $1,000.

But now this year our renewal with company B skyrocketed,  so we shopped around and company A was now way cheaper. Go figure.

So we just switched back to that one and saved $2,000 for the year thanks to their better rates and also by taking advantage of their 20% pay-in-full discount. I love the pay-in-full option, as it saves both the company and us time and money.

You Can Negotiate to Save on Any Bill or Service You Have

Basically, you can negotiate any bill or service that you have. Even college scholarships!

Here are examples of ways I've saved money or got better deals by negotiating with my service providers and even with my kid's university.

Saved 50% on SiriusXM Radio

Last August I took advantage of a free 4-month trial subscription from a satellite radio service. When the trial was over, they invited me to keep my subscription going for $9.99 a month. I said no thanks. Then they offered it to me for a year for half-price, only $4.99 a month. I still am not willing to pay for that service right now, though I really did enjoy it, but it’s great to know that the next time I do want to pay for a subscription, I can get it for half-off the advertised rate!

Tripled My Internet Speed & Saved $60 a Year

A few weeks ago I contacted our mobile phone provider to review our mobile phone and home internet plans. Fiber internet lines were installed in our neighborhood and throughout our city over the last year or so, and I’ve been wanting to make the switch to fiber but the costs were higher than I wanted to pay.

But during the recent Christmas season, they offered me a deal I couldn’t refuse: We could triple our internet speed and reduce our bill by $5.00 a month! So while the financial savings wasn’t huge, I’ve now got blazing internet speed, which comes in handy every time I upload one of my podcast episodes to YouTube. Used to take an hour, now it takes a few minutes.

Saved $30,000 on College Tuition

In 2016 one of our sons was offered a full academic scholarship to a university he actually was not interested in attending. So we used that as a negotiation tactic with the university he did want to attend.

On our campus visit day to his preferred university, when we were talking to the financial aid officer, they offered our son what they said was their highest academic scholarship, The President’s Scholarship, which would cover half of his tuition for the year. I mentioned that that was great, but this other university had offered him twice that much to go there.

The financial aid officer said, “Let me check something with my boss and I’ll be right back.” Maybe ten minutes later she comes back and was pleased to announce that they were able to double his scholarship to match what the other university was offering.

How to Negotiate Your Bills and Save Money

In general, I think it's cheaper for a business to keep an existing customer than try to find a new one. So companies are wise to negotiate to keep good customers like you and me. Here's how to do it:

1. Do a Little Research

Find out how many years you’ve been a customer. Research other offers out there from competing companies.

2. Make the Call & Be Up-Front

Give them a call and say upfront that you’re considering canceling your service and ask to be transferred to the customer retention or cancellation department. You can say something like, “I need to find ways to save money and am thinking about canceling my service. What can you do to help me out?”

3. Let Them Know You're Looking at Other Options

If they don’t come back with a deal you’re pleased with, say, “I’ve been looking at my other options, and I see that ______ is offering new customers _______. What can you do for me here?”

4. Be Firm About What You Want

You need to be firm in the conversation. Remind them that you’re a great customer. There are better options. You’re not afraid to go and get them.

5. Use a Little Business Psychology on Them

If they still aren’t giving you what you’re looking for, say, “I’m sure you understand that it would be cheaper and easier for you to keep a good customer like me than to try to find a new customer, am I right.? So let’s work together and save us both some money, shall we?”

6. Give Them Permission

If they say they’re sorry, there’s nothing more they can do, you can always ask to speak to their supervisor. Also, I’m a believer that sometimes people think they don’t have permission to do something, so I give them permission. Say something like, “Look, I know you want to do the best job you can and keep a good customer like me, so why don’t you go ahead and give me a better rate like ______ is offering me? I know you can do it. You don’t want to lose me to them do you?"

7. Be Ready to Cancel and Walk Away

At the end of the day, if they don’t offer you the better deal you’re looking for, you’ve got to be willing to tell them to go ahead and cancel your service because you’re switching to the other provider.

Application & Action

I’m recording and releasing this episode in the month of January, which is a great time to review all your bills and services, and decide which ones you might want to get rid of, and which ones you’d keep if you could negotiate a better rate.

I’m guessing you could save $500 to $1,000 or more per year with just a few phone calls. Do it for your personal bills. Do it for your church bills as well.

So do you have a great story of how you’ve saved money by negotiating your bills? I’d love to hear about it. Or is it time for you to give it a try? Please let me know at [email protected]. I’d love to hear from you.