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How To Negotiate Your Bills

February 4, 2022 By: Sweet Frugal Life2 Comments

How I negotiate my bills!

Do you want to save more money?  I am pretty confident that we ALL want to save more money.  Well, I am here to tell you that you can save money on your monthly bills today!  That’s right, most of us are paying to much on our monthly bills.  But, the good news is that you can easily negotiate bills.  All it takes is a little research, time and diligence.

Why Negotiate Bills?

There are so many reasons to negotiate your bills.  The most important reason for me personally is to have more money!  I’m always looking for places to scrimp and save.  I mean, who doesn’t want more money????

Imagine the things you can do with some extra money each month?

  • You could pay off your debt faster!
  • You could grow your sinking funds at a quicker rate!
  • You could spend that money on something FUN (because we all know bills are not a fun way to spend money…amiright????)
  • You could use that extra money to save towards your future.

There are so many possibilities.  The most important thing though is that you will have the extra money to choose to spend in the way that is best for YOU!  There is nothing better than that!

negotiate for lower bills - save money on bills

What Bills Can I Negotiate?

If you are wondering exactly which bills you can negotiate, I say all of them!  I like to follow the rule that it never hurts to ask!

You will never know if it’s negotiable or not if you don’t ask!  The worst thing that can happen is they will say “No.”

Here are a few bills I recommend you start with!  Each of these service providers are all well known of allowing negotiating.

Cable/Satellite TV

We personally got rid of our cable TV years ago, but if you haven’t made that cut yet you can try to get a better deal.  Most cable services will let you negotiate to a lower rate.  It’s worth the phone call!

During this phone call be sure to bring up how long you have been a customer.  If you have been devoted to the company for years they will be much more likely to give you a discount!

It’s also helpful to ask for any promotions they might have at the time.  Cable companies usually rotate different promotions throughout the year.  However, if they by chance don’t have one you qualify for, mention a promo their competitor might be offering.  Most cable companies will match a competitors deal, which is great news for all of us!

Credit Cards

Your credit card balance is your responsibility, however you can negotiate a lower interest rate!  A lower interest rate will mean paying that card off quicker and cheaper!  This is what we all want!

Credit card companies like to reward loyal and responsible behavior.  If you have been on time with your payments, tell them this!  Explain how many months you have been on time and then kindly ask for a lower interest rate.

  • Related:  How To Pay Off Debt Using The Debt Snowball or Debt Avalanche

Medical

Did you know that medical bills are negotiable?  Many people don’t realize this, but they totally are!

If you can pay your bill in full up front, ask for a discount.  Every single time I have asked, I have been told “yes!”.  This discount is usually between 15-25%.  Which can be a significant savings!

If you are unable to pay in full, ask for an interest free payment plan.  This is a great set up because you can pay your bill at your own pace, without having to pay extra in interest.

Internet

Negotiating your internet bills is easy and very similar to negotiating your cable/satellite bills.

When negotiating, be sure to ask for current promotions and mention the promotions their competitor is offering.

Another good strategy is to ask for a cheaper internet package.  This might mean slower internet, or less services.  But, if you need the extra cash it will be worth it!

Insurance Premiums

Negotiating your insurance premiums is another excellent way to save on your monthly bills.  Most insurance agents are willing to work with you on these bills.  Never be afraid to ask!  They want your business!  It’s their job to make you happy!

There are a few things I suggest to bring up during this meeting.  The first is to ask if you can pay once a year, rather than monthly.  Many companies prefer to be paid in one lump sum and will give you a discount if you pay this way.

The other suggestion is to ask your insurance agent for a bundling discount.  This means that you will “bundle” or group your insurances (life, home auto) together with one company.  You can almost always get a discount for bundling.

  • Related:  8 Ways to Save Money on Utilities This Winter

Bill Negotiating Tips

Negotiating does take a little bit of time and bravery.  It can be intimidating to call these companies up; so I am helping you out with a few bill negotiating tips.

Do Your Research

Be diligent with researching before calling up a company.  Research competitor prices, look over your bills to check your consistency on your payments.  Know what you are talking about before asking for a favor.  They will be much more likely to listen.

Be Polite

When negotiating it is important that you are firm and diligent in your requests.  However, you can be firm while also being polite and considerate.

The people on the other end of the phone are real people with feelings.  You will be listened to more if you are polite.

Be Willing to Leave

If you really want to lower your bills, you need to be willing to leave your current provider.  When you threaten to leave your current service provider, they will usually listen up and honor your request.

But, you have to mean it!  There is a chance they will say, “Ok, then leave.”  And you will need to be willing to live with those consequences.

Today’s Challenge

Make a list of all of your monthly bills.  Choose two of them to try to negotiate to a lesser amount.  You can do it!

If you find success with those two bills, negotiate another one!

Remember, the worst thing that will happen is you will be told “No.”

Liked what you read?  Pin it for use on even more bills!

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how can i negotiate bills

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It’s time to negotiate your bills!

Best Money Saving Apps

February 6, 2020 By: Sweet Frugal Lifecomment

Sharing my favorite apps to save money.

We are so lucky to live in a time when the world is literally at our fingertips.  I mean, how awesome is it that we can find the answer to almost all of our questions with only a few minutes of researching on our phone???  So awesome!  Not only does my phone answer all of my questions it also saves me money!  Here are 7 of the best money saving apps!

best apps to save money - how to save more money

I am a member of online affiliate programs.  I will be compensated for purchases made through links in this post.

1.  Flipp

Anyone who buys groceries needs to use the Flipp app, seriously!  Flipp is a completely free app that helps you browse store ads so you can find the best deals in your neighborhood.

It’s super easy too!  Just enter your zipcode, click on your favorite store, and look through the weekly ad.  Done and done!

The ads (and deals) change every Wednesday, so try to get in the habit of checking Flipp every week. This helps me make my menu plan and stock up my pantry with the best deals.

2.  Digit

If you struggle saving money each month, you might want to look into the Digit app.  Digit uses an advanced algorithm to help you determine just how much extra money you have to save.

All you have to do is download the app, connect your bank account, set a savings goal and then let Digit do it’s thing.

This awesome app promises no overdrafts and will give you daily updates so you will always know exactly how much you are saving.

Digit is completely free for the first 100 days, and then $2.99/month after that.  Try it while it’s free and see if it helps you save more!  It might be worth paying for.

  • Related:  How to Make a Zero Based Budget

3.  Mint

Mint is my husbands favorite savings app.  He loves that Mint pulls all of our financial information into one easy to find spot.  With one quick look at the app we can see our credit card balance, retirement investments, bank account info and more.  It truly makes tracking your net worth so easy.

We also love the spending reports that Mint creates.  The app will automatically show your spending “trends” so you can see what categories you are overspending in.  This has been so helpful for us when we make our budget.  Sometimes it’s hard to really see my bad spending habits, but with Mint there is not hiding it!

Best of all, Mint is completely free to use!  If you are unsure where to start budgeting and managing finances, start with Mint!

4.  PocketGuard

Similar to Mint, PocketGuard links all of your finances (bank accounts, credit card balances, investments, etc.) into the app for quick viewing.  PocketGuard will also help you create a budget based on your spending habits and looks for ways to encourage you to save more.

One of my favorite parts of PocketGuard is the spending alerts!   All you have to do is set up your spending limit and then the app will alert you when you’re getting close to your spending limit!  It’s so helpful, especially if you are needing some extra encouragement to stay within budget.

You can get the basic version for FREE or spend a little extra to get PocketGuard Plus for $3.99/month.

5.  Coupons

Coupons is an app that helps you coupon (obviously…..), without having to print or cut out anything! All you do is hit “click” and your coupon will be loaded onto your linked store shopping card.

I use the Coupons app every single time I go to the grocery store.  It is packed full of coupons on many products that you probably are already buying regularly, which is my favorite type of coupons!

Simply link your store shopping card to the Coupons app and your coupons will be automatically applied to your total at checkout (when you use your store shoppers card).  It’s so easy and I’m always able to save a few extra dollars!

  • Related:  10 Quick Ways to Lower your Grocery Bill

6.  YNAB

Oh how I love You Need a Budget (YNAB).  We have been using this budgeting software for years and years and years and it just keeps getting better!  Truly.

YNAB is a budgeting software/app that makes budgeting and tracking spending a breeze.  We have tried other budgeting software’s, but I love how easy to use YNAB is and that it lets us fully customize our budget.

It does cost a small fee of $84 a year, but I promise it is worth every single penny!

7.  Honey

I have recently started using the Honey app and I am so in love with it.  You can use this free app either through a browser plug-in, or the app on your phone.

Honey is a great money saving app because it automatically searches for the best deals, coupons and promo codes for the items that you want to buy.

For example, if you are shopping on Amazon Honey will search through the website to find the lowest priced product you are shopping for, and will give you the history about the item.  Honey will even show you if the item has increased or decreased in price recently, giving you the knowledge to decide if it’s worth the buy.

When shopping other store websites Honey will do the research to find any eligible coupon codes, so you know when buying that you are getting the best price available.

I have a little rule to not buy anything unless it’s on sale, and Honey makes that rule much easier to follow!

In Conclusion

I am challenging each of you today to download at least one or two of these apps onto your phone.  If you already use three of these apps, well download a new one.

There are so many helpful tools to encourage us to save money and spend less, but it’s up to us to use these tools in a way that will help us.

I’m curious….what other apps do you use to save money??  Let me know in the comments, I would love to hear about them!

Related Articles

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Hello! I’m Melanie!

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