I wanted to share two things that I was able to save money on during my upcoming move.
1. Renter’s Insurance – I was paying $18 a month for renter’s insurance. I decided to call my current car insurance company and asked what they would charge for the same policy. After 10 minutes of my time they gave me a quote of $12 a month, but they would lower my car insurance payment by $8 a month for having multiple policies. I will end up paying $12 a month less than I now pay. Also, if I pay for 6 months at a time I save an extra $5 fee a month. This equals $204/ year in savings.
2. Cable/Internet – This is a topic I go back and forth on and with all the programing available online, I am not even sure I want to continue paying for cable. For now I will keep paying but it is always an option for me if I needed to cut something. Where I will be saving is with the installation fee for moving to a new apartment that has never had cable/internet/phone installed. There was a fee of $99 to install cable and $79 to install the internet, since I was doing both they said they would do it for $89 total. This meant that the next person to move into this apartment will not have to pay because I did! I was not thrilled! But then they told me if I signed up for a bundle of cable/internet/phone, then they would cover the installation fee for all three. Plus, if I didn’t like the bundle I could cancel at any time. Therefore, my bill will increase by $2 a month for a HD receiver and $15 a month for a phone line (which I will cancel next month). One month of an additional $17 is a lot easier to accept than the original $89. My gas bill was a flat fee of $25 to transfer service and I couldn’t get it cheaper, so I am ok with $17 for cable/internet.
The lesson I have learned is that it is worth asking and it is worth it to keep asking. During these economic times companies are learning it is worth lowing your bill to keep you as a customer than to lose you completely over a few extra dollars.
What deals have you been get just by asking? We would love to hear your stories.
~A
The Savings Queens Blog 