I've discovered a very simple way to permanently reduce some of our bills: Call and ask nicely.
Last month, I called several car insurance companies. One of them has a discount program through my husband's employer, so combined with their already-low rate, we reduced the amount we pay by over a third.
Last week, I called the phone company, and a great customer service agent (wow, there is such a thing?) did some "bundling" voodoo that reduced our rate almost in half, with no contract or commitment needed. To top it off, we are getting a $50 Visa gift card as a thanks for ...giving them less money. I'll take it!
Today, I called Moriarty's bank, which reduced our rate by a percentage point. This will not make a huge impact, since we no longer use credit cards and are working to pay off that debt (as we travel our Road to Black), but it will probably change the order in which we pay down debts. Moriarty is our smallest debt, and according to Dave Ramsey's snowball principle, it should be paid off first. Now I think we may use Moriarty to pay off as much of Saruman as possible. Vader is smaller than Saruman, but has the lowest rate of all our debts.
So my money-saving tip is this: Call your utilities and creditors and ask nicely. What do you have to lose?
3 months ago
