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Financial Literacy
Course: Financial Literacy > Unit 2
Lesson 2: Reducing expensesHow do I lower my expenses?
Learn different strategies for lowering expenses.
Negotiating bills
Sometimes it can be tough paying bills, especially when they're for services you rely on, like your phone, internet, or cable. But there's good news: you may be able to negotiate a lower bill with your service providers.
Here are a few tips to help you!
1. Know your options.
Before you call your service provider, research the competition. You'll be in a better bargaining position if you know the rates and plans that other companies offer. If you can mention a cheaper plan from a competitor, your service provider may be more willing to negotiate.
2. Be polite but firm.
When you call customer service, be polite and respectful. Remember, you're asking for a favor, so you want to be as friendly as possible. But at the same time, make it clear that you're serious about wanting a lower bill. Tell them that you're considering switching to a different provider if they can't work with you.
3. Ask for a supervisor.
If the customer service representative says they can't help you, don't be afraid to ask for a supervisor. Sometimes the people higher up have more authority to negotiate.
4. Be persistent
If you don't get the answer you want the first time, call back again in a few days. Sometimes different representatives are more helpful than others. Don't give up!
5. Look for a promotional offer.
If you're not successful negotiating a lower bill, ask if there are any promotional offers available. Sometimes service providers will give you a discount for a certain amount of time if you sign up for a new plan or bundle multiple services together.
Remember, it never hurts to ask! You might be surprised at how much you can save just by negotiating with your service providers.
Want to join the conversation?
- Karen's have mastered this Technic.(39 votes)
- What are some of the best questions to ask that will get you what you looking for especially when looking to reduce your bill?(6 votes)
- OK. Let's say that you have left the hose running in the yard over a weekend when you were away, and the water bill that month is four times its usual amount. You can't pay it all at once, and you know that you don't want the water company to shut you off.
So, what do you do?
1) Call or visit the water company and ask to speak to the person who adjusts bills.
2) Admit that it was your own mistake, not that of the water company.
3) Compare your record of monthly charges over the past year. Noting what you usually pay.
4) Ask for a plan to be made by which you pay your customary bills for the next year, PLUS enough extra to retire the big debt for one month in 12 installments.
In other words: Contact, Confess, Compare and Offer to pay it off slowly.(17 votes)
- Should a 13-year-old be learning this? Because I kinda want to(9 votes)
- A 13 year old is just at the right age to learn this stuff, before "not learning it" gets you trapped somewhere.(11 votes)
- should I be learning this right now because I am in 5th grade(6 votes)
- Yes! The longer it takes you to learn it, the longer it will take for you to become rich... might as well get a head start! If I had this information in the 5th grade, I could probably afford to buy my own school!(8 votes)
- i hope you learn a lot(10 votes)
- What if your and introvert and get nervous during the call or before, than forget what to say?(5 votes)
- Write a script for yourself. Read that script to the person who fields your call. Alternatively, sit down with a trusted person and explain your situation to her, and ask her to make the call for you while you sit by her side.(6 votes)
- What if customer service stalls, just like the stereotypes? I was in the room when my dad called customer service and waited for, like, an hour.(4 votes)
- When customer service stalls, hope for a bot. Use the AI option, but have all your information on hand ready to type into the boxes.(6 votes)
- Has anyone actually had success with this recently? I'd like to believe this is possible, but I can't help feel that companies being willing to negotiate is outdated information in this day and age.(5 votes)
- Yea it worked some time ago to lower cable prices for optimum(3 votes)
- What is the most effective method of negotiating bills?(2 votes)
- Talk is effective. If you don't talk, nobody knows what you need.(8 votes)
- what if the customer service cant help you and you've tried calling after months and asked for a manager/supervisor?(3 votes)
- This seems to be unrelated to the subject of the lesson. Are you just asking it here because you don't know where to place this question?(4 votes)