Negotiate Anything and Everything

I’ve been enjoying No Credit Needed’s 33 Days and 33 Ways to Save Money and Reduce Debt for the last couple of weeks and wanted to write in agreement to his post about calling for discounts. Calling and negotiating with every vendor possible is the easiest and most surefire way to start saving lots of money.

Over the past couple of years, I have saved thousands from continually calling the companies I do business with and simply saying, “The price you are giving me simply isn’t good enough.” Most companies are happy to oblige if you reason with them thoughtfully and factually.

Here are some places to get started:

Credit Cards

You will hear the glories of credit card rate negotiation preached on nearly every personal finance blog on the planet. This blog is no different. With a balance transfer only a click away, most credit card companies will happily notch the rate down to keep your money. After all, 10% of $100 is better than 16% of $0.

To negotiate, use these to bolster your case:

  • You are willing to transfer your balance to a competitor’s card
  • You are willing to cancel their card altogether
  • If you have other accounts with them, tell them you are willing to cancel those accounts as well
  • Tell them you are willing to take a credit line decrease in exchange for a lower rate

After having some large, unplanned expenses last year, I racked up a large amount of debt on my credit cards. After about a half hour of calling (darn those long wait times), I had the average rate on my cards down from around 15% to 10%. Although, to be honest, one card offered me 0% for 12 months to consolidate my balances with them, and I happily obliged. The other low rates are still in effect, though.

Auto Insurance

After finally getting a second car, I was looking for ways to reduce our auto insurance premiums. I called my agent at Allstate to discuss possible alternatives. I was amazed at the huge amount of possible discounts that could be applied to my account. Discounts ranged from a “good student” discount (I had started an MBA program) to an adjustment to yearly mileage for the cars to a discount for where I parked my car at night. When all was said and done, I had saved 15% on my premiums after a ten minute conversation.

Cable/Satellite

The cable/satellite rivalry presents great opportunities for saving money. I won’t get into too much detail on this one as I’m sure most of you have threatened to cancel your service at one time or another. What typically happens when you call the cable/satellite company is remarkable – deals that you have never heard of suddenly arise. You are offered 50 more channels for $10 less per month. If you push hard enough, like I did, you may end up getting expanded digital cable free for three months, $15/month for the next three months, and at a 10% discount thereafter. You should probably negotiate at least yearly with them, though, as your price will eventually return to ridiculous levels.

My advice is to do as No Credit Needed says: gather all your bills, write down what you are currently paying, and give the companies a call. Stand firm and you could be well on your way to a boatload of savings.