If you’re looking for some quick ways to cut costs, here are some of my favourite tips:
1 – Phone your bank or credit card company – is there something you could be doing differently to save money there? Can you get your interest rate lowered? Worth the few minutes it takes to call.
2 – Call your phone company, cell phone provider, cable provider etc and see if there are any promotions you qualify for. If you don’t use it a lot, is there anything you can cut out? And if you rarely watch tv, can you switch over to Netflix or something similar for a huge discount?
3 – Eliminate one thing – can be an expensive coffee or lunch, or even things like grouping together your errands to save on gas.
4 – Do you find you spend too much on takeout? Make larger portions and freeze extra for busy nights, or make sure you have a few convenience meals tucked away in the freezer.
5 – Memberships…are there any you have that are up for renewal? Magazines, museums, gym, Costco etc. – If you’re not using it often, it’s not worth keeping. If you only go to the place once or twice a year it’s cheaper to see if there’s a coupon for it in the Entertainment book.
What are your quick tips for saving money? What’s the most you’ve saved by phoning a financial institution or phone provider etc?
Great tips Nadine.
My best and worst success stories in this area were with Shaw.
I was on a bundle for basic home phone and basic internet service for about $45/month in 2011. They called me in December and offered me a one-year promo: upgrade to faster internet speed, and full cable, at no additional charge – plus a free $100 VISA card. I asked several times what the upcharge/catch was, and was told that there wasn’t one.
The promo wasn’ t initially applied properly to my account and it took a lot of phone calls to get that sorted out – part of the hassle was because the people we deal with when we call Shaw aren’t the same call centre as their outgoing sales centre, and don’t have access to the same promo codes. The first guy I talked to wasn’t willing to help, and wasn’t even very polite about it. He kept saying “you’re still getting a good deal”, to which I said “but it’s not the deal I was promised.” I pushed harder, was told that there was no supervisor I could speak to, and ended up calling back to speak to someone else, who was much more pleasant, and able to work with her supervisor to figure out a way to apply equivalent promos for 6 months. After 6 months, she was supposed to automatically renew the promos, but that didn’t happen and I had to phone again. Since she had put good notes on my file, it was easier to get someone to help the second time around.
After the promo ended, Shaw wanted to charge me about $100/month to keep the same services. I told them I wanted to go back to my original package. Here’s the catch: I was told that it was no longer available. My lowest-cost option was basic phone and high speed light internet (no TV) for about $75/month. Pardon me? I pushed, but got the same answer. I almost gave up, and when I took my Cable modem into the Shaw at KP to cancel the TV portion, I asked the person there what the best deal I could get was – was there something around the $50 range? All I wanted was phone and internet – I didn’t care if I lost TV.
She told me that they had a package they didn’t really promote, because the TV service is so basic… but if I was going to cancel my TV anyways…
My plan is now less than $50/month for high speed light internet, basic home phone service, and basic cable (local channels and shopping/news channels). With no expiry date… though I expect that they’ll implement their typical $5/year increase in services.
The cost savings is great, but it wasn’t without emotional/mental cost.
Take-home points: If you get an answer you don’t like or don’t understand, call back, or ask to speak to a supervisor. Sometimes the person you’re talking to doesn’t understand all the options available to them (and thus to you). And… when dealing with Shaw, it’s sometimes better to go to the service center and speak to someone face to face.
I was also able to save costs was with my MTS cell phone. I use it for emergencies/convenience calls only, and didn’t like having to pay $35-40/month when I use it so little.
When my contract expired, I converted to pre-paid. I pay $16.80 per month including taxes, and have my account set up to automatically renew the minutes every month, so that I can carry forward unused minutes.
I’m not dependant on the latest technology, and don’t care for texting or need web browsing on my phone, so for me it’s a good fit. I buy a texting bundle with my carried-forward credits, and it lasts me several years!
Wow! you’re doing great with the money saving on cell/tv etc! It can be so expensive, and can be brought down quite easily – not every time of course