Negotiating Your Bills?

https://ponisayer.substack.com/p/credit-hoes-and-money-woes-bd9?sd=pf 3/9/23

We all hate bills. No one likes having to pay them, but they’re a necessary evil of life if we want to live and have access to certain things.

But…..is there no hope for what amount we are required to pay for those bills?

I say……CHALLENGE EVERYTHING!

Let me post a very important note here about negotiating your bills-ALWAYS be polite!

Establishing better credit, having a budget and sticking to it, and having some money left over for savings or extras is the goal. And I’m here to repeat that it not only should be your goal, but it’s a goal that’s very doable! Negotiating your bills can be a helpful part of your success.

IF you follow the tricks, tips and help that I’m giving you in each of these posts.

You can certainly negotiate way more things than you think. Did you know that you can negotiate the cost of your:

-cell phone or landline service

-internet service

-trash service

-electric service

-cable or satellite service

-credit card interest

-auto loan interest

-your rent(yes, this is no joke. Only possible if you’re a good tenant though)

-more bills if you put your mind to it and give it a try. No harm in politely asking!

Being a “Smart Shopper” doesn’t apply only when you go to the store for groceries or to buy yourself shoes or clothing. Being a smart shopper applies to EVERYTHING you have to spend money on. When you go to the ticket booth for a movie or event, do you shop around first before you’re actually standing in the line to buy? You should!

Although that scenario is a little more obvious than the list I put above, it’s really no different. Don’t believe me? Let’s examine these one by one to see “if” in fact there really is an opportunity to “Negotiate your bills”. Remember, always be polite when asking.

The first in the list is the cell phone. Maybe you have AT & T or T-Mobile. They say your cost is $100 per month for the services you use each month. Hmm. No wiggle room there, right? Not so my friend! You need to take your bill and look over each line item you are being charged for. Then call them up and ask for an explanation of each charge and the reason for it. Express to them that you need to lower the bill for your budget, but also lowering the bill would keep you from having to go to their competitor who can cut the monthly cost that you are currently paying with them. Do they have any specials going on that you could get? Any promos that you’d qualify for? Discounts such as veteran, student or senior citizens?

For utilities that you can’t shop around for like your water or local trash service, ask them about ways to lower the bill. Explain to them that the bill is too high. Can they check for leaks? Unusual times or days of usage? Reasons that the bill is so high? Options? Ask them.

When you have loans most people think that the interest rate that is charged is locked in stone and there’s nothing you can do about it. Except to pay it and cry over it. Again, not so my friend! For loans, the best time to negotiate the interest rate is at the beginning of the loan of course. But let’s say it’s a 5yr personal loan, and you’ve been paying on time or early for the past two years. Now is an excellent time to ask them to lower the interest rate(if it can go any lower that is!) due to your exceptional payment history with them.

If it’s a credit card, so long as you’ve been paying on time or early and paying more than the minimum required payment, then you have the power to negotiate. There’s nothing wrong with calling up the issuing card company and asking to speak with a supervisor about your interest rate. That usually gets their attention! Then ask them about how you can lower the interest rate, or if there are any promotions, specials or discounts you can take advantage of(remember to ask for those for veterans, seniors or students). Let them know the cost of their credit is too high, and you’ve been shopping around and found that you could lower that interest rate if you switched to a different card company. This is only doable provided you’ve protected your good credit from late payments, etc. Usually the card companies are well aware that you can go elsewhere, so they try to work with you.

NOTE: If you don’t protect your credit from missed/late payments your creditors will know.

Car loan payment killing your budget? Most car loans are 3-7 yrs, so if it’s been at least 2-3 years and you’ve never missed a payment or paid late, then you have the power to negotiate the interest lower or you can refinance the remaining balance to lower the interest. Start with the issuing loan holder, ask them for that option(Ask without authorizing them to check your credit). If they won’t or can’t, make sure you ask why before you waste any time going elsewhere if it’s a credit score or payment issue. If it’s just their lender won’t do it for any other reason, then shop around. Know your credit scores FIRST, and shop letting the potential new lenders know what your scores are. DO NOT let any of them check your credit report!! This will equal MULTIPLE inquiries which will drive your scores DOWN!

NOTE: NEVER give any potential creditor your social security number, as that is an automatic authorization for them to check your credit report. Not unless you are 100% sure you want to move forward with them, and that they can actually do the lending.

If you have cable or satellite TV service, this is definitely a service that can be negotiated or at the very least, lowered. Look at what you”re paying for the monthly service plan that you have. Did you add extra channels or services that are added to the bill each month?

Think about what you have. We all want to be nice to our children and include their favorite channels. But the bottom line is, are they contributing money each month for those channels? Then maybe it’s time to remove some of those. Are you really home enough to make it worth spending that extra $20-50 per month(or more) for premium channels or the extra sports channels? What would it cost if you ordered the “a la carte” programs only when you wanted to see something special, and only once every month or once every 6 months as a treat to yourself for sticking to your budget? How much could that save you every month, or every year?

Sometimes we need to lessen our entertainment expenses so we can live better with less stress from worry of things being shut off, or not being able to take a ‘sick day’ from work when we’re REALLY sick because our budget is so tight!

REMEMBER- when we’re too stressed our health takes a hit and we get sick more often and it takes longer for us to get well. Reducing our stress and bettering our health can be as simple as lowering our costs and removing ‘extra’ expenses so we have some breathing room in our budget.

The last but MOST important thing we can negotiate is our rent or mortgage payment.

Are you kidding me??

Actually, I’m not kidding at all. This is a very legitimate expense that quite often can be negotiated. But keep in mind that POLITENESS is an absolute requirement here with this expense to be negotiated. No landlord or lender has to lower your payment. But it IS possible under certain circumstances. I’ll list them here, one column for rent and one for mortgages.

RENT:

*All payments have been made on time or early. Landlord has not had to ask for the payment

*All tenant/landlord rental contract requirements have been followed by you to the letter

*You have kept the residence in excellent shape, not allowed any damages to the place, and

if you are responsible for exterior maintenance you’ve been on top of it. NO litter, trash,

toys, garbage of any kind around the home/apt nor blowing in the breeze from you.

*You have been an excellent tenant for more than one year.

*There have never been any neighbor complaints against you, nor any police/legal issues

*You have a clean record and have been polite every time you’ve spoken to the landlord,

even if the landlord has been disrespectful.

You would ask the landlord to have a meeting with you. Then you would remind the landlord POLITELY of the above items, that your account is in good standing and you are a very good tenant. You would let them know that you love living there, but that you need to lower your monthly rent/costs due to the strain on your budget and could they give you a discount or savings of any kind? No matter how they respond, thank them for taking the time to listen to you. BE POLITE!

MORTGAGE:

* ALL your mortgage payments have been on time or early

* You have never been in default, missed a payment, or had unpaid issues with the lender

* The lender has never received notice that your taxes or insurance were late or unpaid

* You have never had any legal issues with local ordinances or police dept

* Your credit report shows good credit

* Your mortgage loan has been (5)five years or more

*****This would be considered a refinance.***** But still…BE POLITE!!!

Any other bills you have CAN be negotiated, if you are polite when you request a reduction. Most creditors, lenders, landlords, etc will work with you if you are a good risk/tenant instead of having to find a new client. But even if they can’t at this time, you’ve planted the seed in their mind that you are needing it and maybe they just need to think on it for awhile. Or maybe, they can’t right now but could later on. You never really know unless you (politely) ask. Even if they can’t, remember to always be polite. They might just come up with a way you hadn’t thought of to save yourself some money because you were polite and respectful when you asked, and now they really want to help you. Kindness goes a long way!

Helping you claim Victory over your money woes,

Poni S