September 14, 2026
Greetings!
I will do almost anything to avoid calling customer service. I have let bills auto renew, let prices creep up a little at a time, and let promotional rates quietly expire, all because sitting on hold for twenty minutes sounded worse than the money I was losing. Now that I am semi-retired I have started calling and boy am I saving money!
This one phone call a year has saved me $30 a month! What call? Xfinity for my internet. I simply asked if there was a better rate available, no threats to cancel, no drama, just a polite direct ask. More often than not there's a promo, a loyalty discount, or a retention offer sitting right there that nobody mentions unless you ask for it by name.
I did this with my cell phone provider too. I saved $15 a month. This one was fast... so I spent about 90 minutes total on both calls and am saving over $500 a year.
Be Well,
Anisa
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visit here.
Photo: Notepad, coffee, and phone to my ear at the kitchen table, this call knocked $30 off my internet bill before I'd even finished my coffee.
Most recurring bills are built on the assumption that you won't call. Providers know that once you're set up, autopay makes it easy to stop paying attention, so prices inch upward and introductory rates expire without anyone flagging it for you. None of that is because a better deal doesn't exist, it's because the company would rather you not ask for it.
That's really all a negotiation call is, an ask. Customer retention teams have tools to keep you as a customer, discounts, bundled promos, loyalty credits, and they're allowed to use them, but usually only when a customer requests it directly
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VISIT HERE TO BROWSE OUR SELECTIONHow To Do It
1. Pull up your last two or three bills.
Know exactly what you're paying now and whether that number has crept up since you signed up.
2. Check what new customers or competitors are being offered.
A quick look at a competitor's website gives you real numbers to reference on the call.
3. Call and ask for the retention or loyalty department.
This team is specifically empowered to offer discounts that the regular customer service line often can't.
4. State plainly what you want.
Something like "I've been a loyal customer for three years, is there a lower rate or current promotion you can apply to my account" works well and keeps things friendly.
5. Ask a specific follow up question if the first answer is no.
Try "is there any promotion running right now I'd qualify for" before you accept a flat no.
6. Get any new rate confirmed in writing and set a reminder to call again. Ask for an email or text confirmation, then put a reminder on your calendar for next year so the new rate doesn't quietly expire either.
It's a Small Call With Big Savings
A single call like this typically saves somewhere between $10 and $40 a month depending on the bill, which works out to $120 to $480 a year for maybe fifteen minutes of your time. Do it across two or three bills, internet, cell phone, even car insurance, and the savings add up fast.
That's the heart of living thrifty, not cutting things out of your life, just making sure you're not leaving money on the table for staying loyal to a company that isn't returning the favor.
Got a tip of your own? Reply back to me, I love reading your tips and ideas!
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