5 Tips to Save Money on Monthly Services
With the current cost of living, it can seem like your money comes and goes instantly. But you can save money on monthly services if you are willing to put in a bit of work.
Switch to New Customer Offers
Businesses love new customers and will often offer discounts. So if there’s a service with plenty of options available, try using them for a month and switching to another one offering the same. All morals aside, it’s a great way to save money for a while as you get back on your feet. And if you find one you like at a reasonable price, you’ll probably stick with it anyway. For instance, with so much stuff (that you could sell online), you can find first month free storage offers. You may not want to switch, but if you only need it for two months, you’ve got it for half price.
Call and Negotiate a Price
Not all companies, but some are willing to lower their prices if you cannot afford to pay what you usually do. Phone contract services, TV subscriptions, and even insurance companies are often willing to be flexible rather than lose you as a customer. Of course, you will need to provide a solid case for doing so, and you need to have reasonable expectations. You won’t get a 50% discount on something, but you might be able to get between 10% and 20% off temporarily. A big help if you are struggling to pay your monthly bills.
Save Money on Monthly Services You Don’t Use
You’ve probably got a ton of services that you pay for each month. Netflix, the internet, and mobile phones are good examples. And these are services you pretty much need. However, if you check your bills, there are probably a few you use very little and would not miss. And there will be others you don’t use at all. For instance, a survey by USA Today found that almost 70% of monthly gym subscriptions don’t get used at all. And why would you pay to run on a machine when you can run outside? Go through your statement and highlight what can go.
Be Careful of Contracts
The rise in popularity of services like streaming TV is mostly down to the fact there are no contracts. You can get them and cancel at any time without the fear of cancellation fees. Yet any services still use the contract model, with often unreasonable periods that are almost guaranteed to increase in price each year. So look for non-contract alternatives to services. Or make sure you get a service with a no price increase guarantee. Internet and TV providers are notorious for these, so be careful if you plan to switch or have a renewal coming up.
Downgrade Your Subscriptions
If you look at some services you have, you probably don’t need some features. Internet speed is a great example. You don’t need to pay for 500Mbps internet speeds when just 25Mbps is enough to stream any gaming service at 1080p or TV at 4K. And even if you are in a contract, like haggling, you can negotiate a price decrease if you take the time to call your provider. In most cases, they would instead let you downgrade than cancel. But you won’t know if you don’t ask. Go through services and see if you are paying for more features than you need.
Summary
You might want to make some budget changes this year. You can reduce service costs by haggling with your provider, downgrading features, and staying away from contracts.
