How I made over $3000 in one hour

After deciding to change banks, I took a further look into my spending…and found some fat to trim.  I took a look at my cable, gym, cell phone, and insurance bills and decided to make some phone calls!  I was really amazed at how much I was over-paying on insurance and how my former insurance company (cough…state farm…cough) continually raised rates over our past seven year relationship.  I never paid attention to them and I guess I should have!  Live and learn.

Now what amount of effort was put into these reductions?  Very little really.  All it really took was a quick phone call to reduce my monthly bills for cable, cell, and gym membership.  Changing insurance companies took a bit more seeing that I was comparing various companies against my current.  I pitted All State, Amica, Geico, Liberty Mutual vs State Farm; a battle which will be posted by weeks end.

If you haven’t tried calling your various billers to reduce your bills, give it a whirl.  For a reference on this process, Ramit Sethi has a great write-up on how to “negotiate like an Indian”.  Good luck!

Comcast

Before:  $175

After:  $75

Savings:  $1200 per year

Gym

Before:  $60

After:  $30

Savings:  $360 per year

Cell Phone

Before:  $140

After:  $60

Savings:  $960 per year

Homeowners Insurance

Before:  $1100

After:  $800 (with more coverage!)

Savings:  $300 per year

Car Insurance

Before:  $700

After:  $450

Savings:  $250 per year