Checking In...

It has always been a frustration of mine that when you order a service such as cable or long distance, you pay the same rate as the day you signed on, indefinitely. This frustrates me because these are examples of highly competitive businesses where rates are constantly changing...and usually changing for the better (consumer-ly speaking). But I'm also (fairly) realistic, and I know that it would be next to impossible for these types of services to keep up with who is paying what rate and when...and frankly, why should they?

This is why it's important to periodically "check in" on all of the services that you pay for. This could be your cell phone, telephone, cable, Internet, dish, insurance, and even interest rates on your credit cards and bank accounts. No guarantees, but it's a safe bet you could save yourself some money if you checked in on these accounts and made appropriate changes every 6 months. Here is my most recent example...

Our cable bill was over $100/month. Yes, I am guilty of refusing to part with HBO. This is because HBO brilliantly only airs new episodes of one of their great shows, like Entourage or The Sopranos, at a time. So at any given time, I'm hooked on one show. Remember, I'm a pop culture junkie at heart. But I still felt $115/month stunk. So I called the cable company, and found out that everything we were currently getting was actually available for $95/month for 6 months. That was just what I wanted to hear! But what happens after 6 months? I was told I should call back and I'll likely be put into another "6 month special" that will offer the same services for the same cost or less.

Isn't that amazing? I made a free call and saved $20/month, without having to alter our lifestyle a bit.

Though not the most recent, I have another example:

I have a business checking account. I am a small business owner, and learn many things about business as I plug along. My first business checking account was with my local bank. They told me that the service charge on business accounts was $25/month. I didn't know any better, and it didn't dawn on me to check around at the time. So for one year I paid $25/month for having this account. When I got to checking around (I called, but email works too), I found the credit union where I also had accounts charged $5/month for a business checking account. I do nothing different, accept deposit and withdraw from another institution. And that little change saves my company $20/month, guaranteed.

Ok, one more example...

Did you know that if you have dish (Direct TV, to be exact), they will turn off your service, and not charge you while the service is off, if you are going to be out of town for more than 7 days? I'm serious! When I learned this, I figured: there has got to be a catch. They must charge you to turn it off and charge you to turn it on. Nope. You can even make this arrangement through the automated system via the 800 number on your bill. Granted, not everyone has a need to turn off their television for more than 7 days. But if you travel, or even vacation, this may be something to look into. And the $ saved probably will buy you at least a snack on your trip!