A Good Money Day!

This post appeared in the 79th Carnival of Money Stories at Living Almost Large.

There have been several posts around the pf blog world lately about asking for discounts. I decided to give it a try. I started by asking for a discount on an opened ream of printer paper at Staples. When it worked, effortlessly I might add, I felt a little empowered. Coupling that idea with a few other tricks, I got to work to see what other expenses I could reduce without actually sacrificing anything. Let me tell you, it works!

I had a great money day today. My electric bill came and, two months post programmable thermostat installation, it had plunged another $60. Some unseasonably cool weather has no doubt helped a little but that thing has certainly paid for itself quickly. Then, my bank agreed to adjust my mortgage interest rate down 1.25% immediately. I had written them a letter asking if there was anything they could do about my A.R.M. (you can read the whole story here) and I got their response today. It’s not all I hoped for as the new rate will only be good until May 26, 2009, when it normally readjusts, but at least I’ll get a reduced payment for the next eight months.

I was all fired up by these successes so I moved on to my credit card company. I called Chase and asked about a reduction in my interest rate. They immediately offered to lower my rate by 3% and told me I was allowed to call back and ask again every six months. They also offered me a 0% balance transfer good until June of 2009. I declined that offer as I have a 1.99% fixed on my only other card balance and, if I transferred it, this card would be close to maxed out. Although I’m quite confident the balance will be paid by June 2009, I’m not sure the savings would be worth the risks.

Moving right along, I called AT&T. I’m currently paying $96.93 per month for landline and high speed DSL service. I explained to Sandy, their very nice billing department representative, that I never use my landline and feel like I’m paying $100 a month for Internet service. I asked if we could go over the bill and see if there was any way it could be reduced. She was very patient with me, got the wireless department on the phone and, after about twenty or thirty minutes, decided that we could bundle the landline, Internet and wireless for $135 a month. My wireless bill alone is about $127 so this was one heck of a reduction.

I imagine that my mortgage payment will be reduced by about $100 a month and with the almost $100 a month reduction on my phone bill, I feel like I just got a nice raise! The reduction in interest rate on my credit card will mean that bill will be paid off more quickly, resulting in another “raise”. This whole asking thing is a little addictive!

Have you tried asking for discounts yet? Leave a comment and let me know how you have fared.