I used to drive my wife nuts because–according to her–I would switch home phone providers as often as I changed my underwear. 😉 Ok, maybe not quite that often but I did tend to change providers often. I was always looking for a better deal. After all, if one company is offering the same services for a lesser price why wouldn’t I try to save the MOST amount of money that I could for the same thing? Of course I would, duh!
Phone service wasn’t the only thing I tried to save money on. Insurance rates were another big one for me. Just recently, for example, when we moved to Washington we had to get automobile insurance and I was shocked at how different the rates were to the tune of hundreds of dollars over the course of six months (what we usually pay on) for the one vehicle we were insuring at the time. That’s a lot of money. The same can more or less be said for the renter’s insurance we had to get. Just a bit of time can save quite a bit of money.
I’m sure you have similar experiences and the sky’s the limit when it comes to services you might pay for where you can potentially save money by simply switching providers. Granted, there are some providers that would be difficult to switch from, including public utilities (e.g., water, electricity, natural gas, etc) as well as television/internet providers to name a few.
Regardless, you can certainly save money by looking for different providers of the following services:
- mortgage lien rates
- auto lien rates
- home/renters insurance
- life insurance
- automobile repair
- home phone
- cell phone
- cable/internet (if other providers exist)
- health care providers (if health plan allows)
- dental providers
- orthodontics
- pharmacies
- any home/repair service you may need (e.g., automobile repairs, appliance repairs, landscaping)
Obviously, the list can go on and on depending on what it is specifically that you need done and this list doesn’t even touch upon general shopping needs, from groceries to clothing and more.
It’s just a matter of taking the time to shop around! I’ve even heard that bothering to call and tell your current service company that you’re going to switch from them to somebody else can save money. Personally, I haven’t tried this method but I’ve heard it *can* work. Of course, you’d need to be willing, ready, and able to switch providers should they ever say no.
What about you? What have YOU done to save money on services?
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