Today I spent the whole day at my desk. Finished all the prep work for my accountant to do my tax return, and faxed it off to them so they can do their thing. Then I set up the files for 2009 tax papers, so I can file every little piece of paper in the right place, making my job easy next January, when I do this all over again. If I keep everything organized throughout the year, it's not a big deal.
After that, I went through my finances, balanced my bank accounts, transferred funds and paid a couple bills. Looking at finances all day made me squirm, so the next thing I did was get on the phone to try saving myself some money. That's when the fun began!
A few months ago, I had a huge car repair bill that I needed to use a credit card to pay for. So I called all my credit card companies to double check on the rates they charge me. Told them I was deciding which card to use for this expense. To my surprise, every one of them offered me a rate reduction!!! So, a couple months later, I called them all again, and one of them gave me a further rate reduction. Two of them offered me really low rates on balance transfers, which was cool.
Bearing this in mind, I called my security alarm company. Said I was calling to cancel the monitoring service, because I just can't afford it anymore. The first person I talked to transferred me to their "cancellation department" and the next person offered to reduce my monthly charge by 30%. I sighed and said no, thank you, but I really needed to cancel. She then offered me a 50% reduction. Of course, I took the offer. That saved me $15 per month.
Next, I called my medical insurance company and griped. I have a stripped-down, major medical type of policy, and the rates are skyrocketing. Told them I would have to cancel my policy because the yearly cost of the policy would easily pay for the routine medical care I am now paying for out of pocket, so why would I give them all this money for nothing? I was told that there was nothing they could do to reduce my cost, then they transferred to another department. The next person hemmed and hawed, then suggested a reduced level of coverage for considerably less money. Since the policy is only for major medical emergencies anyway, what do I care if I carry a huge deductible? One way or another, such an emergency would bury me anyway .... I took the offer, and saved myself $46 per month.
Next, I called the company that gives me telephone, internet and cable tv. I learned that I had extras on my service that I wasn't using. I don't recall asking for those services, and truthfully, I never used them, so I cancelled them and saved myself over $20 monthly. (Shucks, if I had known that I was paying for HBO, I would have been watching lots of movies all this time!)
So .... after about 45 minutes on the phone, I have reduced my monthly expenses by about $80 per month. And all this time, I had no idea this was possible, until in frustration, I got on the phone and started asking. I don't know whether to be glad about the savings, or mad at those stinkers for charging me more than they were willing to accept all this time.
Hey, y'all, anyone who might read this, try it for yourself and see if you can't do the same thing for yourself. After all, $80 a month is a lot of money in a household budget!
When I finished my conquest, I worked on the book for a while. That was a good change of pace. Then, I did a little yoga and 15 minutes on the treadmill - just enough of a workout to shake the fuzz out of my brain - and had a light dinner of veggies.
After a day like that, I find I can't sleep. Been reading for two hours, not sleepy at all.
After that, I went through my finances, balanced my bank accounts, transferred funds and paid a couple bills. Looking at finances all day made me squirm, so the next thing I did was get on the phone to try saving myself some money. That's when the fun began!
A few months ago, I had a huge car repair bill that I needed to use a credit card to pay for. So I called all my credit card companies to double check on the rates they charge me. Told them I was deciding which card to use for this expense. To my surprise, every one of them offered me a rate reduction!!! So, a couple months later, I called them all again, and one of them gave me a further rate reduction. Two of them offered me really low rates on balance transfers, which was cool.
Bearing this in mind, I called my security alarm company. Said I was calling to cancel the monitoring service, because I just can't afford it anymore. The first person I talked to transferred me to their "cancellation department" and the next person offered to reduce my monthly charge by 30%. I sighed and said no, thank you, but I really needed to cancel. She then offered me a 50% reduction. Of course, I took the offer. That saved me $15 per month.
Next, I called my medical insurance company and griped. I have a stripped-down, major medical type of policy, and the rates are skyrocketing. Told them I would have to cancel my policy because the yearly cost of the policy would easily pay for the routine medical care I am now paying for out of pocket, so why would I give them all this money for nothing? I was told that there was nothing they could do to reduce my cost, then they transferred to another department. The next person hemmed and hawed, then suggested a reduced level of coverage for considerably less money. Since the policy is only for major medical emergencies anyway, what do I care if I carry a huge deductible? One way or another, such an emergency would bury me anyway .... I took the offer, and saved myself $46 per month.
Next, I called the company that gives me telephone, internet and cable tv. I learned that I had extras on my service that I wasn't using. I don't recall asking for those services, and truthfully, I never used them, so I cancelled them and saved myself over $20 monthly. (Shucks, if I had known that I was paying for HBO, I would have been watching lots of movies all this time!)
So .... after about 45 minutes on the phone, I have reduced my monthly expenses by about $80 per month. And all this time, I had no idea this was possible, until in frustration, I got on the phone and started asking. I don't know whether to be glad about the savings, or mad at those stinkers for charging me more than they were willing to accept all this time.
Hey, y'all, anyone who might read this, try it for yourself and see if you can't do the same thing for yourself. After all, $80 a month is a lot of money in a household budget!
When I finished my conquest, I worked on the book for a while. That was a good change of pace. Then, I did a little yoga and 15 minutes on the treadmill - just enough of a workout to shake the fuzz out of my brain - and had a light dinner of veggies.
After a day like that, I find I can't sleep. Been reading for two hours, not sleepy at all.
posted by Me | 8:10 PM
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