In today’s economy, most of us are looking to save a buck in any way we can. Still, it’s no surprise that a large portion of Americans think that their emergency savings wouldn’t be enough to cover an actual urgent expense.
A lot of people struggle with penny-pinching because they simply don’t know how to. This is where the benefits of having been raised by cheapskates come in handy! One man learned all kinds of money-saving tips from his frugal parents, and he shared them on TikTok to help you maybe save a buck or two.
The man explained how his ‘cheap parents’ taught him to negotiate bills.
Many of us take each bill we receive at face value, even though everything seems to be a price gouge nowadays. Content creator Sean Lans is not one of those people. “I have cheap parents who taught me a lot about saving money,” he said in a post.
Lans acknowledged “that not everyone was lucky/unlucky enough to have cheap parents,” so he decided to share all the tricks he picked up from his own, starting with bringing down the cost of medical bills. It turns out that saving money often just comes down to being willing to fight for a better price.
“They may say they’re not negotiable, but they are,” Lans said of medical bills. “You need to be persistent.”
He then explained a familiar situation. He recently visited the dermatologist, and since he hadn’t hit his deductible yet, he received a bill for “several hundred dollars.” So, he immediately did what his parents would do. He called the doctor’s office, asked for a discount, and offered to pay in full if there was one.
When he was told no, he called back the next day and asked again. Eventually, he was able to talk his way into a 10% discount. Granted, that’s not much, but Lans says he’s gotten 20% off before using the same method. As he mentioned, the internet is full of stories of people getting huge medical bills slashed in half or even more simply by pushing back on the bills they received.
Lans’ parents also taught him how to get discounts on utilities like internet service simply by threatening to cancel.
Regarding utilities, there’s pretty much nothing more infuriating than internet service. Often, you have limited options for providers, which gives them the chance to charge exorbitant and constantly rising rates. But it turns out only chumps face this problem!
In another video, Lans compared the curse of rising internet bills to a “disease,” and said he uses his parents’ method for combating the issue “several times a year.” Whenever his bill increases, he threatens to cancel the service as they would. The key, though, is to call the right representative.
G-Stock Studio | Shutterstock
“If you just call and speak to a regular customer service rep, they’re not gonna do anything to fix your charge,” he said. Instead, you need to “select all the prompts to cancel your service,” which will put you in touch with the company’s customer retention department. Lans called them “the last line of defense,” adding that “they’ll do anything to keep you from canceling,” including lowering your rate.
“They may push back,” he continued. But, here again, persistence is key. Lans has always been able to bring his bill back down to its original amount, if not lower, this way.
Most of us don’t think about negotiating bills, but it can make a big difference.
Those of us who weren’t raised by parents with awe-inspiring money-saving skills tend to take a “you can’t fight city hall” attitude and pay up, even when bills look ridiculous. Lans is far from the only one to do this, though.
A NerdWallet report noted that “many bills are negotiable,” and even if a particular one isn’t, “there’s nothing to lose by trying.” Between making multiple phone calls and even doing some research on the company, it can take up some time. But, if it’s worth it to you, taking the steps that Lans mentioned, like talking to a representative from customer retention and threatening to cancel, can work.
fizkes | Shutterstock
If you don’t want to spend your own time calling up every company you get a bill from, there are also services that will negotiate your bills for you. Of course, you have to pay them to do so, so you have to decide if it’s worth the trade-off.
It turns out it does pay to be the squeaky wheel. And, in today’s unstable economy, we all need as much help as we can get!
John Sundholm is a writer, editor, and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers culture, mental health, and human interest topics.
Comments are closed.