My Debt-Free Journey: Part 2

Whenever a month passes, it can come as a shock because it feels like it just started (Where did July go?!).

With every turn of the calendar, there is another payment for…something.

Bills…

They’re always there and never seem to go away. Why are they so expensive? They’re never ending! Every time I pay them, I feel myself thinking:

But I JUST paid these things yesterday, it seems!

(Some of us now understand our parents’ responses about money when we were younger.)

Some bills will always be there, obviously. Electricity, water, internet, cell phone, etc.

But do we have to pay what we’re paying? Sometimes, that can be changed. In the midst of our busy lives and rituals, we can get so used to just paying whatever is due. Many times, all it takes is a little bit of upfront work that pays off in the long run.

Enter my goal for July…Reducing three bills! Which ones did I get slashed? Read on…

Home Security

This one was the easiest. When I bought my house in 2015, I got a home security system installed. As with many bills it started at a certain point and continuously grew over the last 5.5 years. The customer service representative didn’t give me any hassle and immediately slashed my bill.

Cell Phone

I thought this one would be the hardest to decrease, but it wasn’t. The customer service representative had me on hold for a few minutes, but came back with a solution: If I signed up for autopay, they would drastically lower my bill. Hmmph!

Internet

This one was the hardest. The first time I tried to talk to a customer service representative, it was an issue. The phone number directed me to a chat feature (because of an overwhelming number of calls and COVID-19, I’m assuming). Anyways, I called again on the next day and somehow was able to speak to a person. She couldn’t help me directly, but she connected me with the “customer solutions” department…or something. Long story short, the representative agreed to lower my bill if I agreed to receive their company’s streaming device. They sent it to me no charge, and I don’t have to use it.

To sum it up, I slashed each bill by $20 on average (saving about $60 a month moving forward). All it took was dedication and persistence! No more to giving these companies extra money!