Sorry Dad for putting you out like this one the internet, but this could help someone else save on their monthly utility bills.
Have you ever opened a utility bill and thought to yourself or aloud, “this has to be a joke! Am I getting punked?” Well after you finish looking for Ashton Kutcher hiding in your bedroom closet, what do you do? Do you call the service provider (this is what I usually do)? Put the bill back on the mail table? Out of site out of mind, right (this is what my mom usually does)? Or, do you just pay it (Dad…)? A similar scenario took place last week with my dad. He opened up a bill for a bundled package of home phone and internet and was immediately puzzled. To be honest, he probably spent like five minutes looking at the balance due at the top of bill trying to figure out how his bill was so expensive when the balance is cleared every month. Can you guess what he did next? He started to pay it. If this sounds like you or someone you know don’t freak out. First, review your bill for any possible errors. If it appears as if everything is correct, then you should reevaluate the services you do not need. This is when I stepped in for my dad. After reviewing his bill, I noticed that he was paying for long distance, caller id, call blocking, and random features; services that no one in my parent’s house use. Think about it, with the cell phone plans most people have now, when was the last time you made a long distance call from a landline? That equaled out to about $35 per month, so about $420 per year for a service that has not been used in years. Next was the issue of caller id. I can honestly say that my parents are probably the only people in the world who don’t scan incoming calls. That is because they have not upgraded their home phones since I was in the third grade, so they don’t have the equipment capable of even showing them who is calling. Another waste of money. Then there is call blocking. This one is funny to me because it was a necessity during my high school years….lol… so embarrassing. Again, another waste because high school was almost ten years ago. Okay. So you have reviewed your bill and you can recognize places where you can slim down. What’s next? Don’t call the service provider yet. Instead, research your other options. When I was moving into my home, I was researching service providers and came across a truly awesome site: www.allconnect.com. All Connect is a free site that helps you manage your household expenses and identify savings opportunities in your home services. All you have to do is enter your address and All Connect provides you with information for bundled and individual services. They will ask you questions about your current provider and your average expenses per month and then show you options from your current provider and their competitors. I will recommend that you review your savings for bundled services in comparison to individual services. One is never promised to be a better savings opportunity over the other so it will be beneficial to review both. Now you are educated and you have all the cards in your hands. This is the time to contact your service provider to inform them that you are aware of better deals. They will upgrade your current package for your current price, offer you a discount, or try to match the better deal of their competitors. Why? Because after all is said and done, they do not want to lose your business. It worked for my Dad with a calculated savings of about $1600 per year. Good Luck!!
If you decided to try All Connect, please let us know about your experience in the comment section below.
shemakescents 