… don’t the system work YOU!
Thanks to my psychic friend Ms. Cox who suggested that I blog about contacting your cable/internet provider and/or wireless provider to make sure that you are getting the best option for your money. What she didn’t know was that I was on the phone with Verizon FIOS downgrading our services! Psychic I tell you. You watch out for that Foxy Coxy.
Onto the savings. Our previous bill was for a Triple Play Bundle – Ultimate HD, 25/25 Fios Internet, and Phone and 1 HD box. We never used the phone. Well, except for pesky telemarketers who I ASSURED that Frank Blah Blah Blah did not live here, yet insisted on calling daily to ask for him. This Triple Play Bundle, I’m really, REALLY embarrassed to say, was costing us approximately $145/month.
I called and spoke with a wonderful woman named Susan, who generously looked up all of the packages that would be better suited for our needs. She came up with 2 options for us, both involving cable and internet as we had no need for the phone.
Verizon Fios Double Play#1: Ultimate HD with approximately 275 channels (see listing below for Richmond offerings, HD only), and 25/25 internet (not sure what that means other than faster). Price for our area: $79.99/month with 2-year contract.*
Verizon Fios Double Play #2: Prime HD with approximately 180 channels (see listing below for Richmond offerings, HD only), and 15/5 internet (not sure what that means other slightly less fast). Price for our area: $64.99/month with 2-year contract.*
The biggest difference I noticed was that Prime HD did not include that National Geographic channel – but it still had our staples: History HD, Food Network HD, HGTV HD… and, with streaming Netflix, a lot of National Geographic programs are available at our viewing pleasure. Luckily both services offer QVC HD, a channel that is unbeatable in HD quality.
I couldn’t find any of the offers Susan spoke about online other than 3 free months of HBO & Cinemax, and the following ad from Verizon’s website which isn’t the same as what Susan told me (especially considering it involves a changing price after several months of service):
My advice is to mention that you are looking around for other offers – which I did – I scoped Comcast’s Double Play bundle offered at $69.99 with 6 months of HBO.
So, round about this time next month we should get our first bill for something along the lines of $80/month (including our HD box and some taxes). Much better than those $145/month bills. I feel silly.
Other things worth “working” the system:
- Refinancing your home loan at somewhere like CapCenter for $0 in closing costs
- Checking your homeowners or renter’s insurance for discounts such as a discounted car insurance from the same provider (I personally saved $13), or paying online monthly for $3+ off per month (from State Farm)
- Calling your wireless provider to change to a plan with less minutes rather than unlimited depending on your past usage
- Changing your 401k donation to a percentage rather than a dollar value to make sure that you are making the most of your company’s matching policy (in the event of a raise, cost of living, etc.)
