How I Saved My Father $283/Month in One Afternoon

Written by |
Advertisement

During a morning coffee with my father, he mentioned that he would like my assistance with looking over a few bills to see if I could help him save a little more money every month.

At 62, he’s mostly preoccupied running his own small business and doesn’t have the time to track down the best deals or shop for cheaper services. Luckily, he has a daughter who is a member of Team Clark and spends her entire day helping others save more and spend less!

How I Saved My Father $283/Month in Less Than One Day

It took less than two hours to save my father more than $280 every month. Want to know my secret? Read on to see exactly how I did it.

Step 1: Review Bank Statements

I looked back at his bank statements from the last three months and pulled out the most expensive recurring charges:

  • Cable
  • Internet
  • Cell phone

Step 2: Negotiate Bills

Pay TV

First, I called the cable company. I explained that I was calling on behalf of my father who was present and wanted to explore opportunities to reduce his bill.

After some discussion, I realized there was no better deal they could offer than the streaming options I found in the Team Clark streaming guide.

We canceled the cable service and looked at the channel lineups offered by the top streaming services. My dad decided that YouTube TV was the best option, so he’s now paying just $49.99/month!

(I have this service and I love it so I was confident my father would be happy with it, too.)

Editor’s Note: This article was written in July 2019 when the cost of YouTube TV was $49.99/month. YouTube TV now costs $64.99/month.

Old Cable Bill New Streaming TV Bill
$158.24/month $50/month
Monthly Savings: $108.24

Resources to Save Money on Your Pay TV Bill:


Internet

Before I called the internet company to negotiate the rate, I asked my father how much he used his landline. We came to the conclusion it really was just something that was familiar — not an item that served a useful purpose (especially since it was really just a target for robocalls and scammers).

Advertisement

Once I knew we could eliminate that, I searched for promotional offers in his area and found he could get 300 Mbps speed on fiber for $50/month. That is more than the minimum speed he needs to stream TV and do his work — sold!

Old Internet and Landline Bill New Internet Bill
$171.50/month $50/month
Monthly Savings: $121.50

Resources to Save Money on Your Internet Bill:

If you’re not keeping track, that’s already $229.74 in monthly savings so far!


Cell Phone Service

My father takes care of his elderly mother, and her mobile line is also included in his plan. I called his cell phone provider to learn about the extra charges on his bill. I discovered that he was paying for cell phone protection even though one of his credit cards provided coverage!

In addition, he was paying for Verizon Call Filter as an added blocking tool for scams and robocalls. I asked the company to remove the filter. To ensure they are still protected from robocalls, I downloaded Hiya — a free robocall-blocking service — to both of their phones.

Looking over the bill, I noticed that there was a vehicle diagnostic and tracking device added to their account that was under a two-year contract. I was able to have it removed without an early cancellation fee because it was sold to my 84-year-old grandmother who had no understanding of what it was or how to use the product.

Finally, I negotiated my dad and grandmother into a prepaid plan with unlimited talk and text and 6GB of data for only $68/month.

Old Cell Phone Bill New Cell Phone Bill
$121.37/month $68/month
Monthly Savings: $53.37

Resources to Save Money on Your Cell Phone Bill:


Final Thought

While the idea of negotiating your cable, internet or cell phone bill with a company can seem complex, it’s not as hard as you may think when you have the right tools.

In fact, I spent one afternoon making a few calls and saved my father $283 every month — that’s $3,396 a year!

Old Bills New Bills
Pay TV: $158.24/month Streaming TV: $50/month
Internet and landline: $171.50/month Internet: $50/month
Cell phone: $121.37/month Cell phone: $68/month

Total monthly savings: $283.11

Have you lowered a bill recently? Let us know in the comments below! We also invite you to sign up for our free money newsletter for more ways to save money every day.

More Clark.com Resources to Manage Your Budget:

Advertisement