Nine Bills You Can Negotiate: Ramit Sethi's Phone Scripts for Cutting Recurring Costs
I Will Teach You To Be Rich
Ramit Sethi argues that many people overpay every month on credit cards, medical bills, rent, internet service, insurance, and bank fees, sometimes by thousands of dollars a year, simply because they never ask for a better deal. Drawing on more than 20 years of helping people with their money, he walks through nine categories of expenses and gives word-for-word scripts for each. His premise is that negotiation doesn't require being rude or confrontational. It requires knowing where your leverage comes from, asking directly, and being willing to walk away. He repeatedly cautions that these calls don't always work, but says the potential payoff makes them worth trying.
Credit Card APR: Using Loyalty as Leverage
Sethi starts with the interest rate a credit card charges when you carry a balance past the end of the month, which he compares to "financial quicksand" that slowly eats away at your money. He puts the typical U.S. APR at about 24%, with rates usually ranging from 20% to 28% depending on the card and the borrower's credit profile. That spread, he argues, shows there is flexibility in what people pay, which means the rate is sometimes negotiable.
His reasoning about leverage is that banks and financial companies are "terrified of losing you as a customer." Acquiring new customers is expensive, so keeping an existing one is far cheaper than replacing them. He compares this to casinos handing out free meals to gamblers they expect to profit from, then jokes that his parents walk into a casino with $20 and spend exactly that, "whether it's 1985 or 2025." He also argues that a customer who pays on time is a "goldmine" compared with the risk of a new customer who might be worse.
The approach he recommends is not to grovel or beg, and not to make it emotional, but to act as if you are "halfway out the door," because you do have other options. Call the number on the back of the card, ask for the retention department, and say:
"Hi, I've been a loyal customer for seven years. I've noticed my APR is pretty high and I would like a lower rate. What can you do for me today?"
Then apply what he calls the STHU technique, "shut the hell up": don't fill the silence, and let them come back with an offer. With a decent payment history, he says, you might get a percentage-point reduction or a temporary promotional rate. It doesn't always happen, but when it does the result can be large. He cites a student, Billy, who called her card company after reading his book and had her APR cut from 20.99% to 0% for 12 months. He estimates that saved hundreds of dollars in interest on a five-minute call. To show the math, he gives an example: on a $5,000 balance, dropping the APR from 24% to 18% saves roughly $300 a year in interest.
Medical Bills: Itemize, Question, Then Ask for Assistance
Medical bills are the second target. Sethi describes appointments of 15 minutes that cost $500, and sometimes $5,000. In his view, medical pricing is opaque, so you don't know the cost in advance, and it is often "completely arbitrary," with different patients charged different amounts for the same procedure. He says hospitals inflate bills for various reasons, including the existence of for-profit insurance companies.
His key point is that hospitals have financial assistance departments whose job is to reduce what patients owe, but they won't volunteer that information. You have to ask. His game plan has three parts. First, always request an itemized bill and review it the way you'd check a restaurant check for a dessert charged twice, looking for duplicates or line items that make no sense. Second, if you're uninsured or paying out of pocket, ask what cash rate they can offer. Third, if appropriate, mention financial hardship and ask about financial aid, payment plans, or charity care policies, which he says many hospitals have, especially for low-income or uninsured patients.
His script:
"Hi, I received a bill for $5,600. Can you send me an itemized bill so I can review all the charges? Also, what kind of discounts or payment assistance can you offer me? What if I pay in full? Can you walk me through the process of understanding my payment options and any options to lower the bill?"
Possible outcomes, he says, include negotiating the total down, getting a 0% interest payment plan, or qualifying for financial aid that significantly reduces the bill. He shares a Reddit post from someone billed $500 for an in-home sleep study, which was a 15-minute appointment with a nurse to learn how to use the machine. The person called the hospital's financial services department, explained that they had a newborn at home and hadn't expected such a high bill, and received a 30% discount, saving $150. He also mentions a member of his own team who found a $6,000 error on his medical bills, which turned out to be an insurance mistake and was corrected with one call. Sethi says errors like this get missed all the time by hospitals and insurers. His rule is never to pay a medical bill, especially a large one, without reviewing it first. Medical bills, he says, "are padded" and often negotiable, but only if you ask.
Rent: Homework, Timing, and Supply and Demand
Sethi spends the most time on rent, which he says draws the most disbelief from his audience. When he talks about negotiating rent, people give him "50 different ways" it can't be done. When he tells them he has done it multiple times in New York City, they refuse to believe him. His response to skeptics is to ask whether they've ever tried. If they haven't, he asks, why should anyone listen to them over someone who has?
He points to data instead of feelings. He says rents in Austin, Texas have fallen 22% from their peak a few years ago, and anyone living there could almost certainly negotiate. Then he asks how much rents have moved in the viewer's own neighborhood. His claim is that the vast majority of people, "over 99%," don't know what's happening with housing prices where they live. So when someone says rent can't be negotiated, he argues, what they're really saying is that the idea makes them uncomfortable and they've never heard of anyone doing it.
His explanation of the landlord's position is that vacancy means lost money. A single vacant month can wipe out a year's profit, and finding a new tenant is costly: possible renovations, advertising, showings, background checks, and lost rent while the unit sits empty. A responsible tenant who pays on time and isn't disruptive is therefore more valuable than they think, and that gives them negotiating power.
He then describes his own experience. He lived in one New York City apartment for 11 years and negotiated his rent four times in that period. He says he did it by doing his homework and making it easy for the landlord to say yes. He tracked rental prices both across New York and within his specific class of apartment, such as luxury units, one-bedrooms, and two-bedrooms. When a renewal notice arrived, whether it proposed an increase or flat rent, he set up a meeting and brought "a thick stack of papers." His pitch went roughly: he appreciated living there, had been there for a number of years, was a great tenant who always paid on time, had looked at rents for similar units in the neighborhood, and saw they were down 6%, so he'd like to discuss an adjustment.
The responses varied. Sometimes the answer was no, and he'd ask them to come back to him. Sometimes it stayed no, and he had to decide whether he was ready to walk or wanted to stay. Other times the landlord offered two free months instead of lowering the rent. He notes they clearly didn't want to reduce the rent itself, for various reasons, but two free months was the equivalent. Either way, he says, he saved thousands. He adds that he likes negotiating with large companies because they are more rational than individual landlords, but recommends trying either way.
His tips for improving the odds:
- Monitor early. Don't wait for the renewal notice to start tracking the market.
- Start the conversation 60 to 90 days before the lease ends. This gives the landlord time to think without feeling pressured, especially an individual landlord.
- Present yourself as the ideal tenant: on time with rent, no issues, no drama.
- Offer something in return. Some of his students offer to sign a longer lease, which gives the landlord stability and saves them from finding a new tenant.
- Ask for alternatives if the answer is no. If an increase is firm, ask about upgraded appliances, added parking, and similar concessions.
Even without a reduction, he says, avoiding an increase matters. Skipping a $100-per-month increase saves $1,200 a year, which he suggests investing. He says he has seen people cut their rent by $150 a month just by agreeing to a two-year lease, which works out to $1,800 a year or $3,600 over the lease.
He ends the section with an important caveat. Success is not mainly about smooth talking; it "ultimately comes down to supply and demand." When he negotiated, New York had a glut of newly built luxury apartments, which he says is essentially why it worked. In a period like the present, with very low apartment supply in New York City, he says it would be "incredibly difficult." Still, because most people don't know the supply-and-demand conditions in their own city, he urges viewers not to reflexively assume it's impossible.
Student Loans: Ask About Options You Aren't Told About
For student loans, Sethi's point is less about haggling and more about uncovering programs. He describes federal student loans as built around repayment options: income-driven repayment, deferment, forbearance, and forgiveness programs. These can pause or reduce payments depending on your circumstances, sometimes to zero for a period. The problem, he says, is that nobody will call to tell you this.
He explains that income-driven repayment (IDR) plans base payments on income and family size, and in some cases the monthly payment can be as low as $0. Deferment and forbearance are temporary pauses designed for short-term hardship. He says interest does not accrue during deferment but does during forbearance. Most of this applies to federal loans. For private loans, the main option he mentions is refinancing to a lower rate, depending on prevailing interest rates.
His scripts for calling the loan servicer:
"Hi, I'm looking at my student loan payments, and I'd like to explore what repayment options I have. Are there income-driven repayment options? Can you tell me what I qualify for based on my current income?"
For temporary relief: "I'm going through a financial hardship right now. What options do you have for me, including deferment or forbearance? Can you explain those options to me?" For people who work full-time for a government or qualifying nonprofit: "I'd like to check if I qualify for public service loan forgiveness, and what other options I might qualify for."
He says IDR can drop payments dramatically, and borrowers with good credit and stable jobs may be able to refinance private loans at a better rate. His example is a student, Lila, who refinanced $10,000 in private student loans from 8% to 6%, saving about $2,000 over the life of the loan. The worst move, in his view, is to keep paying without ever exploring the options.
Phone and Internet: Price Wars Work in Your Favor
Sethi says phone and internet companies "love to jack up" what they charge, and that loyal customers are the ones who get squeezed while new customers get the best deals. His argument for leverage is that these companies are in constant price wars, their top priority is acquiring and retaining customers, and they run promotions all the time: discounts, free upgrades, faster speeds. They just won't offer them unless you ask.
His script:
"Hi, I noticed my bill went up and I saw that the competitor is offering a better deal at a lower price. I'd love to stay with you. I've been a loyal customer for seven years, but I need to bring this cost down. What can you offer me today?"
If the representative hesitates or tries to upsell, he suggests asking what loyalty discounts or current promotions they can apply to the account. He says this can often take $20 to $60 off the monthly bill during the call, sometimes with extras such as faster internet, more channels, or waived equipment fees. A tip from his book is to make this part of annual financial maintenance: set a reminder in December and spend a few hours calling phone, internet, and cable providers. He calls it one of the easiest ways to save hundreds without changing your lifestyle.
Car Insurance: Shop Around Every Year
Sethi describes car insurance much like telecom. Insurers treat existing customers as captive, raise rates at renewal, and count on people not checking because the policy auto-renews. He calls the market "ultra competitive," with rates varying widely for the same driver profile.
His plan is to put a reminder on the calendar and shop around every 12 months. Use a comparison site such as insure.com, or call two or three carriers directly for quotes, which he estimates takes about 30 minutes. Then call your current insurer, share what you found, and ask them to match or beat it. He also warns against assuming that bundling car and home insurance is automatically cheaper. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't, so run the numbers.
His script: "Hi, I'm reviewing my car insurance and I've gotten some better quotes from two other providers. I'd like to stay with you, but I need you to match or beat this rate. Can you do that?" He advises keeping it simple, not apologizing, and just asking. Based on what he says his team has seen from testing this with thousands of people, savings run $300 a year or more for the same or sometimes better coverage. Combined with phone and internet savings, he says, that can exceed $1,000 from two calls. His framing is that car insurance is a product like any other and should be shopped for like one.
Bank Fees: Call Immediately and Keep Records
Sethi says banks earn billions from "little gotcha fees," and overdraft fees are usually the most painful. He puts the typical charge at around $35 on top of money you already don't have. His advice is to call as soon as you see a fee and present yourself as a responsible, loyal customer:
"Hi, I just saw an overdraft fee on my account for $36. I've been a loyal customer for eight years. I'd like to have this fee waived."
Then stop talking and let them respond. If they push back: "I understand, but I've been a really good customer. I'd hate for this one fee to have to drive me away from your service. What can you do to remove it?" If the answer is still no, ask for the retention department. He says fee reversals, especially for credit card late fees and overdraft fees, are common, and most get refunded the first time.
He also recommends keeping a spreadsheet of every call to your bank, logging the date, time, the rep's name and ID number, and what was resolved. When disputing a fee later, you can reference previous calls, names, dates, and notes. He says most reps give in because they know you "came to play ball." If a bank still refuses, he notes that the person on the phone isn't a bad person and is often limited by what their system allows, but his suggestion is to switch banks, since there's plenty of competition and consumers have a lot of power.
Gym Memberships: Negotiate, Pause, or Cancel
Sethi describes the familiar pattern: sign up in January, stop going two weeks later, and keep paying $60, $80, or $120 every month. Gyms make cancelling hard, with fees and sometimes in-person requirements. But he says things have changed since COVID. Contracts have become more flexible, partly because gyms lost many members and became eager to keep people. As a result, he says, gyms would rather offer a discount or pause a membership than lose you entirely.
If you use the gym and want to stay, he suggests pointing out that new members get better rates, which gyms rarely extend to existing members unless asked: "Hey, I've been a loyal customer for five years. I noticed that new members are getting a better rate. I'd like to stay, but I'd like for you to match that rate for me." Or cite a competitor: "I saw that other gym is offering $50 a month. Can you match that?"
If you're not using it, he says to leave. He mentions working with people on his Netflix show and podcast who paid hundreds of dollars a month for gym memberships and personal training apps they barely used. His cancellation script is: "Hey, I'd like to cancel my membership. Are there any early cancellation fees? If so, I'd like you to waive those." If the gym counters with an offer, you can decide whether it's worth it, but he says he never gets guilted into staying.
Streaming Services and Subscriptions: Cut Ruthlessly, Then Let Retention Offers Come to You
The last category is streaming and other subscriptions, such as Netflix, Spotify, Disney, or a meditation app. At $10 or $15 each, he says they add up quickly, and many people end up spending more than they used to on cable. His recommendation is to list every service you pay for, since most people don't realize how many they have. Keep the ones you use and love, and be "ruthless" about cutting the rest. His observation is that most people don't miss a service once it's gone; they just move on to something else.
For the services you want to keep, he says you can call the provider or even click the online cancel button and will often see steep discounts. According to Sethi, these companies have automated their retention offers, often presenting something like two months free if you click "stay." He finds it "quite amazing" how easy their retention departments and online systems make it to negotiate.
That closes his nine categories, and the logic of the final example runs through all of them. In each case, the better price, fee waiver, or assistance program already exists. Companies simply don't offer it until a customer shows they're willing to leave, or at least to ask.
You might be getting ripped off every single month on your internet bill, credit card fees, even your bank account. What if I told you that all of these are negotiable and you may be overpaying by thousands of dollars a year?
I'm Ramit Sethi. For the last 20 plus years, I've helped people take control of their money and live a rich life without tracking every penny. Today, I'll show you how to negotiate like a pro using word-for-word scripts that my students have used to save thousands. I'll show you how to handle the exact phone call to slash your bills without being rude or confrontational. And stick around, I'm gonna share one tactic that saved one of my coworkers over $6,000 on a single call.
Let's start with your credit card APR and why calling them today could instantly save you hundreds. APR is the interest rate your credit card company charges you when you carry a balance on your card at the end of the month. And it's like stepping in financial quicksand. That high interest rate slowly eats away at your money. It is important to lower that APR as much as you can since that's gonna make a big difference in how fast you can pay the debt off.
Today, the typical APR is about 24% in the United States, but the rates actually vary typically between 20 and 28% depending on your card and your credit profile. That means that there is some flexibility in how much you're paying. And this means that rate is sometimes negotiable.
Remember that banks and financial companies in general are terrified of losing you as a customer. They spend a fortune to acquire new customers, so keeping you is way cheaper than replacing you. This is kind of why Vegas will give you a bunch of free meals when you're gambling. They don't wanna lose you because they think they can make more money off of you, unless you are my parents who go into a casino, take $20, and that is how much they're gonna spend in that casino. And it doesn't matter if it's 1985 or 2025, they are spending the same amount. No accounting for inflation. Love you, Mom and Dad.
Plus, these companies know that if you're paying on time, you are a goldmine compared to the risk of a new customer who might be worse than you are. But sometimes you actually have leverage to negotiate that rate down. So how do you play this game? You're gonna use your loyalty as leverage. You're not gonna grovel, you're not gonna beg, it's not about emotions. You're gonna act like you are halfway out the door because indeed you have other options.
Here's the exact script that I have used to help thousands of people slash their rates. Pull out your credit card, look at the number on the back, call it up and ask for the retention department. Then you say this: "Hi, I've been a loyal customer for seven years. I've noticed my APR is pretty high and I would like a lower rate. What can you do for me today?" And then follow my STHU technique. Stands for shut the hell up. Quiet down, don't fill the silence. Let them come back with an offer.
What can you expect? If you have a decent payment history, you might get a percentage drop or a temporary promo rate. This doesn't happen all the time, but sometimes it works. And when it does, it can be massive. For example, one of my students, Billy, called her credit card company after reading my book. She got her APR slashed from 20.99% to 0% for 12 months. That is hundreds of dollars in interest saved with one five-minute call.
Let me show you the math so you really get this. If you have a $5,000 balance at a 24% APR and you get it dropped to 18%, that's roughly $300 saved per year in interest alone. So pick up the phone today, don't overthink it. Your APR is not necessarily carved in stone and one call can put real money back in your pocket. Remember, it doesn't always work, but when you could potentially save thousands of dollars with one phone call, I think it's worth trying.
Item number two, medical bills. Medical bills can be overwhelming. Some of the numbers are simply staggering. You go in for a routine test or a quick procedure, suddenly you're staring at a bill that has more zeros than you've ever seen in your life. A 15-minute appointment costs $500. Sometimes it costs $5,000.
Here's what you need to understand. Medical pricing is opaque, means you do not know how much it's going to be, and it is often completely arbitrary. Different patients get charged different amounts for the exact same procedure. Hospitals inflate these bills for a variety of reasons, including the existence of for-profit insurance companies. And here's the thing you may not have heard about. Hospitals have entire financial assistance departments whose job it is to reduce what you owe. But they're not gonna call you up and volunteer that information, you have to ask.
So here's the game plan. First, always request an itemized bill. Treat it like you are paying a bill at a restaurant. Did they charge you twice for dessert? Review the bill. When you look at that itemized bill, you might find duplicate charges or line items that simply make no sense.
Second, if you are uninsured or paying out of pocket, ask what type of rates they can offer for a cash rate. Third, you can mention financial hardship if appropriate, and ask about financial aid or payment plans. Many hospitals even have charity care policies, especially for low-income or uninsured patients.
Here's your exact word-for-word script. "Hi, I received a bill for $5,600. Can you send me an itemized bill so I can review all the charges? Also, what kind of discounts or payment assistance can you offer me? What if I pay in full? Can you walk me through the process of understanding my payment options and any options to lower the bill?"
Now, what can you expect? You can often negotiate down the total amount. You can get on a 0% interest rate payment plan sometimes. You can qualify for financial aid, and that may significantly reduce your bill. I have seen people save thousands of dollars just by asking these questions.
I wanna show you an example of a real post on Reddit about someone getting hit with a $500 bill for an in-home sleep study, just a 15-minute appointment with a nurse to learn how to use the machine. They called the hospital's financial services department, explained that they had a newborn at home, and they didn't expect such a high bill. Boom, 30% discount just like that. They saved 150 bucks with one phone call. That is meaningful.
One of my own team members had a $6,000 error on his medical bills, and that was just an insurance error. One call, and boom, mistake rectified. Thanks for checking in. Things like this get missed all the time by hospitals, insurance companies. So if something looks off on your bill, call, ask about it.
The bottom line is never pay a medical bill, especially a large one, without reviewing it first. Call, ask for an itemized bill, question anything that seems off, and then ask for discounts and financial aid. Remember, medical bills are not set in stone. They are padded. They are often negotiable, but you have to ask.
Number three, negotiating your rent. Something amazing happens whenever I talk about negotiating your rent. People pop out of the woodwork and tell me 50 different ways that can't be done. And then when I tell them, "I have done it multiple times in New York City," they simply refuse to believe it. Look at these comments, but it is true. You actually can negotiate your rent.
And the people who say that can't be done, I just simply ask them, "Have you ever tried?" They go, "No." Then how the hell would you know? Why would we listen to you instead of someone who's actually done it? Let me show you some actual numbers instead of your feelings about why something you've never done can't be done.
Rents in Austin, Texas have gone down 22% from their peak price a few years ago. Let's assume you live in Austin, just as an example. Do you think you could negotiate your rent? Almost certainly. Now, let me ask you the next question. How much have rents gone up or down in your neighborhood? You don't know, because the vast majority of people, I'm talking over 99% of people, do not know what is going on with housing prices in their own neighborhood. So when you say rents cannot be negotiated, what you're really saying is this makes me uncomfortable. I've never heard of anyone doing it. And so therefore I'm gonna say no.
Let me explain why rents can go up and down. For landlords, vacancy means lost money. If you're a landlord and your apartment or house is vacant for even one month, that can wipe out an entire year's worth of profits. Finding a new tenant is expensive. You have to probably renovate the place, advertise, do showings, run background checks, and add up the lost rent while you are looking. Now, if you are a responsible tenant, you pay on time, you're not disruptive, you are valuable to the landlord, way more valuable than you think. So that gives you power when it comes time to negotiate.
Let me tell you how I did it. I lived in an apartment in New York City for 11 years. And between that time, I negotiated my rent four times over those 11 years. How? I freaking did my homework and I made it easy for them to say yes. I was always monitoring what was going on with rental prices, not only in New York, but in the class of apartment that I had. There's different classes, whether it be luxury, one bedroom, two bedroom, and all around. And I would track it very carefully.
They would send me a rent renewal notice, and sometimes the number would be higher next year, they're gonna raise my rent. Sometimes it would be flat. I would set up a meeting and I would go in there to negotiate. I would have a thick stack of papers. And I would walk in and I would say, "Hey, I really appreciate renting here. As you know, I've been here for X years. I'm a great tenant, I always pay on time. I've also taken a look at rents in similar units in this neighborhood. I noticed that rents are down 6%, so I'd like to discuss an adjustment to my rent."
Now, let me tell you what they did. Sometimes they would say no, and I would say, "You gotta come back. Come back to me." This was a big company. I like negotiating with big companies because they are more rational than an individual landlord, but you should try regardless. And often they would say, "Nope, can't do it." Okay, fine. I had to make a decision. Was I ready to walk or did I wanna stay?
Sometimes they would say, "We're gonna give you two free months." That is amazing. Notice that they did not want to actually lower the rent. There's a variety of reasons for that, but they gave me two free months, which is the equivalent of lowering my rent. Either way, I saved thousands.
Some tips on making this more successful. Number one, timing matters. Don't wait until your lease renewal shows up in your mailbox to start monitoring stuff. Number two, start the conversation 60 to 90 days before your lease is up. That gives your landlord time to think about it without feeling pressured, especially if they're an individual landlord.
Next, reframe yourself as the ideal tenant. Remind them, you've been great, on time with rent, no issues, no drama. You can also offer something in return. Some of my students do this. Maybe you're willing to sign a longer lease, which might give them stability, might save them the hassle of finding someone new next year.
And if they say no, don't just give up. Ask for alternatives. "If the rent increase is firm, could we talk about other options? Can we upgrade the appliances? Can you add parking?" And on and on and on. Even if you don't get a rent reduction, you can still often avoid a rent increase, which is huge.
Just think about it. If your rent is set up to go a hundred bucks up a month, avoiding that increase saves you 1,200 bucks a year. Take that 1,200 bucks, put it in investments, boom. Now I've seen people negotiate their rent down by 150 bucks a month, just by agreeing to a two-year lease. That's $1,800 a year or $3,600 over two years, just from one conversation.
Please don't feel bad if this doesn't work. This is not simply about what smooth-talking words you use. This ultimately comes down to supply and demand. When I negotiated my rent, there was a glut and oversupply of apartments being built in New York at the luxury level. That is essentially why I could negotiate my rent. In a time like right now in New York City, where there's very, very low supply of apartments in New York, it will be incredibly difficult to negotiate your rent. But here's the key. Most people have no idea what is actually going on with supply and demand in their own city. So don't reflexively say no, give it a shot.
Item number four, student loans. Student loans can often feel like this massive weight that you're carrying around. Every month you're sending off hundreds of dollars, sometimes thousands, towards this mountain of debt. And thanks to interest, it feels like you're not even making a dent in the principal.
Here's the thing. Federal student loans are built around repayment options. There are income-driven repayment, deferment, forbearance, even forgiveness programs. And what that means is you can pause or shrink payments sometimes based on your circumstances, sometimes to zero for a time. The problem is nobody's gonna offer you these things unless you call up and ask. Nobody's gonna call you up and say, "Excuse me, did you know you could lower your payments based on your income?"
If you are struggling to pay your student loans, you have options, for example, applying for an income-driven repayment plan or IDR. These plans base your payment on your income and family size. In some cases, your calculated monthly payment can be as low as $0, depending on your income level. You can also request a temporary pause through deferment or forbearance. These are options designed for short-term hardship. During deferment, interest is not going to accrue. During forbearance, it will.
Most of what we just discussed is for federal loans. If you have private student loans, it's a different story. You can consider refinancing to lower your interest rate, but depends on what the interest rates are at the time. But the point is there are options, and you have to pick up the phone to find them out.
Here's the word-for-word scripts to call your loan servicer. "Hi, I'm looking at my student loan payments, and I'd like to explore what repayment options I have. Are there income-driven repayment options? Can you tell me what I qualify for based on my current income?"
If you need temporary relief, you can also say, "I'm going through a financial hardship right now. What options do you have for me, including deferment or forbearance? Can you explain those options to me?" And if you work full-time for a government or a qualifying nonprofit organization, you can say, "I'd like to check if I qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness, and what other options I might qualify for."
Now, what can you expect? With IDR, your payments could drop dramatically. And if you have good credit and a stable job, you might be able to refinance your private loans for a better interest rate. One of my students, Lila, refinanced $10,000 in private student loans, reduced her interest rate from 8% to 6%, which saved her about $2,000 over the life of the loan.
Bottom line, the worst thing you can do when paying your student loans is just keep paying them without exploring your options. Pick up the phone, call them, and ask what options they have for you.
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Item number five, phone and internet bills. These freaking companies love to jack up the payments that you are paying them, phone, internet companies. And the bitter reality is that they actually focus on the most loyal customers. They're giving the best deals to new customers.
So here's what you need to know. Your phone and internet companies are in constant price wars with each other. And their number one priority is acquiring new customers and ideally retaining them. That is you. That means that you have leverage to get discounts as an existing customer so they don't lose you to a competitor. And they've got promotions running all the time, discounts, free upgrades, faster speeds, but they are never going to offer them to you unless you ask.
Let me give you an exact word-for-word script. "Hi, I noticed my bill went up and I saw that the competitor is offering a better deal at a lower price. I'd love to stay with you. I've been a loyal customer for seven years, but I need to bring this cost down. What can you offer me today?"
If they hesitate, if they try to upsell you on something, say, "What kind of loyalty discounts or current promotions can you apply to my account?" With this strategy, you can often get $20 to $60 knocked off your monthly bill right there on the call. Sometimes they'll throw in free upgrades like faster internet, more channels or waived equipment fees.
And here's a pro tip from my book. I recommend negotiating these bills once a year as part of your annual financial maintenance. Set a reminder in December, spend a few hours calling your service providers, your phone, internet, cable, all of it. It's one of the easiest ways to save hundreds of dollars without changing your lifestyle at all.
Item number six, car insurance. Similar to phone and internet, car insurance companies treat you like a captive customer and they will give you rate increases and the worst service compared to new customers. Insurance companies raise rates on loyal customers because they know you're not really gonna check. It's just on auto-renew.
The car insurance market is ultra-competitive and rates can often vary wildly for the same driver profiles. So while insurers are using renewal times to creep up rates on unsuspecting customers, you are gonna be ready.
Here's what you need to do. Get out your calendar right now and every 12 months, we are gonna shop around. You can use comparison sites like Insure.com or just call two to three different carriers directly and get the quotes. It'll take you maybe 30 minutes. Take those numbers, call your current insurer, tell them what you found and ask them to match it or beat it. And don't just assume that bundling your car insurance with your home insurance is automatically cheaper. Make sure you run the numbers. Sometimes it is, sometimes it's not.
Here is your word-for-word script. "Hi, I'm reviewing my car insurance and I've gotten some better quotes from two other providers. I'd like to stay with you, but I need you to match or beat this rate. Can you do that?" Just keep it simple, don't apologize, just ask.
Here's what we've seen after testing this with thousands of people. Savings of $300 a year or more for the same coverage, sometimes better. That's a lot of money, especially when you combine that with things like your phone and insurance. We're talking about saving over $1,000 with two phone calls.
Price checking once a year can save you a lot of money, even more over your lifetime. Remember, car insurance is just a product like any other product. Treat it like something else you would shop around for. Don't let those premiums creep up on you every single year.
Next up, item number seven, bank fees. Banks make billions of dollars every year off those little gotcha fees. And the most painful and expensive ones are usually overdraft fees. If you don't have enough money in your checking account to cover a purchase, your bank will often charge you around $35 extra on top of the money you already don't have.
So here's what you do. If you see a fee on your account, call immediately. Don't wait. Frame yourself as a loyal customer who's been responsible. Here is your exact script. "Hi, I just saw an overdraft fee on my account for $36. I've been a loyal customer for eight years. I'd like to have this fee waived." Stop talking, let them respond.
If they push back, try this. "I understand, but I've been a really good customer. I'd hate for this one fee to have to drive me away from your service. What can you do to remove it?" If they say no, ask for the retention department. Please remember that fee reversals, especially late fees on a credit card or overdraft fees here, are common. And most of these will get refunded the first time.
Pro tip, keep track of every call you make to your bank. You can use a spreadsheet where you log the date, time, name of the rep, their ID number, and what was resolved. And if you have to call to dispute a fee, you can reference the last time you called, and you can even cite their name, date, and your notes. Most reps will give in because they know you came to play ball.
And if your bank refuses to play with you, remember it's not that the person on the phone is a bad person. They are often constrained by what their system will allow you to do. But my suggestion, I really don't care. Switch banks. You have lots of options and you have lots of power as a consumer. There's tons of competition.
Before we move on to the next item you're overpaying for, I noticed that you have not subscribed to this channel yet. Hit that subscribe button, turn on notifications, so I can keep showing you exact ways that you can make money and spend money more meaningfully.
Item number eight, gym memberships. January rolls around, you sign up for a gym membership. This is the year it's finally happening. And then two weeks later, maybe you're just not getting out there as much, but I guarantee you that $60, $80, $120 is coming out of your account every single month like clockwork.
Here's what I wanna suggest to you. Even if you want to cancel your gym membership, gyms make it hard. Suddenly there are cancellation fees. Some of them require you to come in in person. It's crazy, but I will say things have changed post-COVID. Gym contracts have become a lot more flexible in part because they were losing a lot of members and they were desperate to keep people. That means they would rather negotiate with you, give you a discount or pause your membership than lose you completely.
And if you're actually using your gym regularly and you still wanna keep it, sometimes you can negotiate the fees. Gyms are notorious for offering discounts to new members, running promotions, but they rarely extend those to existing members unless you ask.
So call them up and say, "Hey, I've been a loyal customer for five years. I noticed that new members are getting a better rate. I'd like to stay, but I'd like for you to match that rate for me." Or try this one. "I saw that other gym is offering $50 a month. Can you match that?"
Gyms want to keep you as a paying member, so they are sometimes willing to negotiate. But if you're not using it, if you think there's a better deal, move. You have options as a consumer.
I've worked with people on my Netflix show and my podcast who were paying hundreds of dollars a month for gym memberships and personal training apps that they barely touched. If you need to cancel them, just call them up. "Hey, I'd like to cancel my membership. Are there any early cancellation fees? If so, I'd like you to waive those." If they start negotiating with you, you can decide if their offer is worth it. But I never get guilted into staying. I choose. My money is good money.
Number nine, streaming services and subscriptions. Netflix, Spotify, Disney, that meditation app. These charges add up fast. $10 here, $15 there. Before you know it, you're spending more than you used to spend on cable.
So here's what I would recommend you do. Start off by listing every streaming service that you're paying for. Most of us don't even realize how many we have signed up for. The ones you use, the ones you love, keep those. But I would recommend being ruthless about cutting the rest. Most of us don't miss something when we don't have it. We just move on to other stuff.
Once you have the subscriptions you actually wanna keep, you can call your provider or you can even click the cancel button online and you will often see steep discounts. These companies have actually automated it. So if you want to cancel, they will often offer something like two months free if you just click stay. It is quite amazing how their retention departments and even their online service makes it super easy to negotiate.
But here's one expense that we haven't covered, could be an even bigger obstacle to your financial future than the recurring expenses we just talked about. Watch this video next to learn how much that $63,000 truck purchase actually will cost you over the course of your financial life.
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