Tracking spending and cutting down on extra costs can help you reach your financial goals.Georgijevic/iStockPhoto / Getty Images
Life can get expensive as bills pile up. For many Canadians, the costs of phone plans, streaming services, insurance and gym memberships can feel impossible to manage. But financial experts say you can cut your costs by reviewing your bills regularly and asking for better deals.
Ask for better rates
Recurring internet, cable and phone plans are often negotiable, but many Canadians miss the chance to save by not reaching out to their providers.
Mohammed Halabi, director and founder of MyBillsAreHigh Inc., recommends switching providers every two to three years to take advantage of discounts and incentives designed to draw in new customers.
Many customers assume loyalty pays off, but Mr. Halabi, whose St. Catharines, Ont.-based company helps clients get discounts on their internet and TV services, says that’s rarely the case. “If you don’t ask, you don’t get. Customers shouldn’t hesitate to call their providers and ask for a better rate. If more people start doing this, it pushes change,” he says.
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To negotiate successfully, you need to be prepared, he adds. Do your research, compare deals, and know what promotions are available before reaching out to your provider. Once you have all the information, you’re ready to make that call. Here’s what Mr. Halabi says to do:
Time your negotiations strategically: Aim for back-to-school or holiday promotions, like Christmas or Black Friday, when carriers offer their best deals. Know what you want: Know your plan and device needs. Ask to remove extra phone lines you may no longer use or downgrade features. Shop around and leverage other promotions: Compare offers and deals from other carriers and mention them when negotiating. Call and escalate: Ask to speak with a supervisor or retention department if the front-line representative can’t help.Highlight long-term loyalty: Frame your negotiation around your value as a customer, not just emotion. Use the “win-back” strategy: Be prepared to temporarily cancel and switch to trigger the best deal from the provider’s “win-back” teamBe persistent, but polite: Schedule a dedicated time to negotiate, and don’t give up after the first “no.”
If your provider still refuses to offer a better deal, sometimes the easiest way to save money is to cancel and switch carriers. Know your worth as a customer, he says.
Check your subscriptions
Shannon Tatlock, a certified financial planner at Sun Life Canada, says automated subscriptions, like streaming services, make it easy to lose track of spending, and many Canadians do not realize how quickly those small charges add up.
“Subscriptions are one of the biggest blind spots,” Ms. Tatlock says. “Individually, subscriptions don’t seem expensive, but when you add them up, they can total $100 to $200 a month.”
When taking a look at your subscriptions, create a list of must-haves and non-essentials. Ms. Tatlock recommends cancelling services you rarely use or that overlap in content. You probably don’t need streaming services like Netflix, Crave, Amazon Prime, and Disney Plus all at once. She suggests rotating subscriptions every few months. Binge what you want on one platform, cancel it, then switch to the next when new content or deals appear.
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Track your spending and set goals
To stay on top of recurring charges, review your bank and credit card statements each month and flag any subscriptions you rarely use. Budgeting tools, including apps or spreadsheets in Google or Excel, can help by automatically tracking recurring payments and showing where your money is going.
“A spreadsheet gives that clear month-by-month picture,” says Kenneth Doll, an independent financial planner in Alberta. “It’s simple, reliable, and you can customize it exactly how you want.”
Mr. Doll recommends starting by listing every purchase in a month, from coffee and groceries to phone bills and subscriptions. At the end of the month, total each category and the overall spending, then record that monthly total. Repeat this process every month and keep the records for the year. Over time, it will show exactly where your money goes and flag areas where you could cut back or negotiate better deals.