There are so many everyday expenses that we are conditioned to think cost what they cost. However, many of these expenses are negotiable. You shouldn’t consider it to be optional to negotiate these expenses considering how easy some of these negotiations can be.
Isn’t it better to make smart moves that save you money in big sums than abstain from buying the small things that give you joy every day?
Negotiations don’t come easy to most people; they are uncomfortable. Many people, especially women, miss out on countless opportunities because they do not negotiate. Many times, people don’t even know that negotiating is an option. The education about these expenses being negotiable is especially kept from those coming from less affluent households.
Live with the assumption that most things in life are negotiable. Once you assume something is negotiable, you have to truly believe that you have leverage and conduct the negotiations with confidence. There are many resources out there that can teach you the fundamentals of any negotiation. My favorite is the book “Never split the difference” by Chris Voss.
Let’s get started on what everyday expenses are negotiable and the best strategies for you to negotiate each of these expenses.
1. Medical Bills
Yes, medical expenses are absolutely negotiable. That’s what insurances do as well. They have pre-negotiated prices with hospitals and pharmacies. Hospitals over-charge by a large amount for profit. People with insurance are less affected by these over-charges compared to people without insurance. The reason is that insurance companies have pre-negotiated prices from hospitals.
For hospitals, it’s important to get any money they can from you. So if it seems that you won’t pay any part of a big bill, they will make the bill amount manageable for you to pay. This way they at least get some money than none at all.
When bills go unpaid for a long time, hospitals have no choice but to sell that debt to collection agencies at a much lower cost. If you have a medical bill for $50,000, and you don’t pay that bill for a year or two, that debt would be sold to a collection agency for less than $10,000. The collection agency can then harass you to pay whatever amount they decide is profitable for them (maybe $15000).
The objective for the hospital would be to get you to pay an amount of more than $10,000 instead of the entire $50,000.
Hospitals are not going to reduce your bill amount out of the goodness of their heart without asking though. You will have to make them believe that you don’t have the means to pay off the entire medical bill amount. However, you might be able to pay a portion of it. Hospitals are very willing to come up with a number that will be manageable for you. Remember, they are more likely to make a profit if they reduce the bill amount.
2. Cable and Internet
Cable and internet expenses are absolutely negotiable. The goal for cable and internet companies is to retain customers. It is much more expensive to acquire new customers than to retain their current customers. Therefore, if you try to leave your cable or internet provider, they will try their best to retain you as a customer. That means giving you the best rate that they can afford to give you.
Negotiating cable and internet bills are the easiest out of the all things mentioned in this article. You simply call your provider and tell them you would like to terminate your service. You will be transferred to their customer retention department. They will offer you a lower price. At this time, mention an introductory price (reserved for first-time customers) that their competitor is offering. Ask them to give you that price for a year.
Once the year is over, you just call again and repeat the negotiation process. It works EVERY TIME. You will end up saving anywhere from $20-$80 per month.
3. Rent
Many people know that expenses (prices) are negotiable when buying properties. However, many people are unaware of the possibility of negotiating rental prices. Those people that are aware that rent prices are negotiable don’t know how to effectively negotiate their rent prices.
This is probably one of the harder expenses to negotiate, but not impossible.
What makes negotiating rental prices hard is that you must have some leverage. Leverage in this case can look like any one of the following:
- You have been a long-time renter with the same landlord and have maintained a good rapport. Landlords generally are willing to make less money if it means less hassle for them.
- You have excellent references from your previous landlords. Again, having a tenant that will not create issues is very important for landlords.
- The current rental market in your area has more rental listings than renters. If you see a lot of units in your area listed for rent for a long time before they are taken off the market, it means renters are hard to come by.
You can use your leverage to get either reduced rent or have the landlord cover utilities.
4) Benefits Beyond Your Salary
Everyone knows that you can negotiate your salary, but many people are unaware of the negotiable benefits beyond their salary. Job offers generally comprise of base salary, bonus, paid time off, stocks, and job flexibility. All these parts of the job offer are almost always negotiable.
Different people have different priorities. Many people want more money; if you are one of these people, push for a higher base salary and signing bonus during your negotiation.
If flexible work hours are important to you, have the option of working from home negotiated into your job contract.
If you value work-life balance more than anything else, push for more paid time off. Many people say it’s better to negotiate for a higher salary and then just take unpaid days off if you want more vacation days. However, there is no guarantee that your unpaid days off will always get approved. If you have a certain number of Paid days off in your contract, they will have to approve that many vacation days throughout the year.
NEVER try to negotiate all parts of the job offer. It might show that you are negotiating just for the sake of it; you don’t have your priorities straight. You might come off as greedy and may lose the entire job offer.
5) Event Spaces
Everything that comes (or doesn’t come) as part of the package when you rent a venue or an event space is negotiable. Everything from tables, chairs, decor, food, servers, equipment, etc is a negotiable expense.
You start your negotiation with a lower price for the entire package that you are interested in. Some places will not budge on the price. At this time, you ask them to add more incentives (longer bar hours, additional appetizers, additional serving staff, additional equipment, etc). They will be less likely to refuse two of your requests in a row. They will surely accept a part of your offer.
The very best way to negotiate on event spaces is to get quotes from multiple places. Once you have your quotes, use the more affordable offers as leverage to lower the price of the venue you actually want. You might even surprise yourself with how gigantic the differences in prices can be between similar venues in similar areas.
Venues have pre-determined packages, however, I suggest you ask them to remove and add things to the package until it looks like your dream package. Pay for what you actually want, not what the owner thinks you want in your event.
6) Annul Fee of Your Credit Card
There are so many competitive credit card offers in the market; their main goal is to acquire and retain as many customers as possible. This gives the customer a lot of leverage when negotiating with credit card companies. So many expenses related to credit cards are negotiable, including the annual fee.
Here, we will specifically focus on negotiating the credit card annual fee. There are multiple ways to negotiate your annual credit card fee. If one strategy doesn’t work out, you can always call and try another. So, there is no reason for you to not attempt to lower or eliminate the annual fee on your credit card.
Here are ways you should try (in the order you should try them):
- Call your issuer and simply ask them to waive your annual fee. This works for so many credit cards. Simply asking is all you might have to end up doing. If this works, you’re done.
- Ask your issuer if they would provide credit for the fee in return for credit card usage. So basically, if your annual fee is $100, they will give you credit for that amount on your statement. In return, you agree to spend a certain amount (let’s say $1000 for this example) within 3 months. The issuer might offer you this option as a counteroffer if you ask them to waive your fee completely.
- Find another credit card that has similar benefits to your credit card, but has no annual fee. Call your issuer and mention this competing offer. They will surely waive your annual fee. Remember, their goal is to retain you as a customer.
- Call your issuer and tell them you wish to cancel your credit card for the specific reason that you don’t want to pay an annual fee. They will forward you to their retention department and might offer to waive the fee for a year. There is of course a chance that they might actually proceed with the cancellation. In this case, tell them you change your mind. Actually canceling a credit card can lower your credit score. This tactic is only about bluffing, not actually canceling the card.
Remember, any of the above tactics will waive your fee for one year. You will have to call again in a year to have the following year’s fee waived. Overall, 15-20 minutes of call to potentially save yourself $50-500 is totally worth it.
7) Private Services
Any services provided to you by a private company that has competitors can be negotiable expenses. The list of services that can fall under this category is endless, but here are some examples:
- Tutoring Services
- AC Heat Services
- Plumbing
- Cleaning Services
- Moving Services
- Tax services
- etc…
I am all for supporting the small businesses that provide these services, but you can find yourself paying a lot more than the market rate if you don’t do your research. The goal of negotiating with these companies is to make sure that you are getting the ongoing market rate for the specific service provider you choose.
For example, Company A is providing a service at $50, but company B is providing the same service at $70. However, your needs and schedule align better with Company B. This is where you should negotiate with Company B to ensure you get their services at a similar rate as Company A.
Getting multiple quotes and doing the comparison is key before you make a choice or decide to negotiate.
Asking for a price match is okay, but don’t push it. If you really like a service provider that comes with great reviews, it might be worth it to pay a little extra for their services.
Overall, you can make your own choice about whether to not to negotiate for these services as it’s sometimes less about the finances and more about the experience. Just be aware that negotiating is an option if you can’t afford a certain service. For example, I own a tutoring company and I have predetermined rates for all my services. I have definitely had clients express to me that my services are just outside of their budget. I generally try to make things work to fit that budget.
Finally,
I hope the knowledge of these everyday negotiable expenses will help you save some money. Negotiating overall is a skill that you can use daily not only in finances but in every aspect of your life. It is a very powerful skill to possess.