Is it Really that Easy to Save Money on your Cable Bill?

I don’t make it a habit of covering topics that have been “beaten to death” by others, but this one is worth revisiting.

Like many, I have a major beef with how much money I pay for cable service. Even though I don’t have “all the channels” my bill is always hovering around $100/month. For some, this may sound reasonable. For me, I feel like it is a bit much.

This led me to ask the following question (sometimes more than once a day): is there anyway to save money on your cable bill?

And believe me, this wasn’t just a question I was asking myself. I was looking for any advice I could find from others, hoping there was a tip or trick I was missing out on.

Soon enough, I realized that waiting around for something to change was a waste of time. This is when I decided to do the unthinkable and call my cable company.

Why was this unthinkable, you may ask? For many years, I have had issues with my cable service provider. If it is not the cable giving out on me it is the internet. And don’t even ask about the customer service. From the phone reps to the techs, I have never had good luck.

But that is a different story for a different time. Let’s stay on track.

How I Saved on my Cable Bill

So, I decided to call my cable company with the hope they would do something for me in regards to the high cost of my service. I wasn’t holding out hope, but I figured it was worth the 30 minutes or so that it would take.

Here are the four steps I took to achieve a more than positive result:

1. Explained my situation to the customer service rep in the billing department. I knew this person was not likely to be able to help, but I still took the time to tell her what was going on and explain what I was hoping to accomplish.

The good thing about this conversation is that she shared my story with the next person I spoke with, helping to expedite the process.

2. Another conversation, this time with a manager. Since the manager already knew the back story, she just had a few questions for me about my bill and the type of services I was interested in paying for.

To be honest, I was surprised at how helpful the manager was during the entire process. I was expecting plenty of “lip service” and a conversation that went nowhere. Fortunately, this is not what happened.

3. We have a promotion going on right now. This was like music to my ears. The manager explained the promotion in detail, showing me that I was actually able to “get more channels for less money.”

The promotional price is only good for 24 months, but this is better than nothing.

My only problem during this step in the process was this: why didn’t somebody let me know about the promotion before I called?

4. Money saved on my next bill. Despite the fact that I agreed to the new price and cable package, I was still apprehensive. I was still concerned that my next bill would arrive and the price would be the same. Once again, I was surprised. My bill was $20 less than usual, which is just about what I was expecting.

Final Thoughts

Despite my initial fear, it really was easy to save money on my cable bill. All I had to do was pick up the phone, explain myself, and work with the person on the other end of the line.

Will things be this easy for you? Maybe, maybe not. There is a good chance I simply got lucky by calling my cable provider at the right time. You won’t know if there is anyway for you to save until you actually give it a try.