[Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador]

As I continue on my Sum180 journey, I treat cutting monthly bills and debt as a game and each and every time there is a winner and a loser. I have already posted about winning by securing two 0% interest rate cards and this week I won by cutting my AT&T U-Verse bill by more than $100.

First, how did our cable, internet and phone bill get so expensive? I have watched it grow after the initial promotions ended. So I decided to call and try to negotiate the bill down without losing any features — HBO is still my favorite channel and the guys in my family love pro soccer. Here is what I discovered:
1) Have your bill in front of you
2) Like the credit card deals, do not take no for an answer
3) Threaten to switch to Time Warner which is running specials in the neighborhood
4) Again, do not take no for an answer.
What I discovered on my call is that AT&T has bought Direct TV and I can switch only the TV portion to Direct TV and save $100/month plus get a $75 credit on my first bill for switching. It does require new boxes and hardware but worth the $1200/year savings.

[Shari Lynne Dominick]

I’m planning on REALLY cutting back this year, so that we can pay off more debt before my husband retires. What are some of the biggest money suckers for people?

[Shannon Gurnee]

That is awesome! I just started cutting out subscription boxes I don’t feel like we need. I wish we had 0% interest cards to move credit card debt to.

[Sum180 Lead Coach]

Speaking for what I’ve seen from the SUM180 community, people have seemed to struggle with high health costs (hard to know how much could be done there), high transportation costs, home maintenance, and entertainment costs that can really creep up on you.

Speaking for myself, I found that my cable bill has become crazy and that my “personal services” are way out of control – that’s: the weekly tennis lesson I used to take, hair/highlights/waxing/nails, memberships, you name it. I found a lot of savings in these areas and could/should find more!