Think of the Savings: Negotiating Cable and Internet Bills

Hi there! How was your weekend? We starting brewing a new batch of beer. The plan was to make a blood orange hefeweizen, but blood oranges were nowhere to be found. Instead, we're making an orange mango hefeweizen. It smells good so far, so we'll see how it tastes in a few weeks!

Until then, I'd like to share some negotiating tips when dealing with cable and Internet service providers. Our promotional period recently expired for our Internet service, so I talked with a friend "in the know" to negotiate a new lower price. In the end, we decided to jump for cable and Internet, landing us new customer pricing, so I'll be keeping these tips in mind when our next promo period ends.

According to my sources, the best approach in negotiating a lower cable or Internet bill is to go through the voice prompts for cancelling service. When you go through that voice prompt, you typically get connected to an operator that is a retention specialist. They will often be able to offer more promotional prices in an effort to retain you as a customer. The big companies know that in most cases, making a better deal for you is more cost effective than trying to find a new customer to make up for losing you as a customer.

Additionally, it's good for you to have price points from the competition.  For example, if your cable company has an offer that is less expensive than $43/month just for Internet (what our new cost would be...vom), share that with the customer service rep. If the competition doesn't have a good price, then look at your current provider's price for new customers and ask why you can't get that.

If they still don't budge, ask them what would stop you from cancelling service, and then ordering again for the lower price?  Even if there was a technicality about a recent customer not qualifying for new customer pricing until after X number of months has past, you could suggest that your spouse could sign up instead, and voila, you have a brand new customer :)

Hopefully the service provider will be reasonable and work out a good price for at least another 12 months. My friend used this trick with Company X when he had cable TV with them. He called them specifically trying to cancel service. He didn't even indicate initially that he would stay as a customer if they offered a better than regular price. Then they asked him why he wanted to cancel, and he said that the jump in price won't fit his budget. And voila! Company X could sign him up for twelve months for about the same price that he was at for his first 12 months.

It's also important to note that you might not get the best deal the first time around, especially if you weren't firm in cancelling your service. My friend's friend tried this approach but probably got a regular customer service representative the first time, and a retention specialist the second. So persistence pays off!

Have you ever called your cable or Internet company for a lower price? Even when upgrading to cable and Internet as a new customer, I asked plenty of questions and talked about the competition. I was able to get a few bucks knocked off our bill and some freebies thrown in. If nothing else, it never hurts to ask!
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White Hot Savings

Kate Spade tiki bar cocktail clutch, Friedasophie gold nugget hoops, TOMS Cenna wedges,
Jessica Simpson white eyelet dress, Madewell jean jacket

Thank goodness for Friday! Today's post is all about white. White hot savings and wearing white after Memorial Day. Speaking of, what's up with that silly rule? If you ask me, it's probably so you don't get BBQ sauce on your white pants at the family cookout. What? That doesn't happen to you? Must just be me.

As for savings, Memorial Day was a big shopping weekend for us and our fellow Americans. In addition to buying the iPad, we stopped by the mall to pick up some shorts for John. There were sales all over the place, but what if I want the sale price now? After Memorial Day, but before the next big shopping day (aka: 4th of July)?

Smith & Hawken® San Rafael metal patio set

For example, we're in the process of laying a brick patio in the backyard where the world's largest hedge once stood. Last weekend was a little too soon to buy a table and chairs, but there's a set that looks pretty good at Target.

I try to search around for online coupon codes, but there's an easier way. Couponcodes4u.com has thousands of coupon codes all in one place. Literally. As of the time of writing, they had 221,330 coupon codes and deals! Back to the patio set example, after a quick search through the couponcodes4u vault, I found several coupon codes for Target, including free shipping. Cha-ching!

How about the big party we throw once the patio is all finished? Yes, there are coupon codes for groceries that you can easily clip and print.

And what about that pretty white dress and TOMS wedges from Nordstrom? Don't worry, there are all sorts of Nordstrom coupon codes too. Or if Bloomingdale's is more of your taste (it is Friday's Fancies after all!), you can even find deals for Bloomies!

I'm probably having a bit too much fun cruising around couponcodes4u because I also found $2 off to Red Mango (hello, fro yo!) and deals for homebrewing (hint, hint Father's Day is right around the corner). I think I hear angels singing!

Now that I've shared my new arsenal of online coupon codes, it's your turn to spill the beans. What are your stealthy ways to save on groceries or online shopping?

Important stuff: I was compensated by couponcodes4u to write this post. All opinions are my own.

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Park Place

It's hard to believe, but we've been in our house for a year! That's another post for another time. Like when I have more time to pull together pictures and craft a big 'ole recap post. Until then, I'd like to share with how we're coping with driving into Chicago now that we live in the 'burbs. Mainly, the cost of parking....ugh.

As expected, parking costs an arm and a leg. Yes, we take public transportation, but sometimes logistics require we drive. For instance, I drove downtown after work last week for the Chase Corporate Challenge. Traffic was lovely, as usual, but I was really dreading shelling out $20-30 to park for a few hours.

That is, until I decided to Google "Chicago parking rates" and found this awesome website: Chicago Best Parking!

It's a freakin' search engine containing all the parking lots and garages in your selected area of Chicago! For this post, I searched for parking near Millenium Park (to see the Bean, obviously). Without thinking, I would probably park in the garages beneath Millenium Park, setting me back $23 for 3 hours on a Wednesday night. But now that I can see the other parking rates, I could only pay $13 by parking in the Prudential or Aon garages.

What's even cooler is that you can click on each garage or lot and check out their hourly rates throughout the week and if there are any other specials. When I drove in for the Corporate Challenge, I found an evening special ($6!) at the Aon garage if I was in by 6pm. Plus, you can change the dates and times to give you a better estimate of your parking costs. Though only some of the garages have guaranteed rates.

Don't worry if you don't live in Chicago, the bestparking website is available for several major metropolitan areas and airports. Even Cleveland and a few cities in Canada!

How do you save a few bucks when travelling?

PS - I wasn't compensated by bestparking, I just thought this was a cool tool to share. All opinions are my own.
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Think of the Savings: iPad Edition

[See also: We enter the 21st century!]

Hi, everyone! Did you enjoy the long holiday weekend? As planned, we grilled/smoked some chicken drumsticks using our favorite spice rub. And I may have gotten a little patriotic with my outfit: navy top, white capris, and my new red striped cardigan. Thanks, Christie!

We also made a few purchases, mainly an iPad 2! We've been thinking about it for months and finally decided to go for it this weekend. I tend to takeover the home computer for blogging or working on the shop, so John will be its primary user. Though I've already played around on it too :)

And in my fiscally chic ways, we got the iPad at a great price! A few months ago, we were talking with my mom about getting an iPad. She was contemplating getting one too and told us about Micro Center. Instead of paying $400 at the Apple Store for a 16GB iPad 2, Micro Center sells them for $360. And yes, NEW!

What's even better was when we were at the store, we overheard a conversation of someone else buying an iPad 2...with a coupon! You know I love a good deal, so I searched for the coupon (on the iPad at the store) and found it for $20 off. That means our iPad 2 was only $340 (plus tax)!

John in his happy place

In addition to using the iPad for the usual suspects: Gmail, Facebook, ESPN, Google Reader, and Etsy; John already checked out an ebook from our library. For free. On the iPad! Clearly I'm easily entertained by these things :)

To everyone with an iPad, what are the good apps to download? Would I look funny walking around taking pictures with Instagram on the iPad?
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Dressed to Grill

J. Crew double crystal brulee necklace, TOMS red canvas wedges, Xenotees pet lobster tee,
J. Crew striped shorts, TOMS sunglasses, Weber charcoal grill

Hurray for another Friday and 3 day weekend! Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer, which means lots of grilling on the horizon! But around our house, once the weather gets warm, we John can't help but break out the grill. And our Weber charcoal grill has already seen plenty of action this spring.

Hamburger print by lucileskitchen

One way to have a little more fun with grilling is to create a signature spice rub to use on meat or fish. We have several grilling cookbooks, so we've tried several concoctions over the years. In general, a spice rub is a combination of:

• Salty: Plain, kosher, sea, or flavored salts.
• Sweet: White, brown, or turbinado sugar; molasses; cinnamon; cloves; nutmeg.
• Spicy/hot: Black, chili, or cayenne pepper; red pepper flakes; chili powder.
• Herbal: Oregano, thyme, sage, fennel seeds, basil, bay leaves, dill, marjoram, parsley, rosemary.
• Earthy: Cumin, coriander, paprika, celery seed
• Sharp: Garlic, onion, mustard powder, mustard seed, tumeric

One of my favorite rubs is from the cookbook Dressed to Grill: Savvy Recipes for Girls Who Play with Fire by Karen Brooks, Reed Darmon, and Diane Morgan. One of my college roommates had a copy of the book and it "appeals to the way women cook today: fast and furious, with, of course, a healthy nod to low-fat ingredients." The recipes have all sorts of sassy names, as you'll see with this spice rub :)

Hot Girls Spice Rub
From Dressed to Grill: Savvy Recipes for Girls Who Play with Fire by Karen Brooks, Reed Darmon, and Diane Morgan.

Ingredients
1/4 cup kosher salt
2 tablespoons coarsely ground pepper
1 tablespoon ground coriander
3 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons each: paprika, dried thyme, and chili powder
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, stirring well to blend.

Store in an airtight container away from heat or light. The rub will keep for up to 6 months.

 Massage the rub into the meat or fish and let marinate:

• Shrimp and scallops: 15 minutes
• Chicken and thicker cuts of seafood: 30 - 60 minutes
• Pork chops or tenderloin: 45 - 60 minutes
• Beef or lamb: 1 hour
• Big or tough cuts of meat (racks of ribs, pork shoulders, turkeys): 2 - 8 hours

Refrigerate meat that is marinating for more than an hour.

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Walk it Out

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As I hinted last week, I was planning on walking a half marathon with my Mom. What I didn't tell you was that it was this past weekend! John and I took a quick weekend to Cleveland for the race.

And it went really well! My Mom walked a personal best time by a minute and I suppose I had a PR because I've never walked a half before. To make it even better, I won my age division for walking the half marathon! I never thought that was possible.

I also have to point out that my Dad was 2nd in his age division for walking the 10K. Way to go Mom and Dad!

Unfortunately, my cold got the best of John over the weekend and he had to sleep it off Sunday morning. But not before completing the Marine pull-up challenge at the race expo. 20 pull-ups for a T-shirt and the opportunity to enlist (kidding about the second part!)

To be honest, walking a half marathon was harder than I expected. I thought I could breeze through training. Read: run 5 miles and hope to crank out 13.1 on race day. I survived the race but was a little more sore than expected. It's tough being on your feet for 3+ hours!

Next time, I'll be sure to listen to Hal Higdon and do more than the bare minimum.

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Minty Fresh Business Advice

Photo from mint.com

It's been a while since I've waxed poetic about Mint, so it's time to share another awesome use of the free (and secure*) online money management program.

A few months ago, I decided to experiment and create a separate Mint account for Fiscally Chic. It's been the best decision EVERRRR!

For my business account, I've linked up my Paypal and business checking and credit card accounts. It's so nice to see how the funds are flowing in an out of my business all in one place. It also made tax time super easy because my expenses were nicely categorized and segregated from my personal expenses. And of course I love looking at the trends of how the income from my Etsy shop and blog has grown :)

All you need is a separate business email account, as well as your account numbers, and you're good to go!

Do you have any new business tips to share?

*You can read more about Mint's security policy and encryption here.
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