(WXYZ) — Our wallets are strained right now as we deal with inflation soaring 9.1% in June, the steepest hike in more than four decades.
So, people are looking for where they can cut costs, and phone and internet services are a couple of areas where they can save money.
David Chacon, a husband and father from Dearborn Heights, said he was able to get his bill down by threatening to cancel his service with a company.
Chacon said he and his wife made between 10-20 calls to Comcast over the course of about 15 years.
“So, when you would call and threaten to cut off your service, how much money would you end up saving?" I asked.
”I would say that there were times where we saved up to $100 a month," he said.
Penny Wang, the deputy editor at Consumer Reports, said prices for internet services were only up about 2.6% over the past year, with residential phone service actually dropping .1%.
Now may be a good time to see if you can find a cheaper deal.
"It's about comparing prices for sure, though. In some areas, you may not have a lot of competition, but it's also about negotiating, haggling, if you will, particularly for internet services," Wang said.
A Consumer Reports survey last year showed 70% of respondents got a break on internet service when they asked for it, resulting in everything from lower prices to faster speeds, and even some add-ons.
Wang recommends you compare prices first, then threaten to disconnect if your provider won't match the better deal.
”The Disconnect Department often has more authority to give you a better deal, perhaps, than the first person you reach," Wang said.
That's what Chacon has found, but you have to be prepared to leave if you make the threat. This past January, he did.
“It was just the right move for us to make disconnecting the cable and just going with the streaming services," Chacon said.
For lower-income families, you may benefit from a federal program called the Affordable Connectivity Program.
The big takeaway is to ask for a better deal, as you won't often get it if you don't ask for it. While that can be time-consuming, it could mean a monthly savings.
