As an IT consultant, one of the most frequent problems I solve for my home and small business clients is cost containment. They may call it different things and work with very different amounts, but in the end, everyone wants to know the same thing: how they can save money.
My response is pretty standard: I tell people that they can save around 10-20% on their monthly bills with a little research and a few phone calls. The number tends to run closer to 10% for businesses and 20% for private individuals, but in every case I’ve worked with, results have fallen somewhere within that range.
Methods vary for each category of expense, but the primary one I address (since I am most familiar with it) is the cost of technology. This includes television, land lines, internet, cellular service, and business computing. Each of these tends to have standard monthly charges, readily available customer service, and easy benchmarks to compare with one another.
In a few upcoming posts I will detail methods for obtaining discounts on each of these services. The methods are relatively simple, require a minimal amount of effort, and can amount to serious savings. I currently have a 20% discount on my Time Warner TV/internet bill and 23% off my Sprint bill: these are easy to implement and can add up to big savings: in my case over $40/month. For some of my clients who have land-lines and other household services, savings have been as high as $80-120/month.
The first installment, which I will publish next week, will cover discounts on TV services from Time Warner Cable, DirecTV, and DISH Network. Stay tuned!