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Did you know that you can negotiate with just about anyone to lower your monthly bills? Credit card interest rates, cell phone companies, high speed Internet, car insurance are just a few of the monthly bills you may be able to lower.

Know what the company you use is offering for specials. Do they have any online-only special offers or deals for new customers? Are they bragging about lower rates on billboards on the highway? And their fees for services lower now than they were when you signed up with them?

Learn about what the competitors of the company you use are offering their customers.

Contact the company and tell them that you're about to start shopping around for better rates, unless they can help you out. As long as the company has a competitor in the area and your payment history with them is decent, they'll most likely work with you.

Tips
Are you seeing advertisements on billboards for "new, lower rates"? Try calling the company and saying something like, "I noticed you're advertising lower car insurance rates on billboards on I95. I've been paying the same rate every month for the last two years, and I'm about to shop around for a new insurance company. Unless you have some specials you can offer me." My car insurance company lowered my bill by $20 per month to get me to stay.

To lower your cell phone bill, call the customer service department and ask them what their service termination fee is. Then mention that their competitor is offering a better plan with a new phone and more minutes for a fraction of what you're paying. Tell them that it's worth paying the huge termination fee to end your contract early, to go with a company that offers enough minutes that you won't go over each month. My cell phone company offered me free nights and weekends for an additional $5 per month to get me to stay.

Did you recently get a mailing from a credit card company offering excellent rates if you'll transfer your balance to them? Sometimes, it's worth it to transfer your balance, but that can be a real pain in the neck. Especially if the competitor isn't one you really want to do business with. With this mailing in my hand, I contacted my credit card company and told them if they wanted to keep my business, they would have to lower my interest rate. They told me they couldn't help me out. I had to repeat this FOUR separate times, each time saying, "So, you're willing to lose my business to another credit card company?" before they finally agreed to lower my interest rate by 6%. Note: They did ask for the name of the card company I was considering going to.
I tried this technique with my high-speed internet company because they were offering excellent rates to customers who signed up online. I told them I was going with their competitor if they didn't give me this special, and they switched me to the lower rate right away. I'm saving $35 per month.

Sometimes you can customize your cable package. I was paying ridiculous amounts of money for a company's "Digital Gold Expanded Mega TV-Addict" package when all I really wanted was their "Super Basic, 12-Channel" package plus one special feature. When I called to cancel and they asked me why, I told them that I was tired of paying for 500 channels, and that I'd just rather not have TV. They worked with me, and I got exactly what I wanted for $50 LESS per month than I was paying before.

Warnings
Be ready for these people to call your bluff. Well, you can always hang up on them.
Don't try to negotiate with your landlord or your bail bondsman.