tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post4326719096478408820..comments2024-03-29T21:11:37.724+10:00Comments on down to earth: Save money on your accountsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-33196072930337010482014-01-25T16:19:43.767+10:002014-01-25T16:19:43.767+10:00My car insurance arrived just before Christmas and...My car insurance arrived just before Christmas and even though my car is now a year older the premium had gone up $50(to$461) which I was not happy about. I went online to my current insurers site and put in my exact car details that were listed on my renewal to see what a new quote would come out at. The new quote was $494! With the same company for the same car! So I clicked on their price beat guarantee and put in the original renewal price of $461 and they beat it by $51!! So my new premium ended up costing me $410 and I'm still with the same company, all for the sake of a few clicks of the mouse. :) Michellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16907021712935423492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-24384990082260719542014-01-21T19:05:21.620+10:002014-01-21T19:05:21.620+10:00So I called Foxtel today about my old clunker Aust...So I called Foxtel today about my old clunker Austar box and faded remote. Was just honest and asked what can they do for an upgrade for loyal customers, the consultant and I were laughing as I said I knew i was being cheeky, so they dropped the $150 upgrade fee and have dropped the $10 a month extra to our subscription for 6 months, so that's a big win!! Guy comes Thursday...mystar here we come, My husband is SO excited!!! Thanks again, Jan xJan (a gluttonous wife)https://www.blogger.com/profile/04980538485559579650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-7085611928814136782014-01-21T05:45:59.638+10:002014-01-21T05:45:59.638+10:00Wonderful post, and timely as I had 2 car insuranc...Wonderful post, and timely as I had 2 car insurance premiums due. I rang a competitor and it seems I'm on the best deal with my current provider, so that was good to find out. I'm ringing Foxtel today to see if as long, loyal customers can get an upgrade for free, can't hurt to try...will let you know how I go!! I did have a win with my bank not so long ago, I had been unwell and forgot to pay my credit card on time. I'm a stickler for paying it in full on or before the due date and have never paid interest. So when I realised I'd missed it I rang and was honest with them. They could see I had never missed a payment and kindly deducted the interest. I never hurts to ask, so thanks for the reminder.<br />Warm regards,<br />JanJan (a gluttonous wife)https://www.blogger.com/profile/04980538485559579650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-19417239035768887492014-01-21T01:00:45.118+10:002014-01-21T01:00:45.118+10:00Glad to hear you are happy with Telstra, Rhonda. ...Glad to hear you are happy with Telstra, Rhonda. I've heard so many complaints about them in recent years, but apart from the occasional hiccup, we've been very happy with them on all fronts. We've gone into one of their shops with our account (one account covers landline, mobiles, Foxtel and Bigpond) and sat down with a staff member to see where we could save money, and they've been very helpful, explaining to us how we could save. <br />We are equally satisfied with Allianz for our home and car insurance, as I've shopped around for other quotes and nobody could beat their price, so we've stayed with them.<br />The only one I've had no satisfaction with is electricity and gas. We had a dual fuel account with Energy Australia, and just to see if it was worth changing suppliers I went to Energy Watch who is supposed to work out if you are getting the best deal. After countless phone calls we were changed to the new company also called Energy Australia (don't ask, I don't know either), and our bills have almost doubled. But everyone is complaining about high power bills, so I don't know if we are just in the same boat, or if we've been taken for a ride by Energy Watch. I just cannot be bothered arguing with them any more...Gina E.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07532527261977368083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-69268988646608215062014-01-20T16:53:56.744+10:002014-01-20T16:53:56.744+10:00I just plodded along & accepted that my insura...I just plodded along & accepted that my insurance provider was doing the right thing as I had been with them for over 35 years. Of course not, so I changed home insurance & Green Slip saving over $500.<br />Rang Telstra last week & changed our home line rental to a lower rate saving $156.00 per year. We do our best not to use the landline as mobiles - even cheap plans cover most calls.The only difference is that local calls would be dearer.<br />Indeed, shop around.You are so right Rhonda, we all need to ask.Judehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11374028034442765656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-79023803147464828762014-01-20T15:32:07.558+10:002014-01-20T15:32:07.558+10:00We had something similar happen regarding our news...We had something similar happen regarding our newspaper. All we ever wanted was just the Sunday paper delivered. Several years ago the newspaper company changed their policy and we had to buy the Sat paper as well. A few years later it was the Friday paper and then the Wed paper if we wanted a delivered Sunday paper and free internet viewing of the paper on line. We got fed up with them and decided to just not get any paper delivered and just go to the store to buy a Sun paper at more expense. We did not have the time to read the paper during the week. I did phone them to tell them about our plans and the supervisor did say that he could take it back to just Sat and Sun delivery but that was it. So we stopped the paper delivery. A few months later we got a call from the newspaper. Would we be interested in a delivered Sunday paper only! We had to commit and pay up for a year ....at a really good rate ......so we finally got what we wanted!Stellamarinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10551588961821325742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-86125885868032678742014-01-20T13:52:50.461+10:002014-01-20T13:52:50.461+10:00It's great to read about what you're all d...It's great to read about what you're all doing to save. It goes to show that the savings are there is you do some research and ask. Well done everyone!rhonda jeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08962112306968959985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-10621908978806334532014-01-20T13:45:07.762+10:002014-01-20T13:45:07.762+10:00It is refreshing to read so many people checking t...It is refreshing to read so many people checking their costs. Better in our pockets than theirs! I recently changed electricity companies. We were offered a fantastic deal by a new company, I told them I would think about it and asked them to call me back the following day. I took that time to ring my current company, and was put through to their "loyalty department". They went over the figures but couldn't match the new deal. I ended up changing companies ... and saving me not only in the electricity rates but the daily service charge alone saved us $730 a year!alison_shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11644400823883241478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-69853179741018619802014-01-20T11:51:30.149+10:002014-01-20T11:51:30.149+10:00My husband just saved us almost $500.00 a year on ...My husband just saved us almost $500.00 a year on our car insurance after doing a bit of research. It's definitely time well spent ... but can test your patience. He commented that the customer service he encountered was pretty bad in some cases. He's the right person for the job though, I probably would have given up after the first 15 minutes of sitting on hold. Bless his persistent soul!<br /><br />Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07586853908299803209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-61264467918397979732014-01-20T10:34:21.094+10:002014-01-20T10:34:21.094+10:00Rhonda, recently Telstra rang, as they do, about w...Rhonda, recently Telstra rang, as they do, about whether we were happy with our plan and then they offered us heaps more downloads for the same as we were paying apart from going from $2 to $3 for our distance calls so we went for it. I also have an Optus prepaid mobile phone with plenty of credit for distance calls and free calls on the weekend so, at the moment, we are happy with what we have. It is well worth researching and having a look at different plans. Nanna Chelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07500527266771727074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-26350858204197323012014-01-20T08:52:30.166+10:002014-01-20T08:52:30.166+10:00We review our suppliers every time they come up fo...We review our suppliers every time they come up for renewal. Nowadays with the no-claim bonus on insurance being transferrable, there is no benefit to staying with the one company if they can't compete. Of course, you have to be realistic about the hidden costs of switching, like having to change email address when switching internet providers.<br /><br />Recently we had to renew our car insurance. The renewal notice had an enormous increase, so we were definitely looking around. We did this online, and discovered that the online quote from the SAME COMPANY was very competitive - and hugely less than what was on the renewal. So we rang them. The result was that the person on the phone couldn't match the quote online, so told us to cancel our existing policy and take up the new on from online. So we ended up staying with the same company for much less than was on the renewal notice. Crazy!Just Joyfulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02404359368224055713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-85670987420688118902014-01-20T07:53:00.649+10:002014-01-20T07:53:00.649+10:00I have always investigated alternative plans and t...I have always investigated alternative plans and then phoned my own company with the hope of saying but with a better deal. Last year I did this with the electricity and I phoned Origin to see if they could do any better given I had been with them for over 20 years and they said no so I changed providers. I was very annoyed recently that I got a letter from them saying that they would match what the new provider was giving me if I came back. In this case it's a matter of too little too late. I do know loyal customers get over looked unless you ring them. Often newer plans or newer customers get way better deals than someone who has been a customer for 10 or 20 years. This particularly relates to mobile phone plans or home phone plans so you have to ring up and see what they can do for you every year and like you say that one phone call could save you $240. It's absolutely worth revisiting all your bills once a year. Regards Kathy A, Brisbane, AustraliaKathyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13278810299840471966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-7631121411020837682014-01-20T07:50:01.509+10:002014-01-20T07:50:01.509+10:00Hi Rhonda, it is a good idea to review service pro...Hi Rhonda, it is a good idea to review service providers now and then. I recently had a similar experience with negotiating internet connection for my mum as she was quite close to her GB limit each month. Mum ended up with more GB for the same amount of money.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-16863173745496333442014-01-20T06:14:35.711+10:002014-01-20T06:14:35.711+10:00At this very minute my husband is sitting at the n...At this very minute my husband is sitting at the next desk, comparing costs of auto insurance. Last week I canceled my landline at work and went cellular - not only will it save money it rids me of all those annoying automated sales calls - many of which came from the landline phone service! And I just changed credit card services at the shop to reduce the expense of accepting credit cards for online sales. A penny saved....Patty@inStitcheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18008067462064666901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-25572181471435547532014-01-20T06:10:03.097+10:002014-01-20T06:10:03.097+10:00Great advice, Rhonda. Not long ago we changed sate...Great advice, Rhonda. Not long ago we changed satellite internet companies and got a much better deal for less, and today I begin investigating bank account options. Recently I had to upgrade my mobile phone as the other one broke down, and the lowest plan they could offer with the new phone was more than double what I was paying. With a few well-placed words and advising that I didn't use my phone for internet at all, they agreed to keep me on the same plan. I think it was the "keep the customer happy and with us so they don't leave for another company plan"! The fellow said they did this but never advertised the fact. <br /><br />It pays to ask, and little savings here and there do add up.Roots and Seedshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11496050725815960078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5089828552519076506.post-65030688840616893192014-01-20T06:04:07.220+10:002014-01-20T06:04:07.220+10:00Morning Rhonda........I recently changed my home a...Morning Rhonda........I recently changed my home and contents insurance from Apia to Gio and ended up saving $70/month. Murwillumbah is flood prone, but although I live close to the river, I'm not at risk, we just get cut off by water filling up the lower lying areas. When Gio recently opened an office in town, I thought I'd just go enquire, because the people working there are locals and know the area... in fact the woman I spoke to lived in my street as a child....Apia give you a policy based only on postcode, and my postcode comes up as high risk. So I ended up changing....after speaking to Apia and telling them what Gio were offering but they wouldn't reduce my premium because of what my postcode tells them. Now I save quite a bit because Gio were willing to assess my situation based on facts and knowledge. It does pay to ask.Nanettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14473143331781472223noreply@blogger.com