What do your gym membership, favorite streaming service and utility bills all have in common? They’ve probably gone up in price this year. And the companies behind them are hoping you didn’t notice.
Netflix announced an across-the-board increase back in January. Comcast XFinity bumped Bay Area sports channels to a higher-priced tier. Frontier alerted customers that they “may see a price increase.” The week Disney brought back Jimmy Kimmel from his suspension, it also announced a price bump for Disney+.
Many of these increases are marginal. $3 here, $5 there. If you aren’t watching your credit card statement like a hawk, you probably don’t even notice. But it adds up over time. When Netflix streaming debuted in 2010, it cost $8 a month, or $11.85 in inflation-adjusted 2025 dollars. Today, watching “The Great British Bake Off” without ads will cost you $25 a month.
The most powerful tool in your arsenal to fight back against these hikes is probably in your hands right now: your phone.
I recommend everyone make calls to negotiate their bills at least once a year. It’s a quick way to get a more complete picture of your spending and optimize your money maintenance.
Picking up the phone to squabble over bills is not an appealing pastime to most of us. But it’s worth a few minutes of your time to see whether these companies really value your business. Here’s how to do it.
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What are the easiest bills to negotiate?
The subscriptions that are the most likely to let you off the hook on a price increase are the ones where they know you have other options. Gyms, streaming services and credit cards all have lots of competitors. Shop around online to see what prices those competitors offer and make a call with that information on hand. If they won’t budge, you can always threaten to cancel.
The tougher ones to negotiate are the essentials. You are likely limited to one company for your power and water, and you can’t live without those things. But many utilities and insurance companies offer programs for hardship and have income-based assistance programs even for middle-class households. You may be eligible for some of these programs automatically if someone in your household uses certain government programs like CalFresh, WIC, Medicaid/Medi-Cal or Supplemental Security Income.
• Read: What are my options if I can’t pay my PG&E bill?
They also may be able to offer one-time customer discounts, programs to spread out payments for surprise big bills, or services like a free home audit that could find ways to save you money in the long run. It’s worth calling to ask.
Even property taxes can be up for negotiation: California allows homeowners to appeal their assessment via the state’s Board of Equalization.
Medical bills are also not set in stone. In fact, a study published last year by the University of Southern California found picking up the phone to ask about a confusing or frustrating medical bill typically yielded positive results.
Home insurance is a tricky topic for a lot of Bay Area homeowners. If you can afford what you pay now, you may be reluctant to rock the boat even as prices rise. But you can still call and ask about assistance programs, bundling discounts, and available mitigation discounts.
How to negotiate your bills
You are much more likely to have success over the phone versus sending an email or using an online chat function. Emails can be ignored, and the person on the other end of that chat box might not even be a human these days. Automated phone menus are frustrating (likely intentionally so), but typically paying customers can reach a real human being.
If you find yourself Googling “how to reach a real person at (service),” just be wary that the results might lead you to a scammer instead. Try the direct line on the company’s website first.
• Read: It started with a text and cost her $20,000. Why investment scams are getting harder to spot
You don’t need to go in with your proverbial guns blazing. And you don’t need to plead poverty or utter some secret code or phrase. Be a nice person and ask politely. Keep it short and sweet.
Some ideas of what to say:
“I’m going over my subscriptions and I see this one went up to $X. That really doesn’t work for my budget. Is there anything you can do for me?”
“I’ve been a customer for X years and I see we’ve gotten another price increase. Is there a loyalty discount or something else you can offer me?”
“I’m reviewing my monthly spending and I see you’ve increased prices to $X. (Competitor) is currently offering me $Z and I’m thinking of switching, but I’m happy with my service and I’d like to stay a customer. Are there any discounts available?”
If you or someone in your household is a student or educator, or you have a small business, that’s another good avenue to pursue for discounts.
Credit cards are probably the easiest ones to haggle, because every other credit card company is champing at the bit for your business. When I first started getting serious about paying off my debt, I found tons of better credit card offers online (sites like CreditKarma, NerdWallet and WalletHub are all good places to start.) Then I called up all my card companies and said the same thing:
“I see right now my interest rate is X%. Right now (competitor) is offering me a lower rate of Y%. Can you match that?” Or: “Right now you’re charging me X% interest. (Other card) is offering an introductory 0% interest period. Do you have a similar offer so that I can stay your customer?”
I saved hundreds of dollars in interest that way – with just a few quick phone calls.
Are bill negotiation services and apps worth it?
Apps and services like RocketMoney, Billshark and Trim typically work like this: They go through your bank and credit card statements and alert you to what subscriptions you have, and then offer to negotiate or cancel them on your behalf.
I’ve never used these services. And I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone else, for a few reasons.
The first reason: This isn’t hard to do. It’s not fun – but it’s not hard.
I know cracking into your credit card and bank statements can be daunting. It feels bad to discover you’ve been forking over money every month for subscriptions you forgot about a long time ago. Companies are relying on that negativity avoidance. Don’t let them off the hook. To twist a Chinese proverb: The best time to cancel them was when you stopped using them. The second-best time is now.
Print out your most recent monthly statement and make sure you recognize every transaction. Start canceling the ones you don’t use, then focus on the highest-cost ones for negotiating. If you’ve bundled services, make sure you’re still using everything in the bundle, and that the valuations are correct.
Another reason I don’t like these services: A lot of them require you to add them to your account so they have authority to cancel or negotiate on your behalf. Some also ask to be linked to your bank account, either to audit your purchases or take out their cut. This all raises a lot of red flags for me as both someone who writes about scams and a former victim of identity theft.
The last time I renewed my driver’s license, I had to bring a printout of a utility bill with me. I would not hand over access to identifying information like that to a third party to save myself a phone call. I am not aware of anyone having their identity stolen by someone who worked for one of these services, but sharing anything sensitive – even my Netflix password – with an internet stranger is something I personally wouldn’t do.
Yet another reason: You typically pay them a flat fee or percentage of your savings, often alongside a subscription fee. Now you’re adding to your monthly bills and you’ve got one more subscription to keep track of. Not worth it.
This article originally published at The sneakiest way to cut your bills takes 5 minutes – and doesn’t mean canceling anything.
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