Today, I’m sharing two simple ideas that can potentially save you and your family $1,000+ a year.

I know these work... because I just used them myself.

They’ll probably put some money back in your pocket, too... to help offset nasty inflation.

Fair warning: it involves picking up the phone and getting out of your comfort zone.

But the savings, as you’ll see, could be well worth it...

• I was paying my bills last weekend… and I noticed my car insurance spiked up.

It was going to cost my wife and me $300 a month to insure both our cars.

It was a huge increase, and I had no accidents. So, I called them to see what the deal was.

The agent said, “The cost is so high because you live in Florida.”

There are more old people on the road in Florida than in other states. So, there are more accidents—and that means more claims. It’s why insurance here is so expensive.

“Is there a way to lower it?” I asked.

• Then the agent surprised me…

“Let’s see if all your info is up to date. Do you still drive to work every day?”

“No,” I answered.  

I’ve been working fully remote for 2 ½ years. I barely drive. But I never thought to tell my car insurance provider.

My insurance thought I was still commuting 45 minutes a day.

Turns out I was paying insurance for a lot of miles I wasn’t using.

So was my wife. She’s a teacher, so she’s not commuting to school all summer.

By updating our information, I landed us in a “cheaper bracket.” Instead of paying $300 a month, we now pay $238. That’s $744 a year.

My colleague Managing Editor Jason Roberts saved $39 a month after updating his own car insurance policy last week.

Maybe you could save some money too…

If you switched to remote work during COVID, call your insurance provider to find out.

• I’m also saving $50 per month because of another call.

That’s $600 per year that stays in my pocket.

My wife clinched this one.

When I told her about our car insurance savings... she went through our other bills.

A couple minutes later, she was on the phone with our cable provider.

She used my playbook and asked why our bill skyrocketed.

They gave her the spiel…

“Rising fees… you had a limited-time promotion… nothing we can do….”

• Then my wife pulled an ace…

She said we got quotes from other competitors. And if they couldn’t match their offers, we’d be gone.

All of a sudden, wouldn’t you know it... they had a promotion! And they happily offered it to us, calling us “their loyal customers.”

With the new deal, we’re now saving $50 on our monthly bill.

That’s $600 each year—something we could put toward a weekend family getaway, or extra money for investing, or my daughter’s college account… you name it.

I recommend you give your cable company a call too.

But here’s a tip…

Don’t go into these phone calls with an “empty threat” of competing offers you never got. Call other places. Research online. See what you can get. It’s good knowledge, and you’ll be more confident going into the call.

• Negotiating sucks… but it can help you offset inflation.

I’m not here to tell you this was fun.

I hate negotiating with salespeople.

I had to step out of my comfort zone. My wife was on the line with AT&T for over 30 minutes.

We’d much rather be doing something else on a Saturday morning.

But the effort was worth it. We saved $1,344 per year with two phone calls.

There are probably other bills we could renegotiate, or unused monthly subscriptions we could cancel.

Point is… with inflation as high as it is, it pays to make sure you’re not wasting any money.

Picking up the phone could be well worth your time.

Let me know if you end up saving any money at chrisreilly@riskhedge.com.

I’ll be happy to hear your story.

Chris Reilly
Executive Editor, RiskHedge