I have a quarterly ritual. I open the spreadsheet, sort our recurring bills from biggest to smallest, and pick one to argue with. Last quarter it was car insurance. This quarter it was the internet.
Our bill had crept up to $92 a month. When we signed up after the twins were born, it was a promo rate of $55. The promo ended, a "network fee" appeared, and then a router rental charge I'd barely noticed. I did the thing everyone does, which is grumble about it for a year and do nothing.
Here's how I finally fixed it, and why I think most people are paying for more than they need.
First: figure out what speed you actually use
We had a plan advertised as 800 megabits per second. I had no idea what that meant in practice, so I did some reading and some testing.
Here's what our household actually does online:
- Streaming shows on one TV in the evening, sometimes two devices at once
- Dan's work app and occasional video calls
- My phone, my laptop for the blog and the budget
- A baby monitor on wifi
- Toddler songs on a speaker, on repeat, forever
That's it. No one games. No one uploads huge video files. From what I read, a household like ours is comfortable at a few hundred megabits, and a lot of families do fine with less. I ran a few speed tests on different evenings and saw that even when everything was running, we weren't close to using what we paid for.
Second: check the router situation
We were paying $15 a month to rent the provider's router. That's $180 a year, for a box that I could buy outright for less than that.
I asked Dan, who knows more about this stuff than I do, and he confirmed that our provider allows customer-owned equipment as long as it's on their approved list. I looked up the list, picked a mid-range router that was compatible, and bought it for $119. It pays for itself in eight months.
One caution: make sure the device you buy is actually compatible with your provider's service before you order anything. Some connection types need specific equipment. The list is usually on their support site.
Third: make the call
This is the part I dreaded. I don't love phone calls. But I made a little script on a sticky note and called on a Tuesday afternoon while the twins napped.
- I said I was reviewing my bills and was considering switching providers because the price had gone up a lot.
- I asked what lower-speed plans were available.
- When the first rep offered a plan that was only slightly cheaper, I asked to speak with the department that handles cancellations. That's the retention team, and they have more flexibility.
- I mentioned that another provider in our area had a lower introductory rate. That was true; I'd checked beforehand.
The retention rep offered me a 300 megabit plan at a 12-month rate, and the network fee was waived as part of the offer. I also told them I'd be returning the rented router.
The whole call took 34 minutes, including hold music. I timed it.
The numbers
| Before | After | |
|---|---|---|
| Plan speed | 800 Mbps | 300 Mbps |
| Monthly plan price | $70 | $54 |
| Network fee | $7 | $0 |
| Router rental | $15 | $0 |
| Monthly total | $92 | $54 |
That's $38 a month, or $456 a year. Subtract the $119 router and we're still more than $330 ahead in year one.
Did we notice a difference?
Honestly, no. It's been three weeks. Shows stream fine. Dan's calls are fine. The baby monitor is fine. The toddler songs play with perfect, relentless clarity.
The one thing I did was put a reminder in my calendar for eleven months from now, right before the 12-month rate ends. I fully expect to make this same call again next spring. That's the game, apparently. You pay attention or you pay more.
If you want to try this
- Pull up your last bill and look at every line item, not just the total.
- Run a speed test during your busiest evening hour.
- Check whether you can use your own router.
- Look up at least one competitor's current price before you call.
- Be polite and be willing to actually leave. The retention team can usually tell.
Next quarter's target is our phone bill. Wish me luck.
