Observation #9 If You Ask alot of Girls to Dance, One’s Bound to Say Yes!

If you have ten fishing rods in the water, you have a much better chance of catching a fish. The same rings true for dating. The key is the asking. Like Lord Gretzky once said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” God bless you, oh Great One. The same is true of reducing your monthly costs. If you don’t ask, you will continue to pay what you pay!

About a year ago, we found the house of our dreams. Well, that sounds dramatic but it is really nice. Buying the house meant a serious hit to the finances. For the first time, I had to really look at the bills we were paying because they were about to get alot more heavy.

The first thing I looked at was my phone bill. It was about $80 a month. I thought to myself, am I really paying almost $1000 a year to have telemarketers call me just as I sit down to dinner? When we set up our house the first time, I just did what my parents always did. On autopilot, I called the phone company and blindly set it up. Our land line was incredibly redundant. I carry a cell phone with me wherever I go. I wasn’t ready to give up the land line but things needed to change.

The second thing I looked at was my cable bill. There has been a Gallileo-type shift in society. I remember when television was the sun. It was how you remained informed and entertained. There is so much competition now. The Internet and particularly watching television on the Internet has replaced the television as the centre of the universe. The cable companies know that their business model is antiquated. Instead of changing, they are hoping that people don’t notice. I was renting two high-definition cable boxes and it was costing me a fortune. It was time for a change.

I called the cable company. I was ready for a fight. Here is how the conversation went (after I went through about three hours of prompts):

“Hi. I got a flyer in the mail from one of your competitors. I think I need to switch because they are offering me two HD cable boxes for free. I’ve never had a problem with your company but I can’t pass this up.”
“Ok. We will give you your cable boxes for free if you’ll stay.”
“Listen pal...Oh, ok.”

You mean for four years all I had to do was ask. Damn. How much more lady action would have I gotten if I had just asked more? Double damn. In addition to that, they lowered my bill even further because I transferred my phone to the cable company. Only $14 a month.

I went from a combined $230 a month to $125. I felt like an idiot. I think the land line is on its last legs and for that matter so is the cable. I bought something that allows me to stream the Internet on my television. This box coupled with a HD antenna could get me out indentured servitude to the mighty cable company. Baby steps. 

Just ask. Nine girls may slap you in the face but one is always willing to make the mistake of their life. Thank you Tara.