It’s the dream of most employees to one day develop some sort of passive income. Some way to earn money while sleeping, without much effort.
There are a few ways to do this. Online businesses, independent publishing, and some other ways that don’t require much down payment, other than a person’s time, effort, blood, sweat, and tears.
However, there’s one simple opportunity that everyone has to gain passive income, and it’s happening right now. Even in your sleep.
The opportunity lies in your monthly bills.
This includes your internet bill, cell phone bill, car insurance premium, cable TV bill, and gym membership. All of these are automatically debiting from your checking account each month, even while you sleep.
If you can renegotiate your terms for these services – in other words, reduce the price you are paying – you are achieving the same positive effect to your cash flow as passive income.
If you are not already doing so, make it a habit to check with your service providers every 90 days to see if there is a better deal. Be sure to talk to a real person. Do not use the “online chat”, or send an e-mail. It is far too easy for the company to say “no” to your requests in an electronic format. Talking to a real person will open up the conversation.
Keep the customer service representative talking. It will open up alternatives.
Some examples they might offer will include:
1. Use of paperless billing. This can cut your bill in half in some cases. If you still gets bills in the mail, check this one out now.
2. Increasing your deductible. Maxing out your car insurance deductible can bring your premium down significantly.
3. Bundling. Be careful with this one, and ask lots of questions. Bundling your services may require you to reset your contract terms, and you may be signed up for a fresh two years on everything. But, it can result in significant savings.
At the same 90 day interval, also shop around for prices from other service providers. You may find that State Farm offers better car insurance premiums than Geico, or vise versa. Gym membership rates can move around quite a bit also. Cable TV can be more challenging to move around, but take heart: with your iPad or tablet, you may not need cable TV much longer.
Also note there are no real set rates at a gym or fitness facility. The monthly fee is different for everyone in there. Always be checking on these places.
A last resort, but often effective method is “the walkaway”. If your conversation with the service provider does not lead to a better deal, you can start asking about cancellation of the service. There’s no need to be boisterous or threatening about it, but calmly start the conversation. It can often lead to new offers of lower prices.
These service providers want to keep thier passive income as well. For them, a reduced rate customer is better than no customer at all.
Crunch Time Coach 