Lowered my cable bill

I was inspired by a few posts I came across about getting discounts from cable providers just by asking, so I went ahead and managed a little deal of my own with Time Warner.

My cable bill for two people, with one regular cable box and two HD-DVR boxes and an HBO package, is $165/mo. I just cancelled HBO since I can't remember the last time I watched it, which will knock our bill down to about $150/mo, but that's still a lot. I do watch a fair amount of TV, and by "watch," I mean record it on my DVR and then watch it after work or on lazy Saturday mornings. Because I barely watch any TV real-time, my DVR is a very worthwhile expense, an extra $9.95/mo or so.

I called up Time Warner to see if there was anything they could do, any kind of deal I could take advantage of or something. The lady seemed to be very understanding, with a "yes, yes, let me take a look and see what I can do to lower your bill." My basic cable + internet service is $102.50/mo, and she offered to lock me into a $94.50 monthly rate for two years.

I asked a few questions: Will my service be exactly the same? Yes. If I'm locked in, do I pay some kind of penalty if I have to cancel service? Yes.

Well there you go- the catch! If I hadn't asked, I wonder if it would have been explained to me voluntarily. She said that the penalty fee of $150 is amortized over the two years, so if I cancel after just one year, then I only pay $75. I explained to her that I would likely be moving and cancelling service after the next year, and so to save $8/mo for a year and then pay a $75 penalty would only effectively save me $25 for the whole year, so thanks, but no thanks.

She then asked if she could put me on hold (sure), and came back after a few minutes with another proposal. She offered me $93/mo for one year, not locked in. Umm, better than the locked-in rate, with no cancellation penalty? Ok! Sign me up! After a year, my rates will go back to market rate, but I'm sure I can renegotiate at that point.

So there's another $9-10 off the bill, which will put us down to ~$140/mo. Still a lot, but that's $120 saved for EACH of us over the year.

Which I will be promptly spending this weekend at my friend's bachelorette party! Limo, hotel, dinner, drinks, lingerie gift... ugh.