I spend my days practicing the art of negotiation as a lawyer.  I can’t just stop negotiating as soon as I leave the office, it’s not that easy! Instead, I negotiate with the various consumer products and services I receive in an effort to get lower rates and more services and goods for the money I pay.

I do this by doing my homework.  You’ll need to research the services offered by other companies and the rates they charge for these services.  I concentrate mainly on finding the specials other companies offer to entice new subscribers as these are the lowest rates out there.  You’ll find great information being mailed to you, as well as on the Internet and through word of mouth from neighbors, family, and friends.

A good example of this is your telephone service.  I have been with the same company for the six (6) years that I have lived in Florida but call them every six (6) months or so to renegotiate my rate.  Recently I found a competitor phone company charging approximately $25 less per month for the particular bundle of services I receive.  Armed with this knowledge, I called my phone company.  My pitch goes something like this:

“Good evening.  My name is Nicole Wiseberg and if you review my account, I believe you’ll find that I have been a loyal customer of yours since 2003.  I am hoping you can help me.  I found an offer from (your competitor company) that states X, Y and Z.  I have been loyal to your company for many years but this incentive may be too good for me to resist.  I would hate to cancel my service with you.  Can you match this offer?”

If you get a customer service representative that isn’t very sympathetic or sounds like they are not willing to help, do not be afraid to thank them and hang up.  Then call back.

I have been successful in negotiating better deals on my home telephone (local and long distance), cable, internet, and extermination services, saving me a lot of money throughout the years.  If a better rate has come along since you signed up for your service, the company will not call or write to let you know, it’s up to you to do the research, know the prices and the specials, and negotiate until you receive the lowest price you can find!

Remember, the economy is tough for everyone and these companies do value your loyalty.  It’s up to you to make them earn it.

Editor’s Note: This great money-saving strategy goes along with our advice on how to stop paying annual fees on your credit cards and 4 Ways to Get the Customer Service You Deserve (guest post at Mommy Brain Reports).  Check out Frugal Friday at Life as Mom and Thrifty Thursdays at Amanda’s Cookin for more great tips. Photo by FaceMePLS.

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Learning how to recession proof your family right now is imperative, both to prepare for the possibility of layoff and prosper even during the recession.  Today’s installment shares ways to recession proof your job.  If you missed the other articles in the Recession Proof Your Family series so far, read a few of them first:

• What Would We Do if My Husband Lost His Job?
• Recession-Proofing: It’s Not About How Much You Make
• Recession Proof Your Pantry and Food
• 5 Things You Can Do Right Now to Live a Frugal Life

Editor’s Note: The following article is a guest post from Shellie. You can find her blogging at Saving with Shellie.

Recession Proof Your Job

Last week our government announced that the unemployment rate is at 8%. Yes, that’s high but it also means that 92% of Americans have a job. They have a job that they’re terrified of losing. There are several simple steps that can help you avoid being laid off.

1. Be Informed

Don’t let your company’s financial status be a mystery to you. Trickle down communication doesn’t always convey the most accurate information or the most current. Familiarize yourself with trade publications, blogs and online resources specific to your industry. You may learn that industry insiders are speculating that your company will have layoffs soon. But you may also learn that a certain project is getting lots of buzz. By staying on top of the game, you may be able to position yourself onto the buzz project and avoid a layoff. At the very least, you may have time to prepare and the layoff won’t be a surprise.

2. Network

Networking isn’t only for the unemployed or sales people. Many professionals actively employed are always building their contacts. The idea behind this is by building relationships with people in your industry, you’ll be better positioned when you do need (or want) a job. There are lots of ways to do this. Join professional organizations geared toward your industry. Join LinkedIn. The thing with networking is you must take a proactive approach. The contacts won’t come to you. You must go to them.

Networking isn’t only for the unemployed or sales people. By building relationships with people in your industry, you’ll be better positioned when you do need (or want) a job.

3. Make Yourself More Valuable

You need to find ways to set yourself apart from Joe Coworker. See if your industry has any special certifications that you can do to give you more knowledge in your field. If not, take a class at a local community college that would give you more experience or specialization. The benefit of this is two-fold. It shows you are passionate about your career and it makes you more knowledgeable in your field.

4. Go Above and Beyond

Sure, everyone has duties that they must get done. But do those and then some. Volunteer for special projects. Look around and find a way your company can cut costs without cutting quality. Be inventive. Also, be sure your boss and their boss know about. Don’t do it silently but don’t be obnoxious about it.

5. Maintain a Positive Attitude

Yes, it’s scary. Sure you want to talk about the possibility of getting laid off with your coworkers. But a positive attitude goes a long way. Lay offs are bad for employee morale. Poor morale negatively impacts work ethic. By keeping a positive attitude and applying that in your work, you show management that despite the downturn, you are still committed to your job and the company.

These tips are by no means a guarantee but they won’t hurt and can really help. Plus, be sure to always keep your resume up-to-date and the names of a few good headhunters handy.

Follow Shellie’s frugal living tips with the SavingwithShellie.com RSS feed.  It’s full of great ideas like how to spend a little and get a lot. As a full-time accountant and blogger, she shares how it’s possible for anyone to find time for a bargain. Check out Frugal Friday at Life as Mom for more great tips.  Photo by procsilas.

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• Recession Proof Your Pantry and Food

Author Beverly Davis, the founder of the Sunday Cosmetics nail color company, shares the story of her personal business success in this book.  Her company was started with only $250, proving that you don’t need financial backing for your business to be successful, as long as you’re willing to work hard.  She offers motivational encouragement to those wanting to break away from relying on an employer’s salary. 

Davis shares stories of other rags-to-riches entrepreneurs who, by all accounts, should not have succeeded in growing million- and billion-dollar companies.  Some entrepreneurs mentioned include Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A restaurants; the founders of YouTube; and Madame C.J. Walker, a self-made millionaire.  “Rags to Riches” contains information about how to get free publicity for your business.  Davis also shares how she uses free online marketing to publicize her company.

Short and to the point, this eBook packs a punch with positive affirmations as well as marketing tips.  As a as a gift-with-purchase, the company is offering the eBook Recession Lessons, containing tips for dealing with the economic downturn.  Get more information here: Rags to Riches: Create Multiple Income Streams from a Tight Budget by Beverly Davis.

Photo by NeoGaboX.

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• Frugal Tip: Bargaining Effectively for Lower Rates

College Costs Are Rising: Save Now With an Education Savings Account (ESA)

Our 1-year-old daughter may not know it yet, but my husband and I expect her to go to college. We hang our degrees on our wall to encourage her and her future siblings to go on this path. While a college degree may not be the key to success in every career, we value the practical and intrinsic rewards of obtaining a four-year degree.

We want to help our children avoid college loans and give them tools to help them pay for college. We are still paying off my husband’s $28,000 college loan that he accrued in three years of college over 15 years ago. While our student loan will be paid off soon, we don’t want our kids to make the same mistake.

According to the College Cost Calculator on AmericanFunds.com, it will cost $168,395 to send our daughter to The University of Texas at Austin starting in 2026 for four years. This calculation is based on a 5% inflation rate. $168,395 is for an in-state, state college! Not a private university or an out-of-state school. We certainly don’t have that kind of money today. We plan on curbing the cost of college by starting an Education Savings Account (ESA) for each of our children.

What is an ESA?

An Education Savings Account or ESA is a special account that invests your money in a good growth stock mutual fund while it grows tax-free. It is sometimes called an Education IRA. You can invest up to $2,000 a year of after-tax dollars, if you earn under $200,000 a year. Financial guru, Dave Ramsey, explains that if you start investing just $166.67 per month ($2,000/year) from your child’s birth to age 18 through an ESA averaging 12%, you would have $126,000 tax-free.

It will take some planning and determination to invest $2,000 a year for each child. A $166 monthly payment is not the easiest line item to work into a monthly budget, especially when other items are screaming to be prioritized first. It will help when our debt is paid off and we can put what we would spend on a car payment or credit card payment into an ESA. Also, any bonuses, extra money, or big monetary birthday gifts will be put into this account.

A good financial adviser can easily set up an ESA for you and help you assess what level of risk you want to take depending on the age of your child. The market is low now, but it won’t stay low over the next 18 years. You have to think long term and don’t jump off the roller coaster. You can check out Dave Ramsey’s Endorsed Local Providers to find an honest financial advisor in your area.

We don’t plan on counting on scholarships or government help to pay for college. If our child is lucky enough to get a full ride, the ESA will still cover other college costs such as living expenses, books, and meals. Also, the ESA is transferable to another sibling for the purpose of higher education until they are 30 years old. You can even change beneficiaries once a year.

With careful financial planning through an ESA we can help our child create a great future for themselves by helping them stay out of debt and create a great foundation for their career at college.

Have you created an ESA for your child? Do you plan on helping pay for your child’s college education? Are you overwhelmed with the rising costs of college?

These Resources May Help:

• How to Go to College Without a Loan
• Saving For College is Easier Than You Think

Photo by Sara Haj-Hassan.

Related Articles:

• When Budgeting Gets You Down
• Review: Create Multiple Income Streams eBook
• Recession-Proofing: It’s Not About How Much You Make
• Personal Finance: Eliminate Annual Fees on Credit Cards
• How one SAHM Recession-Proofed Her Family