Geico had the right idea.
But they way undersold it. A few 15-minute conversations could save you a helluva lot more than 15% on car insurance.
With this demon virus making a mess of the economy, millions of people suddenly find themselves out of work, struggling to make ends meet.
If you’re in that boat, besides immediately applying for EI, here are some quicks calls you should make.
- Call your mortgage provider (if you own) or your landlord (if you rent).
Most people’s biggest expense is their mortgage or rent. So call up your mortgage company or landlord, explain your situation and try to work something out together. No one wants you to default on your mortgage or evict you during a pandemic and be forced to find a nonexistent new tenant or risk getting dragged on social media for being tone dear and lacking compassion.
For the most part, there’s a good, cooperative, “we’re all in this together” vibe right now. You can likely tap into it and get reduced or deferred payments for a while.
But you won’t know until you pick up the phone and ask.
- Call your car finance company and your car insurance provider.
If you’re doing the social distancing thing and not driving to work every day, you’re liking saving a bundle on gas right now. Cool!
But you’re likely still stuck with car and insurance payments. Not cool!
So call up the finance company and discuss your payment options with them. Call your car insurance company, tell them what’s up and work out better payment terms.
That might sound like a long shot, but you’d be surprised. It’s really bad PR to be a dick right now when everyone’s hurting and stretched one way or another.
- Call your credit card company and whoever handles your other debt, like a line of credit or student loans.
The name of the game here is reducing interest payments one way or another.
Call your credit card company and request a lower interest rate. Ask about any offers they have for moving your balance from one credit card or loan to another. You can often get a really good interest rate on the transferred amount for a few months, if not a year or more. This will allow you to save interest and likely lower your minimum required payment at the same time.
Along the same lines, you could also ask about opening a line of credit and moving your credit card balance over. Once again, this could both lower the interest and minimum payment required.
Even OSAP will likely be down to give you a break for a while. These places know times are tight.
Don’t Phone It In
When a huge event you clearly had no control over like coronavirus messes up your plans and throws all your hard work out the window, it’s easy to get discouraged and deflated. To feel powerless and assume there’s nothing you can do.
There is.
Don’t make the mistake most people make and underestimate just how much power you have to get better terms.
Across the board, remember that in each of these situations you’re paying them. You don’t work for the bank or car insurance company or mortgage broker. They work for you.
And they need your business more than ever. Everyone has competitors and no one wants you to leave. If you start turning the screws like you would on your phone or cable company, they’ll find a way to keep you.
These conversations might be a bit awkward and uncomfortable, but they can mean the difference between getting by and losing everything. If you have any questions or need someone to coach you through what to say, your first call can always be to me. I have these sorts of conversations every day and would be happy to help.