How to save money by embracing "cancel" culture (no, not that one)
Threatening to terminate a subscription, even if you don't really want to, may net you a discount. I just scored one myself. PLUS: Free movie tickets for Prime subscribers!
DISCLAIMER: Some of the links included herein are affiliate links (usually those in bold blue type), meaning if you make a purchase via one of them, I may get a small commission. I promise you, now and forever, that I won’t choose deals based on whether there’s an affiliate option available.
Sorry for the late send this week! I ran outta gas. I had a flat tire. I didn't have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn't come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake, a terrible flood, locusts! It wasn't my fault!
(Without Googling it, name the movie quote…)
QUICK HITS
🚗 Just a friendly reminder: As the weather starts to get colder, your tires will lose air pressure. Low pressure equals worse mileage and greater wear, which in turn costs you money. So make sure to check those wheels! (And if you don’t have an easy way to inflate them, I remain a huge fan of this battery-powered portable air compressor, a steal at just $24.)
🎞️ Here’s an Amazon Prime perk I’ll bet you didn’t know about: Free movie tickets! Check out Prime Premiere to score early-screening tickets to various Amazon Originals releases. These are typically one-night-only events, and they’re available only in select cities, but why not try your luck? You can get a ticket for yourself and one guest.
👨💻 Guess what’s back! For a limited time, StackSocial is once again offering the Microsoft Office Professional 2021 Lifetime License for $29.97. That ties the lowest price ever on this 1-user suite, which includes not only Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, but several other Microsoft apps as well. (Mac users, you can get in on this too.) All that’s missing here is OneDrive cloud storage, which isn’t a big deal if you don’t need it.
🚗 Another repeat, but with a better price than last time: Today only, and while supplies last, SideDeal has a 6-pack of emergency LED road flares for $14.99 (plus shipping). These ruggedized magnetic pucks can light up or flash in nine different ways, including an LED flashlight embedded in the top. There’s also a fold-out hanger clip that doubles as a kickstand. Everyone in my family has one of these in their car; at this price it’s a no-brainer buy.
📺 Does your Roku interface suddenly look a little different? You’re not crazy; the company just made a significant change: A larger “app grid” with smaller icons (four across instead of three). Is it a change for the better? Maybe, but I hate that this just happened one day without any notice, nor the option to return to the previous design. Microsoft and Apple do this all the time, forcing UI changes that might be unwelcome and unwanted. I’m sad to see Roku following suit.
🤑 Speaking of things that are making me cranky right now, Hulu just announced a $3 price increase. It wasn’t too long ago that an ad-free Hulu subscription was just $6 per month; now it’s going to be $18. I will say this is the streaming service I use more than any other, but I’m getting pretty sick of all the price hikes.
The excellent Xgimi Elfin portable projector is on sale for $499 (save $150)
One of my favorite projectors to date (and I’ve tested a lot of them) is the Xgimi Elfin, which normally runs $649 but is currently on sale for $499.
This compact portable theater-in-a-box delivers a super-bright 1080p image and comes with Android TV built in, so you can stream nearly everything (except Netflix, sigh) right out of the box. Plus, it auto-adjusts to whatever wall or screen you point it at, even if it’s from an angle (see above).
This would be killer on Halloween: Point it at your garage and loop Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video all night, or get one of those translucent yard screens and some spooky videos from AtmosFX; they’re really cool. There’s no battery power here, though, so you’ll need to run an extension cord.
I’ve briefly seen this for $20 less, but that was Black Friday and Prime Day pricing. That deal may well come around again in the coming months, but why wait? Baseball playoffs and football season are happening now, and they demand big-screen viewing.
How “cancel” culture can save you money
True story: About a year ago I renewed HBO Max — er, Max, I guess — for one year, netting both a promo-offer prepayment savings and a nice little chunk of cash back via Rakuten. With the year coming to end, however, I was now facing a renewal rate of $150. That’s a hefty sum for a service I’m barely using. (Succession: done. Barry: done. And lots of other new/returning shows are delayed due to the strike.)
So I decided to take a break for a couple months, see if I even missed having it. After making my way to the account-cancellation page (which, incidentally, can be accessed only from a desktop browser; I couldn’t get there on my phone), I clicked through a few requisite screens — and found myself looking at a “don’t go!” offer: I could keep Max for another three months for just $8/month.
Turns out I have a price. I wasn’t prepared to prepay $150 for another year or $16 monthly, but $8? With only a three-month commitment? Sure, I’ll do that. (Note: Your mileage may vary. I have no idea if this same offer will appear for everyone.)
A while back I had a similar experience with Panera’s Sip Club, which my wife and I enjoy because it affords unlimited coffee and iced tea (among other drinks). When you go to cancel, you get an offer to keep the subscription at a reduced rate.
If you’ve ever called to cancel a SiriusXM subscription, you’ve almost certainly encountered this: They’ll give you a much lower rate if you agree to stay. Same goes for many meal-kit delivery services (such as Hello Fresh).
The moral of the story: Even if you don’t intend to cancel a service, try canceling it. You might just score a discount for a few months, maybe even longer. (If you do, or you’ve already had success with this, tell me about it! Click the comment button below. And, no, I haven’t tried this with Hulu…yet.)
Thanks for reading Deal Secrets! Questions? Comments? Hit me up on Twitter or Facebook, or shoot me an e-mail. I’ll do my best to respond to all inquiries! Want to show your support? Buy me a coffee!
That was EASY. Blues Brothers!
"(If you do, or you’ve already had success with this, tell me about it! Click the comment button below. )
--- Ohhhh, yeah. 👍. Several times we went to cancel either the car or home Sirius, and the longer we stayed on the phone, the more desperate and cheap the offers came! Like fractions of the originals. It was a good deal when we did it!