The exact email that saved a reader $290 at the dentist
It knocked her dental bill down 51%. Here's exactly what she wrote and the one condition she had to agree to
Hello there, my friend.
I can’t even tell you how much I love it when readers reach out to tell me how they saved themselves money or made some money just by asking.
That happens more often these days, and I hope it only becomes more frequent as the Ask, Save, Earn community grows.
The latest example came from Christine, a coordinator at a large entertainment company in Los Angeles. Longtime Ask, Save, Earn readers might recognize her from this story from September 2025.
Saving that much money just by asking a few questions makes Christine nothing short of a superstar around these parts, so I was excited when she reached out again to share her latest success.
Here’s what she sent me…
“I had to pop in for some quick dental work, and when I received the original quote, I asked if the office had any promotions, specials, potential discounts I could be considered for, and they responded by knocking my out-of-pocket cost down by over 50%! A 5-minute email chain saved a few hundred dollars!”
When I read that, I reached back out in a hurry to ask if she’d be willing to share the email she sent so people could learn from it. She was nice enough to say yes.
Note: To protect Christine’s privacy, I removed names and other details that weren’t really pertinent to this discussion. They’re replaced by “xxxx” in the text below.
The email
Thanks so much, xxxx! I really appreciate you sending this over.
One thing - I recall the office offering some specials/discounts earlier this year. Might there be any current promotions, discounts, or other options available that could help lower my out-of-pocket cost?
Thank you again for all of your help!
Best,
xxxx
Simple, right?
She expresses gratitude, gets to the point quickly but without being pushy, and then thanks the person again.
The dentist office’s response
Hi xxxx!
Great question! Since your insurance will pay our usual and customary rate, I can pass any savings on to your out-of-pocket cost.I can offer an additional discount for the xxxx if you decide to move forward with all of Dr. xxxx’s recommendations, bringing your out-of-pocket cost down to $180 for the xxxx. That, in addition to the xxxx for $100, would bring your total to $280.
Let me know if this works well for your budget!
Smiles,
xxxx
That’s it! There was one string attached — she had to move forward with all of the doctor’s recommendations — but Christine agreed to do so. As a result, she knocked the original quoted out-of-pocket cost of $570 down to just $280. That’s a savings of $290 or slightly more than half of the original bill.
I’d say that was worth her time.
More success stories
Christine is a rock star when it comes to these requests, no question, but much of her success comes from simply being willing to ask. Nothing she did at the dentist office — or when she saved $3,500 as described in the previous post — was anything that most anyone else could not do. But you have to do them.
Of course, there’s never any guarantee that you’ll even save a penny when you ask these questions, but you’ll never know if you don’t try. Plus, even if you strike out most of the time, you still come out ahead. And who couldn’t benefit from that right now?
Here are a couple more posts about reader success stories …
Here’s one of my own. Like Christine’s story, a simple email made a major difference for me …
And there are plenty more to be found in my book, “Ask Questions, Save Money, Make More: How To Take Control Of Your Financial Life,” which includes word-for-word scripts for how to make these requests.
Share your success story!
I’d love nothing more than to add your success story to the list above. If you have one — or know someone who does — and would like to share, just reply to this email or leave me a message in the comments.
In other news… The Fed did nothing, and it was something!
I have a weird job sometimes, like yesterday.
Yesterday, the Federal Reserve — which affects, to varying degrees, the interest rates people pay for everything from mortgages and auto loans to credit cards and personal loans — announced that they weren’t going to raise or lower interest rates.
When most entities do nothing, it generally isn’t news, especially if you know with a high degree of certainty that it is going to do nothing. However, the Fed is not most entities. Whether it raises rates, lowers them or just leaves them alone, as they did yesterday, it makes major headlines.
That means I had to talk about what all this nothing meant.
The truth, however, is that all this nothing really does mean something. It is great news for savers because CDs and high-yield savings accounts will continue to offer really strong returns. However, it is a total bummer for people struggling with credit card debt or who are in the market for an auto loan or personal loan. (It impacts mortgage rates, too, but less directly than some other loans.)
I spoke about all of this with the New York Times, CNBC, Marketwatch and others. Click on any of these links to learn more about why it all matters so much.
Until next time!
Matt