Hi there, my friend.
One myth I take great joy in smashing to bits here at Ask, Save, Earn is that most negotiations are long, drawn-out affairs.
So many people shy away from asking for breaks or better deals because they’re afraid they won’t know what to say. They may have an opening line they’re comfortable with, and maybe even a follow-up response or two. But then what?
There’s good news, though: It often doesn’t come to that.
Just ask Maria DeVoto.
Maria writes Ten Dollar Latte on Substack, which she describes as “a newsletter about how to live a more intentional life by spending and consuming less.” I first ran across her work in this post on the cost of food delivery apps, which included some first-hand investigative reporting on exactly who you’re ordering from when you use these apps.
After reading that post, I contacted her about taking part in a Q&A here at Ask, Save, Earn — not about food delivery apps, but about her approach to money and her willingness to negotiate and ask for help. She said yes, and her answers included the exact wording she used in an email to get more than $800 knocked off a medical bill.
The interview also offers practical advice on spending more intentionally, one of Maria’s real passions. Here’s our conversation.
Matt Schulz: First, tell me a little bit about yourself and your Substack, please.
Maria DeVoto: I write the Substack blog Ten Dollar Latte. I started the blog because I felt that the personal finance content I saw on blogs, social media, and YouTube was mostly geared towards people paying off their car, saving for a house, and budgeting for gas price increases -- all things that aren’t relevant to me living in New York City. I decided to start writing the content that I wanted to read about how to spend and save more intentionally while living in a big city.
MS: Are you naturally comfortable negotiating with people and asking for breaks? For example, have you ever called a business and asked them to lower your cable bill, waive a late fee or something along those lines?
MD: Last year, I had a medical bill for $2,667. I emailed and asked, “Is there any option for courtesy adjustments for the larger payment?” and they reduced my bill to $1,845.
Honestly, medical bills are really overwhelming, and I struggle to determine if I’ve been charged appropriately for the service (like if the office used the right codes). But with bigger bills, it’s totally worth it to ask for a payment plan and/or courtesy adjustment!
MS: What happened after you sent that email? Did they agree to a reduction immediately? Was there any back and forth on the final number?
MD: It was with a cardiologist. (Everything is fine. Actually, part of why I was frustrated with the bill was because they did a bunch of testing I didn’t need!). I did have medical insurance. They actually made it easy because they were already emailing with me (as opposed to getting something in the mail that I would have to figure out if I could pay online or not).
There was no back and forth. They just reduced the bill, so I paid. It really was just one email.
MS: Your newsletter is about living “a more intentional life by spending and consuming less.” What do you see as the first steps toward spending more intentionally? We’re all about asking questions here at Ask, Save, Earn, so what are some questions you need to ask yourself or others to get to more intentional living?
MD: I track all my spending in a spreadsheet down to the penny and reflect on what I’ve spent each month. You don’t have to do that every month forever, but tracking your spending over a couple of months is the first step to spending intentionally. Companies have done so much to take away any friction in making a purchase, and it’s so easy to buy something without thinking about it. After tracking all your spending, you can go through the list and recognize the items that you’re happy with vs. the ones that you’re not, whether it’s because you didn’t need the item at all or because you overspent on the item.
MS: What’s the biggest misconception that people have about intentional spending? And what’s the biggest mistake you see people make when trying to spend more intentionally?
MD: There’s certain spending that’s villainized in the media: spending on coffee every day, a $300+/month Equinox membership, or spending on rent. There’s also spending that’s glorified in the media, like buying a house or paying for college. I think a lot of people latch onto these ideas of “good” and “bad” spending without reflecting on what’s considered good or bad spending to you. For example, I hate taking Ubers -- I think it’s a waste of money, I get carsick, and I prefer the train. But I know there are some people who value that. On the other side of things, I buy some insanely expensive groceries, like Elmhurst milk (about $8 for a 32 oz carton), which some people would never think is worth spending their money on.
Similar to the first steps in living and spending more intentionally, I would recommend looking at your spending over the past 1-3 months and, line by line, giving every item a category:
Green: Couldn’t live without it, happy with this purchase
Yellow: Probably could have found this cheaper or better, but it’s okay
Red: Why did I buy this?! It was a waste of money
Try to categorize items not by what you read in the media, but by whether it actually improved your life.
“David can win!”
Back to that cardiologist bill…
Victories like that happen way more often than you’d think. In researching my book and writing Ask, Save, Earn, I can’t tell you how many stories I’ve heard of people getting medical bills lowered — often by hundreds of dollars — just because they’re willing to ask.
I shared some of them in my book and one in an excerpt in the post below at Ask, Save, Earn:
The late, great journalist Marshall Allen, author of “Never Pay The First Bill (And Other Ways To Fight The Healthcare System And Win),” spent his career helping people navigate the nightmare that is the American healthcare system. When I interviewed him for my book, he told me something that every person in this country should remember:
“[People] throw their hands up because they assume there's nothing they can do, and the system seems so complicated. It seems like such a battle between David and Goliath, and they just don't realize that David can win."
Remember that the next time a medical bill lands in your mailbox. You don't have to assume the first number is the final word.
Until next time!
Matt