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The inflation rate may have cooled from pandemic-era levels, but higher prices are still wreaking havoc on millions of Americans’ budgets. Affordability is suddenly the buzzword du jour after years of soaring prices for groceries, health care, housing and other essentials.
And it’s not exactly a surprise that inflation is the top financial concern among Americans across all income groups, according to a 2025 Gallup poll — a spot it has occupied every year since 2022.
Unfortunately, the squeeze may continue. Economists from Deloitte, for instance, project that inflation will rise modestly in 2026 as tariffs take their toll, with consumer prices forecast to increase at an annualized rate of 3.2%, compared with an estimated 2.9% in 2025.
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What’s a frustrated consumer to do? If you’re like many people, reining in spending probably tops your list of moves, with half of the respondents in a recent McKinsey survey saying they planned to scale back discretionary outlays, such as travel, home-improvement projects and electronics purchases.
That’s a sensible response, of course. But it won’t ease the sting of high prices on everyday essentials. And depriving yourself too much can drain joy from your life at a time when everyone could use a break from economic stress.
What will help: Experts say there are several smart strategies you can pursue to lower the cost of almost everything you buy, from groceries to insurance to cell phone coverage to streaming services — without depriving yourself.
“A lot of people think that to save money you have to sacrifice and cut out certain expenses or purchases or outings, but the reality is you may not need to,” says consumer expert Andrea Woroch. “You might be spending extra on services you don’t need or use, or there could be a better deal out there that you’re missing out on.”
The key is knowing the right approach and the scripts to follow. Here’s what experts say works to save money on just about everything.
1. Pick up the phone.
Sometimes the key to getting lower prices from providers — from insurers to cell phone carriers — is simply to call and ask for a better deal. Customer service and retention specialists are often empowered to offer discounts, experts say, and the personal interaction humanizes you, making it harder for the representative to say no.
The strategy has an impressive success rate. Among those who called their credit card issuer and asked for a better interest rate, for example, more than 80% received one, according to a recent LendingTree survey. Meanwhile, 95% of those who asked their card issuer for a break on their annual fee had the charge reduced or waived.
“Providers pretty much always have some promotion running that if you ask about you might be able to get applied to your account,” says Daniel McGrath, general manager at Rocket Money, a money-management app that helps consumers lower bills.
For your best shot at success, do some research before the call, including collecting competitor rates and promotional offers, which you can use as leverage when asking for a better deal. You might say, “I see competitor X is offering a similar service for this amount. Can you match that price or apply a promotion so I don’t have to switch?”
Timing matters. Reach out first thing in the morning or toward the end of the workday, because midday hours tend to get busier, suggests Barry Gross, founder and president of BillCutterz, a bill-negotiation service.
That way, he says, “Maybe they can spend some time with you and thoroughly go over your bill, line by line, to see what they can do for each particular charge or fee to lower it for you.”
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If the first rep you speak with isn’t authorized to make changes, ask to speak with a supervisor or the “retention department.” Still no luck? Hang up and call back. Different representatives have different discretion to offer discounts or apply credits. Calling back may get you someone with more flexibility or a better attitude about helping you.
Don’t accept the first offer, which probably isn’t the best and final deal you can get. Instead, follow up with questions such as, “Is that your best price?” or an open-ended query such as, “What else can you do for me?”
Once you’re satisfied with the offer, make sure to confirm the new rate in writing or via e-mail. Then check your next bill to ensure the discount is applied correctly. Keep records of the person you spoke with and details of the agreement in case future discrepancies arise.
If you’d rather outsource the task, services like BillCutterz and Rocket Money take care of such negotiations on your behalf. But it’s not cheap: The typical fee is 35% to 60% of the first year’s savings.
2. Try your luck online.
The upside is that those hoops might save you money. Providers of phone or internet services, streaming and other digital subscriptions, or other recurring services tend to follow this pattern when you try to cancel: First, they’ll remind you how great their service is, then they’ll offer you a modestly better rate.
If you decline, they’ll propose other options, such as reduced service (think streaming with more ads), or suggest suspending service for a few months. If you say no again, they’ll offer an even bigger price cut.
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“Providers escalate the deals as you approach cancellation, whether you’re doing it online or chatting with a retention rep,” says George Kamel, a financial coach and co-host of radio’s The Ramsey Show, a financial advice program from the Dave Ramsey team. “Their whole goal is to make leaving feel harder than staying.”
For a service you’re on the fence about, going through with a cancellation may nab you an even better deal later on. Providers often send out e-mails a month or two later, begging customers to come back at a deeply discounted price that beats their original “best” offer.
3. Avoid subscription creep.
Subscription creep — when the amount you’re paying each month for streaming services and other subscriptions slowly goes up without you noticing — is a common problem. A study by C&R Research found that consumers estimated they were paying a total of $86 per month for all of their subscriptions, less than half their actual $219 monthly bill. The main reason: Automated payments made the charges easy to forget, even for services they no longer used.
Tackle your subscriptions by reviewing your credit card and bank statements — ideally for the past year, because some renew annually — and making a list of every recurring charge. Then, check your phone’s app store, Amazon subscriptions and other platforms for any overlooked or forgotten subscriptions you might still be paying for.
Kamel recommends using the 30-30 rule: Go through each subscription and ask yourself whether you’ve used it in the past 30 days or you plan to use it in the next 30 days.
“If the true answer is no, just cancel it,” he says. “The good news is you can always sign up for it again later if you need it.”
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Do this exercise once or twice a year. Alternatively, you can use apps such as Trim by OneMain and KeepOrCancel, both free for basic services, to automatically detect and aggregate recurring subscriptions. Also, set a calendar reminder every time you sign up for a free trial. Once you get the reminder, you can determine whether you want to keep the service or cancel it before the trial period ends.
“It’s so easy to quickly sign up for something, accept a free trial, and go about the rest of our day and forget we tried that product,” Rocket Money’s McGrath says. “Then we find ourselves paying for it — potentially for months and months and months.”
Read more: 9 Ways You Can Save Money on Streaming Services
4. Be basic.
You no doubt know that switching from name brands to store brands can save you a bundle — from 25% to 40% on groceries, 80% to 85% on medications and, according to the market research firm Numerator, $2 per item on average for all products. But you may be unwilling to sacrifice taste and quality to save a few bucks.
That’s typically no longer the trade-off you have to make. “Store brands have gotten a lot better over the years,” says Matt Schulz, chief consumer finance analyst with LendingTree and author of Ask Questions, Save Money, Make More. “It used to be that they were a pale imitation of what you wanted, but a lot of stores have stepped up their game.”
For staple items — such as pantry basics, paper goods, cleaning supplies and over-the-counter medications — generic or store brands typically offer nearly identical quality to name brands at a significantly lower price, Kamel says.
That’s partly due to lower marketing and distribution costs and partly because store brands are frequently produced by the same manufacturers as name-brand products, often using the same main ingredients but with slightly different formulations.
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For example, Bumble Bee Tuna manufactures Costco’s Kirkland brand tuna fish, while General Mills, maker of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, manufactures Aldi’s Millville Cinnamon Squares cereal, says Kyle James, founder of the blog Rather-Be-Shopping. To confirm the value is real, compare unit prices and ingredients, because marketing and packaging can sometimes mislead.
Not sure whether to switch? Try swapping out a few items each time you shop so that you can taste-test and decide which generic products suit your preferences and which name brands, if any, are worth the extra money.
Read more: 10 Cities Where Grocery Prices Are Highest
5. Let tech do the heavy lifting.
Apps and browser extensions now make it much easier to check whether a given product’s current price is higher or lower than usual and whether you might be able to buy it for less from a different retailer.
Consider setting deal alerts for planned purchases via sites such as Google Shopping or Slickdeals, which will notify you when an item you’re tracking goes on sale. Deal alerts can also give you a heads-up if something you purchased goes on sale later, so you can request a price adjustment from the retailer.
When possible, check multiple sources before making a purchase, both in-store and online, as prices can vary drastically and promotions change frequently.
Technology can help here as well. The app ShopSavvy, for example, allows you to compare prices both online and in-store, using its barcode-scanning feature.
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Deal-finding browser extensions, such as Capital One Shopping, Honey and Rakuten, automatically search for and apply coupons at checkout when you’re shopping online, while CamelCamelCamel tracks price history on Amazon, so you can see whether something is actually a good deal or just marked as one, Kamel says.
If the apps and extensions don’t surface any discount codes, open the retailer’s chat feature and request one.
“Many live chat operators are sitting there with coupon codes for those who politely ask,” James says. “Tell them you have items in your cart and are looking for a little help on the cost or possibly free shipping.”
You may not even have to connect with an actual person. In 2024, nearly 60% of online shoppers used artificial-intelligence chatbots to find coupons, discount codes or less expensive product prices, according to Talkdesk, which provides AI-powered customer service technology.
Read more: 6 Ways to Use AI to Improve Your Financial Life
6. Up your loyalty game.
Free loyalty programs from travel vendors, retailers, grocery stores and restaurants provide members with exclusive discounts, birthday rewards and personalized coupons for significant savings that add up over time. But you can often unlock even bigger discounts by signing up for e-mail or text alerts, as well as downloading the merchant’s app.
“You don’t necessarily get all the deals applied at checkout with just your loyalty number these days,” Woroch says.
The Sephora app, for example, provides users with app-only offers that recently included daily discounts of 30% to 50% off beauty products from a revolving list of top manufacturers, such as FENTY and Tarte.
(Image credit: Mike Kemp / Contributor)
Meanwhile, Starbucks also gives app users extra perks — recent promotions featured 50% off afternoon drinks, double points on purchases, buy-one-get-one-free days and access to a secret fan-favorite customized menu — as well as personalized discounts.
James recommends picking just a handful of loyalty programs — maybe one airline, one hotel and a few favorite stores—and channeling as much spending as possible through them to maximize benefits. Then, time your large, planned purchases with loyalty club promotions, such as when they offer four times the usual number of points on gift card purchases or bonuses when you surpass a certain spending threshold, James says.
7. Ditch your online cart.
Filling up your online shopping cart, but opting not to immediately check out and complete the purchase, has two benefits. First, it gives you an opportunity to think about a potential impulse buy to decide whether it’s something you truly need or it’s a fleeting want. Second, merchants may get desperate for your business and send you an e-mail offer with an even sweeter deal.
Nearly seven in 10 direct-to-consumer retailers send an e-mail to customers who abandon their carts, nearly all within the first 24 hours, according to e-mail marketing platform Rejoinder.
Typical discount offers range from 10% to 20%, with retailers that sell travel accessories, health and wellness goods, and eyewear among the most likely to extend offers.
If the first e-mail doesn’t include a discount or at least a free-shipping offer, keep waiting. While half of retailers send an offer in their first e-mail, 30% make their first offer in their second e-mail, and 18% do so in their third message.
The bottom line: Patience pays off, along with following a savings script. The more you actively seek out deals, the more you’ll save.
Bonus round: Stop paying these fees.
Hidden fees account for tens of billions of dollars in unnecessary consumer spending, according to federal regulators. While some of them are tough to evade, these five common charges are relatively easy to fix.
Monthly checking account fees. More than half of banks charge a monthly maintenance fee (average: $5.47), according to Bankrate. If you don’t want to move your money to the 47% of banks without one, see whether your bank waives the fee if you meet certain criteria, such as signing up for direct deposit.
Airline baggage fees. Checking just one bag can add $35 to $55 to each leg of your flight, according to the travel website The Points Guy. Airlines often waive the fee for travelers who have elite status on a frequent-flier program or those who use a co-branded credit card to book their trip. Another option: Pack lightly in a carry-on.
Router fee. Most telecom providers charge a monthly rental fee ($10 to $17 typically, according to Allconnect) for the modem or router required for service. Purchasing the equipment will cost you $100 to $200 up front, but you’ll eliminate the monthly fee from your bill, typically breaking even within the first year or two.
Payment apps. Apps such as PayPal and Venmo typically charge you a 1.75% fee to transfer money instantly from your app balance to your bank account and a 3% fee to send money to others from your credit card.
To avoid those fees, you could use Zelle, which moves money instantly between bank accounts. Or, with PayPal and Venmo, use your bank account rather than your credit card as the source of funds for your payments, and opt for standard transfers to your bank account, which may take a few business days but are free.
Event ticketing fees. On top of already high prices to attend concerts, sporting matches and other events, ticket sellers tack on fees that range from 20% to 38% of the ticket price. To circumvent the charges, buy directly through the box office in person or on the platform TickPick, which does not charge fees on resales.
Note: This item first appeared in Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine, a monthly, trustworthy source of advice and guidance. Subscribe to help you make more money and keep more of the money you make here.
