In a morning‑news segment, financial‑empowerment coach Ash Exantus (BankMobile) shares a series of practical money‑saving “life hacks.” He explains that clearing your browser history prevents retailers from using your browsing data to raise prices, and that lowering the default brightness on TVs and computer screens reduces electricity usage and utility bills. He advises carrying larger‑denomination cash (e.g., a $100 bill) to curb impulse purchases, noting the psychological effect of seeing a big bill versus many small ones. Exantus also highlights the broader value of a good credit score, which can lower premiums from insurance and utility companies. Finally, he recommends calling service providers and asking for promotions or retention offers—especially when threatening to cancel—since many companies have hidden discounts for loyal customers. The segment ends with a plug to the PIX11 app for more tips.
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We're joined by Ash Exantus, financial empowerment coach for BankMobile, and he's joining us once again. And you have some money-saving life hacks for us. Good morning. Absolutely.
Good morning. Thank you for having me again. Appreciate it.
And we've been talking about them all morning long. One involves clearing your history on your computer to save money. Caitlin Monte was saying she saved thousands on like her, on like the wedding stuff because of that. Explain.
No, absolutely. So companies are being sophisticated. They're using your history to see what you want, and based on that, they're giving you different prices. So if you don't clear your history, they know what item you're looking for for, so they know— They'll jack up the price. Exactly. So they know you're going to buy it anyway, so they'll jack up the price.
That sounds so wrong.
Oh, absolutely. I mean, it's like a relationship. When you first get into a relationship, everything is all good. After you establish that relationship— oh, man.
All right. Why should we be lowering the brightness on our TV and our computer?
So what we don't realize is that the default brightness is only for stores, right? So when you go to the store, they want it as bright as possible so they can sell the TV. But when you get it at your house, you don't necessarily need it that bright. So you're burning up electricity. Your utility bills are going up. if you keep it at the default brightness.
All right, all right. And speaking of the TV, you have a hack that will help us with our cable bills, our phone bills, all the bills. So what's the hack?
You know—
Or actually, you know what, before we get to that, it's a good hack, but let's talk about the large bills here. Why should I carry a $100 bill instead of a couple 20s?
Yeah, see, psychologically, if you have a large bill, you're gonna be less likely to spend it. When you have lower bills, so a 20, a 10, you'll spend it. But when you look at, when you go to the store and you buy something, you look at that 50, look at that 100, you're like, nah, you know what?
I don't wanna break that. I don't need it.
Hold this in my pocket.
Exactly, exactly. Okay, building up credit is good because you'll save money, right?
Absolutely, and so people think that credit is only about getting loans from the bank, but actually, you know, insurance company, utility companies, they all use your credit to determine what your premium is gonna be. Somehow they decided that you're less likely to file a claim if your credit is higher, yeah.
All right, so work on the credit.
Yes.
Finally, back to the whole cable thing and the trick with the phones and stuff. You wanna lower your bill, you wanna get those promotions, what do you need to do?
Yes, so ask and you shall receive, right? You know, all of the companies, they don't want to lose their customers, but they're not going to say to their customers, hey, we got a way to save you on some bills. So all you have to do is just call them and ask them because they have a customer retention department, right? That if you just say, hey, listen, I want to know how can I lower my bill, they usually have promotions. And if you ask, you'll be surprised at how much you can save.
And you call them up like, hey, look, I'm about to cut this cable off.
Exactly.
You know, can you do something? What can you— you know, if they think you're going to go, they might give you a little more.
Especially if you're a loyal customer. They're like, ah, you know what, we don't want to lose this loyal customer. So All right, they'll take care of you.
Good tips there, little life hacks. Ash Exantus from BankMobile, always good when you stop by. And good stuff. I think I'll be using some of that, uh, that— those mind tricks. I'll be clearing my browser history from now on whenever I shop for anything. By the way, you want more information on these tips, go to the PIX11 app, click on the Morning News tab.
