Note: This is not an article to guide you on stock picking.

You know Warren Buffet as a successful investor (and if don’t then you are probably an alien…!) and it’s no secret that he gets better deals in everything he does.  When he wants to invest in a company, the company offers him a better price for its stock and then throws in some preferred stocks or warrants. People pay millions to meet him and dine with him.

So how does he do it? And how can you do it?

1. Stick to the basics.

Warren Buffet has always only invested in businesses that he can understand well and he thinks that will remain in demand consistently; for they satisfy specific needs people have. If something is too complicated for you to understand you will probably not be able to take a right decision on it.  Stay away from things that are not intuitive to you. There will always be enough opportunities that you can understand and be comfortable with. You may have to just look around a bit.

2. Negotiate.

Do you think Warren Buffet takes the first offer he gets for a company stock? No way..! He negotiates. And you think it is cheap to negotiate even when billionaires are doing it. Negotiation is one of the best skills you can learn, it will come in handy at various points in life, right from buying your home or car to negotiation your salary.

3. Network and create a reputation for yourself.

Research may be a good source to find opportunities but the best deals are still struck by knowing people.  Warren Buffet’s network of rich and influential people who hold him in high regards helps him get to opportunities before other s.  Network with people, and care about what they think about you.

Communicate with your friends, employees, investors on a regular basis. If there is something they will come to know about you or your firm, let it be you who tells it to them. This is the best way to build trust and reputation.

4. Get there first.

Good deals don’t last forever and Warren Buffet knows that. You will never see Warren Buffet investing in what is hot now (because people have already got there). If you have missed the wave, you have missed the wave. There is nothing you can do about it.  Instead of trying to jump on it start looking for the next wave. Whether it is investing or any other decision; research and domain knowledge adds value. Spend time to gain some expertise in the domain of your interest and you will be able to spot opportunities before other people see them.

5. Adopt simplicity.

Warren Buffet still lives in the house he bought several decades ago for approximately $31,500. A carefree life style will also affect other aspects of your decision making. As long as you are able to keep it simple, you are increasing your odds of success.

6. Be confident.

Warren Buffet once said:

I always knew I was going to be rich. I don’t think I ever doubted it for a minute.

That’s confidence.  Confidence can be the difference between what you dream about and what you achieve.  Believe in your abilities and work on improving your skills and you will get there.

Chase is a good bank and they have decent checking account if you direct deposit your pay checks but I for sum reason have not manged to get the best deals with them and my experience over time has worsened.

Chase Bad experience 1:

There was a promotion $125 floating around  for new checking account customers when I joined but I did not have the coupon with me, I walked in to the bank with one of my friends referrals to make use of it, the banker told me that unless the coupon was mailed to me specifically I cannot use.  I took the banker for his word and only to find at a later day that the banker lied and if I had persisted I could have got that coupon to be used for me. The problem was I need a checking account as I did not have any and wanted to add one in my company for my direct deposit.

Money lost : $125

Chase Bad experience 2:

The banker fooled me in to registering for a new credit card in the name of over draft protection. A credit card application is worth at least a $100 bonus or equivalent for me.

Money lost : $100

Chase Bad experience 3:

I received 2  Bonus tickets to US Opens for moving X amount of money to my savings account with them…! Now before you think how can that be bad, The tickets were priced at $40 each and were reported as  interest on my I 1099. Now I should have been aware of this but the banker did not disclose it.

Money lost : $20

Chase Bad experience 4:

When I moved some money to my chase account the banker upgraded me to a Premium customer which had some benefits but did not disclose any minimum balance requirement. Later when I moved the money the balance fell below the limit and I was fined $25 each time

for two months when I caught this in the bank statement I was furious. I asked them to reverse the fee whihc the rep did not do on the phone, so I had to Visit my bank, the banker only reversed one fee.

Money lost : $25

Chase Bad experience 5:

I before I was given the additional Credit Card by the banker, I already had a CC from Chase, but the terms were not so favorable, so I hardly used it.  I got a male from chase promoting a 0% APR balance transfer for 6 months. I did read the fine print but probably not carefully enough. The fine print was worded as follows. “No balance transfer fee“  (in bold) many other terms and then “Transaction fee may apply as specified in your card member agreement”.  For some reason I did not understand the full extent of that clause and ended up using the balance transfer with the intention of making some interest on my credit line. In the next month report I saw a $75 fee as transaction fee…! On top of it, there was a 13% interest on the transaction fee (which would not be much, but still) and any money I pay would first apply to my lower APR balance. This was the first time I understood the traps Credit cards issuers put in a Card memeber agreement.

Money lost : ~$80

So my Chase experience has cost me $350 till date. No wonder banks make so much money in fees. How much has your bank cost you lately.

PS: I have moved all my balance from Chase and am in the process of closing my accounts with them.

I have a Comcast high speed internet connection and I am pretty satisfied with the service. The cost for it was  $33.99 (with taxes and rental for the modem~ $37) for 1 yare which ended in Jan 2009 and my internet cost shot up to $ 42.99 (with other fees it was ~ 47/month). I had a 6Mbps download speed plan with Comcast which was good as I download and watch a lot of streaming content but the increase in fee was hurting,  so I decided I will call them and try to get it down.

Attempt 1: Fail

In Jan 09, in less than 2 minutes the representative got me convinced that they could not lower my rate and the only way to lower my rate was to accept a much lower download speed ~ 1Mbps , which was for about ~29/month.

Attempt 2: Fail

In April 09, frustrated by the higher rate I was paying, I thought of giving this another shot. I got Windy on the line, who was not at all helpful and not at all aware of the plans Comcast had. I asked her for a discount/promotion/etc., she did not offer me any and also said that I could not downgrade my plan…! I just thanked her and was off in less than 3 minutes. I did not want to talk to someone s o unaware.

Attempt 3: Yippee….

On the same day, 5 minutes later I decided to give this a final shot,  I  had reached Windy by selecting the option of Cancel Service, I did not want my call to get routed to her again, so I selected the option of billing inquiry, hoping to get someone else, and I did, now I straight away told them I wanted to downgrade my service as I could not pay the high rate I am currently paying. This is how it went.

Rep: Sir, let me see how I can help you. Can you provide me with the telephone number associated with you account or your account number.

Me: (why would I know my Comcast account number, Gave my telephone number).

Rep: I see your monthly rate is 42.99/month but that is the best rate we are offering unless you are a new customer.

Me: I know, can you downgrade my account to a lower speed.

Rep: We have a promotional offer on 1Mbps for 6 months with a rate of 24.99/month. After that the rate goes to 33.99/month

Me: Oh, the speed sounds too low. Do you have some other plans?

Rep: Let me see Sir (goes away for 1 minute).

Rep: Sorry for the long hold. I can offer you 34.99/month for 6 months on your existing plan, if you would like to continue with the same plan.

Me: (Hell ya..! I want 6Mbps download speed, partly excited not trying to show) That does not save me a lot per month.

Rep: (Works out all the calculations, says)  For only 10 dollars a month more  (as compared to 1Mbps plan) you get 6 times the speed and you get nearly 20% off of your current rate. (I got an intelligent one..!)

Me: (With no more will to negotiate). Ok I guess I will take the offer of 34.99/month.

Closing comment:

Well I did not save a lot but ~ $7/month for 6 months (so ~ $42) that was a well worth conversation.

Did you ever try to negotiate your plan with your service provider? If not, then now is the time.  Let me know in the comments about your experience.