#75 Seriously Reviewing Fixed Costs: A Lesson 15 Years in the Making

In household budget management, reviewing the fixed costs paid every month has a significant impact.

My home internet contract has just reached its renewal period. As I considered whether to continue or switch to another provider, I realized that this is not just a matter of fixed costs, but also a habit of "how to deal with my future self."

In this article, I would like to share some of the thoughts I had during this process.

Internet lines are differentiated by "discounts," not "speed"

First, I will touch upon the overview of recent internet contracts.

Currently, there are two main types of plans offered by each company: 1 Gbps and 10 Gbps. This "Giga" refers to the maximum speed, not the limit of communication data capacity. Since I conduct online coaching sessions, I believe that faster communication speeds are always better, so I have chosen the 10 Gbps plan. The basic monthly fee for any company is around 6,000 yen.

What is good to know here is that many services with names like "XX Hikari" are provided by leasing NTT's fiber-optic lines (this is called "Hikari Collaboration"). Since the line itself is shared, the speed and stability are basically the same.

In other words, what companies can differentiate themselves with is not speed, but discounts and cashbacks. Depending on set discounts with smartphone contracts and limited-time campaigns, the amount can change by tens of thousands of yen per year if you choose carefully.

I don't do "poi-katsu" (point collecting), but here is why I seriously review my internet line

I have decided not to do what is called "poi-katsu." Carrying around point cards and apps and taking them out every time I pay... I feel that the return is small compared to the effort involved.

However, I believe that internet lines are an area where one should seriously put in the effort. The reasons are the large impact on the amount of money and the fact that it only takes "one effort."

All that is needed is a few hours of effort. That creates a difference of tens of thousands of yen per year, and it continues to be effective over multiple years. It is, so to speak, a "tasty investment" that works like compound interest.

Last year's "500 yen per month incident"

Last summer was the renewal period for my two-year internet contract, so I tried to switch to another company once. When I told my current provider that I was "considering cancellation," they offered a discount to keep me.

As a result, I went from paying 4,400 yen per month for a 1 Gbps equivalent plan to being able to use a faster 10 Gbps plan for 500 yen per month. I was shocked that such a thing could happen.

However, I also have mixed feelings. I am happy that it became cheaper, but if I hadn't said "I will cancel," this offer would not have been made. In other words, it is a structure where those who speak up win, and those who continue to use it silently are left with high fees.

By the way, this discount only applies for one year, and from July 2026, it will be about 6,000 yen. So, I calmly switched to the 500 yen plan and set a reminder to "switch fiber-optic lines" in late June 2026 (which is now).

As a little trick, I wrote the URL of the page to refer to and even how to proceed by looking at what in the notes section. The reason is simple: after a year, I will definitely not remember. The key is to be prepared so that when I receive the reminder notification, I can open it and start moving immediately.

A bitter memory from 15 years ago

My habit of "setting a reminder on the spot, no matter how far in the future it is" has an origin story. It happened about 15 years ago, back when I was still using an au feature phone. I had signed up for a service after being told, "If you join this option, your monthly fee will be cheaper." Even though I was told, "The first month is free, please cancel it yourself from the second month onwards," I forgot to go through the cancellation process and ended up paying for it for a long time. The extra amount I paid was probably around 3,000 to 4,000 yen in total. I still vividly remember the frustration I felt back then, even 15 years later, but I like to think of it as a good tuition fee.

A Battle Without Honor or Humanity

Returning to the present. My home fiber-optic internet will cost 6,000 yen per month starting next month if I leave it as is, so I am reconsidering my provider.

When I looked into the campaigns for each company as of June 2026, GMO Tokutoku BB Hikari stood out in particular. In addition to a 6-month free period, they offer a high cash-back amount and even cover the cancellation fees incurred from switching from another company. It's at a level where I even wonder if they can stay in business doing this much, or what this means in terms of business practices.

Come to think of it, since the quality of fiber-optic internet is the same everywhere, each company has no choice but to compete almost entirely on price. I think that's why it becomes this kind of "battle without honor or humanity" in terms of discounts. While I have doubts about the industry structure, as a consumer, the amount is too significant to ignore, so I am currently thinking of switching to this GMO Tokutoku BB Hikari. (Since there are many application conditions written in small print, I am currently in the stage of carefully examining them.)

Summary

Maintaining large fixed costs can lead to saving tens of thousands of yen annually with just a few hours of effort.

However, no matter how much you know it's valuable, it's meaningless if you forget. Assuming that my future self will forget, I set up a mechanism (a reminder) in advance.

This idea of "designing on the premise of forgetting" is a concept that can be used for more than just fixed costs. It doesn't matter what tool you use, such as the native iPhone Reminders app or Google Calendar.

The important thing is to "be able to reliably receive a notification at the appropriate time."