We live in a culture where the price tag is king - we pay what it says and don't think to do anything else.

But the cost-of-living crisis needs us all to be a little more savvy. So we decided to put things to the test. After all, as the famous scene in Monty Python's Life of Brian suggests, "you've got to haggle for it".

As our energy bills soar, a tax increase lurks on the horizon and interest rates put mortgage payments up, one way of saving a few quid is on what many now consider to be the essential services of TV, broadband, home and mobile phone bills.

Indeed, the likes of money-saving expert Martin Lewis and consumer organisation Which? urge us all not to let contracts keep rolling on when they reach the end of their minimum term, but to contact the provider and try and negotiate a better deal.

So we set out to see how much we could negotiate down the cost of an existing full whistles and bells package with VirginMedia - and the results may surprise you.

We wanted to see if the package we had - which included a rather nippy 600Mbs broadband connection, full TV package (which includes Sky and BT Sports and Sky Cinema), an extra TV box for a different room, an all-inclusive home phone deal and a mobile SIM card with unlimited data, calls and texts - could be improved upon.

And time is of the essence too, as it's just about to ramp its charges up by the equivalent of more than £50 a year with customers having until February 15 to either leave or steel themselves for a bit of negotiating.

Before revealing what happened, you may well want to ask yourself this...in this day and age, do you actually need a pay-TV package?

After all, why commit yourself to the likes of Sky, Virgin or BT for 18 months when there are so many other options available?

It's a bit of a legacy issue in many ways. After all, it was only a few years ago that if you wanted access to a variety of TV channels, then a pay-TV package was the only way to go. Fast home broadband, and the advent of 'smart TVs' (or a Chromecast dongle) has changed all of that.

So rather than splashing out you could use Freeview for your regular TV, then simply bolt on a streaming service such as Netflix (£9.99 a month for HD), Amazon Prime (£7.99), Disney+ (£7.99) or BritBox (£5.99). None require you to sign minimum contracts meaning once you've binged all they can offer, you could just ditch them, or switch between them as you see fit.

But all offer a stack of compelling content, much of which will even stream to your TV (assuming its compatible) in pixel-perfect 4K (although it's worth noting if you want that via Netflix you'll need to upgrade to its £14.99 a month premium service).

Just to give an indication, you could have all four of the big streaming services for £31.96 a month and possibly never again find yourself wondering what to watch.

And, as mentioned above, while most modern TVs will allow you to download the apps, if they don't, using a Chromecast or Amazon Firestick plugged into a spare HDMI socket will allow you to access the apps on your mobile or tablet and then beam it to your big screen.

As for movies - well buying or renting via the likes of Prime, Apple TV, YouTube is a simple process if you're keen to catch a blockbuster, not already showing on the streaming services.

Sports fans may miss out - but a Now TV day pass for £9.98 allows you just to catch your team's big games shown on Sky's channel - and currently there's an offer where you'll get a six-month free subscription to its sports channels via your mobile phone (if you're quick - the offer is due to expire on February 6).

As for broadband - well that's a more difficult proposition as it will rely on what is available for where you live and the speeds will be dependant on what you're likely to need. So, if you have kids gaming online, while you're working from home, then you're going to need decent speeds - ideally in excess of 50Mb to comfortably ensure all your devices run as you would hope.

But it is worth shopping around. Uswitch.com provides a handy tool to see just what is available to you from a wide range of providers.

For example, by using one residential address we used as an example, the cost of internet service providers promising speeds of around 67Mbps ranged in price from £19.99 to £32.99 for 24 month contracts. That represents a saving of £312 over the term - or £106 a year. Not to be sniffed at.

As for a landline - the big question, today, is do you actually need one? If not, ponder the saving you could make by relying, instead, on your mobile. Although, it should be said, many internet providers still require one to deliver your broadband so they tend to package them together.

But if you're one of the millions who can't do without the top of the range packages, we looked to see if VirginMedia could do better than the £139 it was charging for its stupidly named Ultimate Oomph bundle.

Our contract was coming to an end. Surely, you'd think, they'd want to keep a customer shovelling more than £1,000 into their bank account every year?

It's a lot of money to pay every month. Especially for a TV interface which looks like it was designed in the 1990s.

However, there is an issue. VirginMedia's customer service is notoriously poor. Efforts in the past to try and contact them are normally prolonged and painful. This would be no different.

So firstly, don't muck about. Go in armed with information.

We'd contacted Sky and asked them what, if we were to move lock, stock and barrel to them, would be the best they could offer. Since you ask, the list price for new customers for full TV package (with UHD and HD add-on), extra box, landline with anytime minutes, and 68Mb guaranteed broadband (which is significantly less than Virgin) - but no phone SIM - is £108 and a one-off joining fee of £29.95. It's not quite as meaty as VirginMedia but you do get Sky Atlantic (and from previous experience, semi-reasonable customer service).

Tempting them with landing a customer from their rival, they offer everything to me for £85 a month for 18months. That's a saving, over the year, of £276. They agree to hold the price until I get back to them.

Then it's off to see what VirginMedia is now offering new customers. And, needless to say, it's a price point all loyal customers will consider a bit of a cheek.

For its new Ultimate Volt bundle - renamed after VirginMedia and O2 joined forces and replacing the Oomph (thank goodness) as it's top package - it's advertised for £99 for fresh meat.

Settling down for the long run, we look to see what they can offer.

When you ring them up and go through the myriad of options you want to head for the 'I'm thinking of leaving Virgin' option. And then settle down to a bit of muzak blasting in your ears.

On my first effort, the very best they can offer me is £134 a month. A measly saving of £5. I baulk at it and bang on, politely, that as a loyal customer they can surely do better than that. They can't they insist. I politely decline and hang up.

I call back a couple of days later and, for the very first time, encounter a chap who seems to know that good customer care is about giving good advice as well as being efficient. He informs me to call back when I'm a month away from my contract ending as that's when the better discounts can be applied. I thank him for his honesty and make a date to call the following week. I liked him. Perhaps it was Richard Branson, although as a quick Google search informs me he no longer owns it (instead he gets a payment for the use of the Virgin name), it probably wasn't.

So with precisely a month to go, we settle down and repeat the process.

This time, when we choose the option, we are instantly - by way of recorded message - offered a £9 a month reduction in the charge to remain on a rolling contract. An improvement which would see an annual saving of £108 and I'd not spoken to a single person. But persevere.

Eventually I get through to someone and explain my issue. I've been a loyal customer, but Sky have offered me a good deal. What's the best they can do?

Firstly, they're going to offer me some upgrades with perks.

They'll throw in the 4K service, increase my broadband to a break-neck 1Gb and exchange my Virgin SIM for an O2 one (still with unlimited data, calls and texts) and, as an additional perk, chuck in 6 months free Disney+ (worth £47.94) or a year's free Audible (worth £95.88). Oh, and I'll get my existing TV upgraded to Virgin 360 (which brings it into the 21st century).

At first, they offer £120 a month. That's £19 a month off - or an annual saving of £228. It's tempting.

I suggest what about the £99 offer for new customers, after all, they won't have to shell out on the installation that a new customer would come with.

Eventually, after a bit of good natured toing and froing we settle on £110, fixed, for 18 months.

That's a 20% saving on the price - and protects me from the sharp increase which kicks in in March - and decent upgrade to my package.

Simply my making the call rather than allowing my contract to continue, I'd saved £348 over the course of the year.

The chances are if you want to really drive them harder you could shave a little more off, but, in truth, for the service (which includes BT Sport which Sky adds a significant premium for) I feel it's not too bad in the great scheme of things.

I consider it a success.

And to put your mind at ease - and from previous experience - these companies are completely used to agreeing discounted deals to retain custom. All you need to do is be polite but determined and, of course, be alert to when your contract is up for renewal and strike when you hit that final month.

Now I can put that money saved towards, perhaps, turning my heating on once in a while.