The Oldest and Often Most Effective Way of Saving Money

What's the oldest and one of the most effective ways of saving money? Simply asking for a discount. US News reminds us of this and gives the following thoughts:

To get the best deal possible, we followed the golden rule of negotiating: Just ask. Simply saying "Could you give me a discount on that?" knocked a couple dollars off each purchase, from jewelry to food.

After buying a salmon dinner and two pairs of earrings for a total of $20, the camera crew and I visited a woman who was trying to get a better deal on her homeowners' insurance. It had gone up by about $20 from the previous year and she wanted to see if she could persuade Allstate to lower the price. So, once again, we called, she asked, and they said yes—they knocked $12 off right away, and offered a bigger discount if she also purchased her auto insurance through the company.

As most of you know, I'm a big fan of asking for a discount since it can save you a good amount of money on all sorts of goods and services. And for those of you nervous about asking a seller to take a bit off, start of with these six times it's easy to ask for a discount. They'll get you off to an easy start. Then you'll have some early success and build confidence, and before you know it, you'll be asking for discounts all over the place! ;-)

Comments

[Steve]

Hmm, I could have sworn the oldest and most effective way of saving money was not to buy anything.

But, again, I would be wrong.

[Wayde McKelvy]

Asking for a discount is a great idea. I'd also throw in two other simple methods: spend less, make more. I suggest to my clients who are just beginning to look at their spending patterns to take all their receipts from the last month and sort them into three piles. "Must have" which would include monies they have to spend, whether it's gas, mortgage note, school tuition. The second pile is "Maybe" which might include dinners out, the new curtains from Ikea, the movie rentals from Blockbuster. The last pile is "I Want my Money Back" which might be receipts from extravagant shopping sprees, or an entertainment purchase, something a little more frivolous. It's not a sure fire plan, but it gets them thinking before they spend, and moves them toward more fiscal responsibility.