csuspect / Flickr
I share five must read blog posts about saving money every Friday.
DealNews shares what to expect from the 2012 Memorial Day Sales.
CNN Money reports about the Groupon lawsuit. Customers who bought or received a Groupon from November 1, 2008 through December 1, 2011 are being offered a class action payout over expiration dates.
Wisebread shows you what five phrases to avoid when negotiating.
Budgets are Sexy gets you ready for yard sale season by sharing tips and tricks to rocking yard sales this weekend!
Time Moneyland lets you know if Memorial Day car deals are really deals or just hype.
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Calling all bargainers! Credit: silverfox09/Flickr
I receive a decent number of emails from folks casting a new TV show related to saving money. But the guy casting this Pro Bargainers show actually called me and asked me for feedback and answered my questions about the show he described. My take: two thumbs up.
So if you’ve thought about responding to a casting call but hesitated, don’t miss this opportunity. Email Zach at tv_casting19@yahoo.com for more info. You can always opt not to participate later! He is mainly looking for folks in the LA or NY area.
T Hoffarth / Flickr
This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.
Have you ever caved into buying an item at a higher price because you didn’t want to be perceived as cheap? Last weekend, I did just that at the Santa Monica Pier, a major tourist attraction in California.
My family and I headed to Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf to grab drinks. At the front of the line I was faced with a major decision.
My new hat debuted at the polo game, far left.
I bought a smashing white hat with a wide brim – perfect for providing shade on the beach or at a summer party – at Banana Republic this weekend. The hat was already on sale by 25% off, seeing how it’s late July, but I didn’t stop at that.
I noticed two imperfections on the hat and asked for 10-20% off at the register. Under the brim, two pieces of woven material were flaking off. More importantly, a square inch section of the very top of hat was slightly smashed in. The hat had clearly been picked over by others, but given an extra discount I was a willing customer.
My lastest video with WalletPop.com put my negotiating skills into action. Make sure to watch this is you want to know how to talk a merchant into giving you a discount.
emelec/Flickr
A longtime reader named Glenn wrote in with a dilemma many of us face.
Hi, Julia. How is everything? I’d like your expert opinion. I recently stopped my newspaper subscription after I discovered that they raised my rate from $35 a year to $52 without notifying me. I had been paying $35 a year for the past several years. I know that $1 per week for daily newspapers isn’t that bad, but I didn’t like that fact that my annual subscription jumped nearly 50%. There are other sources for (more…)
shimelle/Flickr
Has saving money ever caused you embarrassment? I unwittingly shamed two friends one night after we walked into a cupcake store, hungry for sugar. We greeted the cashier and surveyed the sweets, almost a dozen on the shelf. I smelled a discount.
“How late are you open? I asked.
Until ten, he said. It was eight-thirty.
“You have a lot of cupcakes left. Do you think you’ll be able to sell them all?”
He laughed nervously. “Maybe.”
“We’d like to buy some of your cupcakes. How about a discount, say 10-20% off?
“Okay, 10%.”
I grinned at my friends. “What kind do you want?”
We kept it simple: chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. As the cashier was boxing the cupcakes up, he made me a counter offer. (more…)
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This post is brought to you by Mint.com, successor to Quicken Online and a great alternative to Microsoft Money.
When is it worth it to “nickel and dime” someone? I’m not talking about saving a dollar here or there by using coupons or waiting for a sale, but the savings gained by negotiating a slightly lower price.
My case in point is two friends who are about to sign a yearlong lease for a loft in a good location in downtown Providence, RI. The apartment comes with two covered parking spots, a major perk in a snowy climate. All apartments come with at least one space because overnight parking is not allowed.
The landlord, a casual friend of my friends, agreed to leave the place vacant in June and July so my friends can move in August 1. The landlord is willing to lose two months rent to secure responsible tenants, I’m guessing.
He could find other tenants, however. Apartment vacancies are dropping in Providence because of rampant home foreclosures in a state that has the fourth highest unemployment rate nationwide. The vacancy rate was 7.6 percent in the third quarter of 2009, according to the Providence Journal. As a consequence, rents are rising. The landlord is asking $1,250, which is a bit high for the city they live in. Average rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,003, the ProJo reported.
My friends really like the loft but are considering asking to pay $1,200 a month, which would save them $600 over the year. The savings are significant to my friends. One of them is unemployed and the other is living off student loans while in law school. But they are worried asking for lower rent will damage their relationship with their landlord/friend, or at the very least make it awkward in social situations.
At what point does saving money end up costing more in bruised relationships? Is it possible to keep the business of negotiating rent out of the friendship? Bottom line – should my friends ask for lower rent?
Related posts:
Money morality – helping out low income friends
Money morality – do you accept money from parents?
Money morality – legit to shop at thrift stores?
A few weeks ago I was buying running shoes at a runner’s store – the kind where the salesperson watches your stride and recommends shoes based on how your ankles bend – when I got a discount even though I had no negotiating chips.
- I told the salesperson I badly needed new shoes
- I said out loud how much I liked the pair he recommended
- I told him I had previously paid full price for shoes at another running store
Mentally I had decided to buy the shoes when I asked if he had any promotions going on. I was committed, but why not ask anyway? The store wasn’t exactly busy. The salesman immediately replied he could knock 10 percent off. Wow!
It was almost too easy. I had to wonder if the economy played a role.
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