Saving Money - 101, 202 and 303
Mar 2nd, 2008 by Lewis 3 Comments
Here are a few ways that I have recently saved a little extra money or made some substancial long-term savings.
Saving Money 101 - Ask for a discount
Yesterday, my wife and I were out shopping and we decided that we needed a couple of new pillows. We walked into a store and liked the feather down pillows. After hearing the price, we started to re-think how much we needed them! My wife simply looked at the sales person and said, “can you give us a discount on the pillows?” The sales person thought for a moment and said, “yeah, I can give you 50% off of the most expensive one.”
For no extra effort, we saved a large percentage of the total price.
Saving Money 202 - Don’t throw away your rebates or small floater cash
I purchased some contact lenses about a month ago and they came with a mail-in rebate for $75. I think that this falls into the whole range of BS items but that’s the world we live in so I claimed my money. It made me start to think about all the discounts and rebates that people never take the time to claim. Also, think about all those $1 or $5 left on gift cards and other little bits of PayPal cash that’s sitting out there. Spend it, invest it or donate it; just don’t throw it away!
Saving Money 303 - Get all the information
About a month ago, I called the bank that holds my student loans. I wanted to confirm the balance etc. and I asked the person if he wouldn’t mind reducing the interest rate on my loans (a shot in the dark!). At first he didn’t understand - told me I could reduce the payment - but then said that they were not allowed to reduce the interest rates on student loans regardless of credit score or financial situation (no shock there). I could have left it there but I asked one more question: “is there anyone who is paying a lower interest rate than I am?” He thought about it for a second and said, “well, people who have their loans guaranteed by another can reduce their interest by 0.50%”
I asked if my wife would qualify. He said yes. Although I won’t comment on how stupid this system is, why wouldn’t everyone do this? It’s free money!
I’d be very excited to hear of other ways to save money. Please leave a comment an let me know where you’ve made some big gains with very little effort.
It’s time to join that LewisEmpire RSS everyone is talking about!
Tags: save money 101, save money 202, ask for a discount, frugal, saving money, saving, money
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Yesterday, my wife and I were out shopping and we decided that we needed a couple of new pillows.
There’s a problem there! You decided while shopping that you needed new pillows. If you needed new pillows, you should have had that on your list before going to the store. Stores are designed to sell stuff, to make you think of things you think you need.
Mind you, maybe you really did need new pillows, but often such things you find you need while shopping are nothing more than impulse buys. You can often save more money by preparing a list beforehand and only buying the things that are on your list.
I like the practicality of your article.
101 is so true most especially in Asian countries such as China.
Chinese normally shouts prices at 200 or 300 percent higher. So discounts are normally at 50% off.
Eric
Interesting experience on 303…You know I am not as tough as you…I easily get give up when facing such situation. Nice lesson I get from your post today. Thanks!