Negotiate Discounts

Whether it is an oil change or a new loan or mortgage always ask for a discount. Lots of times you will receive a discount just because you asked for one , with no questions asked. Why not try and save money when you are making purchases. This is a perfect way to stretch your income and make it last longer. No one ever has so much money that they never have enough. There is always something more that you want to have and why not. So when you can save a few dollars or thousands of dollars, why not? Some people suggest that you should only focus on the large savings and forget the small stuff.  I suggest that you should focus on the big stuff, but also on the items that are really frequent. Over time you can save thousands of dollars as well which goes straight to your wallet. Negotiate Discounts all of the time.

Negotiate Discounts

Two examples will illustrate.

Car Maintenance Discounts

The first example was when I was having an oil change for my car. I asked if they gave senior discounts or discounts for triple A members. Without hesitating the parts manager offered me $10 off the price!

Now this includes an oil change, a 100 point checkup and a car wash for $31! What a good deal and I got this discount because I asked! There was no coupon or anything like that. It just goes to prove that you should always ask for a discount. Remember that the worst that can happen is that they say sorry, no discount.

Mortgage Discounts

The second example was when I was negotiating a new mortgage . I was already to sign the documents and I hesitated, put the pen down, looked the lender in the eye and asked if he could give me a discount. To my surprise he said yes and took another half percent off the interest rate, which saved me hundreds of dollars over the life of the mortgage!

Hotel Discounts

We travel a great deal and stay in hotels all of the time. We routinely receive discounts for carrying a AAA card as well as being seniors. In addition occasionally there is some problem with the room we stay in and the hotel is usually more than willing to provide a discount to compensate you for any inconvenience that you may have had. One time the air conditioner in the room was literally freezing up with ice. It was low on coolant so we just shut it off. In the morning we mentioned this to the clerk that they should really get it fixed before renting out that particular hotel room to another guest. Without even asking, the gave us the room for free. Now that is a discount.

Always ask, they might say no, but lots of times they say OK!

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