How To Save Money On Almost Anything

Most people, when they consider how to save money on something, first look for a better price on the product or service. But that's just half of the equation. We'll take a good look at how to pay a lower price, but then we move on to the second way save money on most things you buy.

How To Save Money - A Better Price

Checking out another store is a start when it comes to paying less - especially with larger items, where negotiation is more common. But it's not the only way. Try some of the following as well.

- Offer less. I bought a new book for half-price at a regular bookstore, just because I asked. The owner was behind the counter, it was a slow day, and I simply said it was worth half the cover price to me, otherwise I wasn't interested in it. Ask, and sometimes you'll get a yes.

- Stock up cheap. When something you buy regularly is on sale, stock up on it. You can do this with paper towels, batteries and canned food, among other things that can last a while in your cupboards.

- Visit several stores. Even better, do this phone if it is just one or two larger items you want to buy. Try calling in the early afternoon, when it isn't too busy.

- Use negotiating techniques. I read a true story about a man buying a new refrigerator for 25% off the retail price. So how did he get such a deal? He did it by spending an hour on each of two days with the salesman, and then making a low "ultimatum offer" after all that time. The poor salesman didn't want to lose the sale after all that effort. The technique is called "time investment," by the way, and is just one of the secrets of good negotiators.

How To Save Money - Alternatives

We're often too specific in what we think we need or want. As a result, we look only for ways to get a better price, which is a very limiting approach to saving money. Don't ignore the many great alternatives that cost less. Look around and see what they are, and how much you might save.

You might think you really want to take a summer cruise along the coast of Alaska, for example, but if you're flexible, you may find a better deal. Maybe it costs half as much to go in September, when the cruise lines have a hard time filling their rooms. It's possible you'll have just as much fun in September as August, or even more if you get to extend the vacation and still spend less for it.

Keep in mind that there is almost nothing you buy that you need specifically. There are categories of things you need, like food and clothing, but not specific foods or specific brands of clothes that are necessary. Remember that and you can save a lot of money. For example, instead of just buying the fruits that catch your eye, you could buy apples when they are cheap, oranges in season, and so on. You might even eat the same amount of each fruit and vegetable in the course of a year, yet spend half as much for them.

Then there is the ultimate alternative to buying something: not buying it. This may not sound too inspiring, but sometimes there are things we don't really get much value or pleasure from, which we buy out of habit or impulse. You may feel even better at work if you skip the stop at the coffee shop, for example (at least once the caffeine withdrawal is past). Perhaps you don't watch most of the channels in your expanded cable service. Everything you don't buy frees up money for the things which really are important, whatever that may be.

How to save money on almost everything? Try putting together the two basic ways outlined above. First look for the cheapest alternatives that will give you what you need, and then find or negotiate the lowest price you can.