By Chuck Bentley

I like to save money and spend it wisely. Over the years, I have developed some habits that have become very helpful.

Negotiate

Years ago, I sold real estate for a custom home builder in Dallas, Texas. People pay a lot of money to have their homes built, and negotiations were common.

One question was consistently asked by the savvy buyers when it came to getting to the final price: “Is that the best you can do?”  More often than not, we ended up reducing the price we had originally quoted. That question was worth thousands of dollars.

It is a common practice to ask for a better deal when it is appropriate.  This simple question about price should become common practice for you whenever you are making a significant purchase. “Is that the best you can do?”  Ask in a non-offensive or non-rude way just to be sure you are getting the best price. Often I have been surprised at how much that one question has saved me on a purchase.

Once when we were shopping for a tennis racket for my son, a retail store had the racket he wanted marked on sale. When he picked the one he liked, the store assistant was a nice elderly man who had been very helpful.  My son, at my urging, politely explained that he was buying the tennis racket with his own money and asked, “is the price on the racket the best discount available?”

The nice gentlemen looked at him, smiled, and said.  “It’s not often we get young folks paying for their own tennis racket. I can mark that down another 40% just for you.”   The racket cost us 50% off the normal retail price and came in way under budget for my son who had worked hard to save for it.

Originally posted 2/11/2015.