I know it’s a bold statement but I can back it up with real numbers. This theory is based on a simple rule that an old boss of mine taught me. “Savings on a necessary purchase is a return”. Did you catch that? What my boss meant by this statement is that if we save on a necessity when we buy it, it is the same as getting a return.
Let me illustrate this in the simplest terms. I went to the grocery store because I needed a food item. Let’s call it milk. In my home we always spend $3.19 per gallon. This is a constant expenditure and comes out of our real living expenses, our income. I had a coupon for 60 cents off a gallon of milk. That week the store where I shop was offering double coupons up to 75 cents. I saved $1.20 on my purchase. This is a 37.5% return on my money. Money that is not spent is saved!
Since it is too hard for most of us to save money, I learned that a simple action such as couponing can save a household hundreds, if not thousands a year without us having to save anything out of pocket.
Another great money saving technique I use is what I call the “might as well ask for it rule” This is so simple but does take some nerve because it only has a 75% success rate and if you don’t handle objection well, it may take some practice.
Here is how this rule works. I went into a well known national home furnishings store recently to replace our bedroom dresser that was falling apart. I fell in love with a dresser I saw but it was way over my allotted budget. I asked the clerk if the dresser was ever going to be on sale. He said that it was discontinued and they only had two left, the floor model and one in a box in the back. Most people would just say “shit” and walk away disappointed, but not me. I was going to follow my “might as well ask for it rule” and get that dresser. I looked around the store and saw a guy that looked like the manager. I walked over to him and saw his name tag did in fact say Store Manager. I said “excuse me, my name is Alexis and I shop in your store all the time, I just love it, I spend a lot of money here, you guys have great stuff” Why did I say this? That’s right, in a few seconds the manager knew I spend money and I am a regular. He also got his ego stroked and his store complimented. Remember the old more with sugar than with spice rule? Now I had the power.
Here is how it went down. I asked him if he could look at something in furniture with me. He said “sure”. We walked over to where the dresser was and I told him that I wanted to buy the dresser right now but would have to pick it up with my husband tomorrow. He said that was fine they could hold it for me in the back. I then told him that the floor model has several bad scratches on it. He looked and saw them himself. He said that he would be glad to take 30% off the price due to the scratches. I replied “oh gosh my husband only wanted me to buy new in the box” he said “ok let me see what we have in the back”. He went over to the computer and typed in the model and told me he only had one left as it was being discontinued. I said “oh that’s too bad, 30% off would have been a good deal” he told me not to worry; he would be glad to honor the 30% off since it was the last one and discontinued. I got my new dresser and saved over $200 bucks in the process. Do you know any other vehicle where you can save 200 plus dollars with no investment and nothing out of pocket?
Bio: Alexis Bonari is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at onlinedegrees.org, researching areas of online education programs. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.
I’m loving your posts…keep ‘em comin’! Especially like the excellent point on how people waste money on elaborate weddings and your inclusion of Biblical points of view. Would you like to be my accountant?
you’re good with words man. easy-to-comprehend and wise choice of words. good thing you had remembered a good lesson from your former boss and get to share it on a wider audience today.
money that is not spent is saved
will keep that in mind.
regards,
Jason
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Money saved is money earned. I thought this was the Pareto’s principle the 80-20 where you have to save the 20 percent of your earnings. But you have a nice way to saved money and discounted 20% to 80% of your cash. Thanks for sharing Alexis.
I think the money was in the persistence you put up Alexis. Nice job in saving quite a few bucks for very little time!
Colleen´s last [type] ..Tri Cities Washington Independence Day and 4th of July Festivities
Hi.. you need to have high speed internet service, when u travel, just take the magic jack instument with you and connet to any computer having internet access on USB port. It will work irrespective of your location (only calls to US #s).
You have a point there, I used too not care how much money I spend on food, but we live harsh times, so now, whenever i go shopping i compare prices and i always have a list with me and a calculator.
Yep, you should always pay attention to how much you spend.
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It’s true that the coupons only save 50cents here and a dollar there, but it really does add up over the total period.
Good job on saving $200 of the dresser!
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Yes this was also a nightmare for me!!!!!!!I had 8 chat sessions from India to nowhere.I have transcripts of all of them. The last guy was the smartest-he told me to unplug it and run system restore.
Saving money is always a solid return on investment. The only problem that can crop up is time. It doesn’t do any good to save 60 cents on a gallon of milk if it takes you a hour to get the coupon.
Justin´s last [type] ..How to Get Rid of Yellow Headlights and Remove the Haze
Great tactic! I always follow the “might as well ask” rule because you don’t really lose out on anything if they say no but you have everything to gain from it if they say yes. One of my strategies is to always negotiate w/ the available person who is highest up because they obviously have more power than the store clerk. Saves you time if you just talk directly to the manager.
This is a great way to look at getting a good deal. It makes it feel as though you’ve saved even more money.
Hiya from Latvia ! I have found your post on askjeeves. Interesting content !
My dad was shocked when I told him about my monthly budget in our house. He can’t really imagine how I was able to control a budget at least 70% less than our original budget when we are still kids. Since I’m handling the house budget out of my pocket, I make sure that I’m aware of the prices of almost every items that we need in our house. Without disregarding the quality of a particular item, next in my priority is the price or discounted value. I do like the feeling that I’m actually saving something while spending my money. Just like you…
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What a brilliant way of describing that. It is smart to try and save where ever and whenever you can. I know many people who think coupons are tacky, but why spend more than you should.
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You know how you read a post and the light goes off in your head and you can’t stop thinking about it. Well your post has done that. Your comment “Money that is not spent is saved!” has dope slapped me big time. Such a simple principle but one I’ve overlooked for ever so long. Time to change directions.
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It’s true about the effect that “simple actions” can have. I’ve cut down on my eating out and it has saved so much $ in just a month!
Yeah you have to ask for sure, its just like when going to buy a car, you have to negotiate a price. I surprised myself when I was able to negotiate a lower price at a store Radio Shack store around here. I would of thought since they were a chain that they would never discount and negotiate a price with me.
-Jean