I almost never pay full price for anything anymore.

Although, I have to admit I'm not always comfortable asking for a no-reason-just-because discount on a perfectly good item. So sometimes I'll ask if they have a military discount, (since that applies to us still) or if they have a sale coming up when and item might be lower. But definitely the tip about the smaller stores applies. Many times, if the owner is there at the specialty shop, they'll offer to "do better" on the price before I even ask.

For large items at chain stores the asking about upcoming sales technique works every time. They know in advance when the sales are coming up. For example, I went in to a store one time at the end of a major sale for custom blinds. I knew I wanted the 80 percent off because we were doing a large section of the house prior to selling it. But I just couldn't come up with the cash that week and still meet our savings goals. So I asked when the next time was they were having that sale, and she was able to tell me, as well as what brands would be on sale. So I had time to look and pick out specific colors and take measurements at home. I saved well over a thousand dollars. We are also starting to look ahead at kitchen appliances and the same technique worked. I now know that this particular store we are looking in has at least a 20 percent off sale every month. On a 2 thousand dollar fridge, that's pretty significant.

Good post, Nora.