If time is money, how much did you lose typing up the negative feedback? You people are weirdos, you are attacking the fact that this article was written in some cases, not the content itself. Don't read an article about negotiating to save money if you think it's a practice that is below you.
Just yesterday I negotiated free shipping on an order with an internet retailer using their Live Chat function. Took 2 minutes and I saved $18. All you have to do is ask.
You make great obervations, Andrew. Very well-researched and documented. Thank you!
The reason why I (and I imagine others) tend to balk at a 10% avg annual rate of return is that most people don't invest 100% of their portfolio in equities. To do so isn't necessarily wrong as equities are arguably the best way to get a good rate of return over inflation in the long run, but constitutes an aggressive investment strategy which many people don't quite have the stomach for.
And heck - wouldn't you prefer to be safe than sorry? I'd rather count on 8% per year and possibly make more, than count on 10% and possibly make less.
Great advice here. I'm not sure why so many people are negative about some of it. I don't see anything here about making anyone's life "hell" or "haggling and begging". The whole article seems to be based on asking nicely, and if they say no you're not out anything.
How incredibly petty all of this is. The first tip about exchanging services with the landlord is great but the rest is just about making the life of small businesses hell.
Americans may share private things in their lives, but that's part of our charm. You need to see the movie "A Fish Called Wanda."
Archie: You make me feel free.
Wanda: Free?
Archie: Wanda, do you have any idea what it's like being English? Being so correct all the time, being so stifled by this dread of, of doing the wrong thing, of saying to someone "Are you married?" and hearing "My wife left me this morning," or saying, uh, "Do you have children?" and being told they all burned to death on Wednesday. You see, Wanda, we'll all terrified of embarrassment. That's why we're so... dead. Most of my friends are dead, you know, we have these piles of corpses to dinner. But you're alive, God bless you, and I want to be, I'm so fed up with all this. I want to make love with you, Wanda. I'm a good lover - at least, used to be, back in the early 14th century. Can we go to bed?
I categorize the money that I spend. I don't categorize my assets. At least, not the way you describe--I don't divide them into "retirement savings," "house downpayment," "new car," etc. My monetary assets are all just one big lump. (Even money in an IRA isn't necessarily allocated to retirement--it's just in that kind of account for the tax advantage.)
When I get money (from whatever source), it joins my big lump of money. It doesn't get allocated to anything in particular until it's time to spend it.
From time to time I reevaluate my budget. Does my income, together with my lump of money, support my long-term plans? Does my budget cover my needs and wants? Does my actual spending match my budget? Based on the answers to those questions I change my budget, but I simply don't allocate income to budget categories--income goes into the lump of money.
The fact remains, though, that my friends and family are unhappy when I can't answer the question "How are you going to spend that money?" Having spent way too much time thinking about yesterday and today, I think the answer they're looking for is the answer to the question, "What's the most interesting purchase coming up that you've budgeted for but haven't bought yet?" That might do the trick.
the best thing to do it to use a third party website (orbitz, priceline ect...)
they sell the rooms for the cheapest as they will get paid by the hotel regardless.
"The biggest mistake you can make is to say "Well, I have AAA or AARP" right off the bat, because most hotel employees are told that in that situation they are to give out the regular price and refer to it as discounted."
this is also wrong- there is a set AAA/ AARP rate most nights. On these nights these rates are ALWAYS lower than the walk in rate.
Just want to clear something up. The animal adoption issue wasn't the point of the article. All I'm saying is making sure your animal has its shots MIGHT help you by getting a healthier animal in the first place and save on unecessary costs later (ones that might have been prevented). Of course like humans, any animal can get sick and I'm not arguing that anyone should deny their pets medical care. This article wasn't aimed at or about the "idiots" SigChat mentions who adopt an animal only to grow out of the "trend." Those people probably aren't reading this anyway.
Sure, time is money, but how much time does it take to ask for a discount. It's not begging. In fact, I've been places where it was considered rude NOT to haggle with the salesperson.
All you people who are whining about this article need to realize it was just a starting point of ideas. You morons are so busy looking for someone to hand feed you ideas that you don't realize that if you want to save money all it involves is thinking a little...probably because many of you can't anymore.
RE: Puppies...give it a break loser. If people want a puppy they can get it however they want and many who are getting an animal can't go shoveling money out to take the animal to the vet...they'd perhaps rather spend the money on savings in case the dog gets sick.
Are people so stupid that they need an article to give them everything in such minute detail that they have nothing left to complain about?
Ok as for farmers market I have found the opposite of the actual response here. When I go to places like wallmart and or big stores I seem to be able to buy something for half the price. Yet the disadvantage of going to such places is the quality :(
Regarding the adoption of animals, please don't adopt if you're too cheap to pay for vet bills, or necessary vet check ups. I understand that some people are looking to save money, but if you're the kind that thinks that you can a few corners by having someone else pay for an animal you intend to adopt - let alone thinking that you could save the cost by not taking your pet to a clinic to get checked up or have 'x' operation, I highly advise that you don't adopt a pet. We're not talking about free food or booze, this is an actual life - and there are many idiots who adopt an animal only to either no longer want it because of the expenses involved, or because their children have grown out of the 'trend'.
I don't know what farmer's market you go to, maybe it's a big-city market where the "farmers" are just ripoff artists selling the same trucked-in-from-California stuff you could buy in the grocery store down the street. Where I live, the vendors at the market are actually local farmers, selling meat and produce from my area. The food is fresh, healthy, and high-quality, and I know they're not making a lot of money. It's hard enough to get by as a small organic farmer without people trying to shave your margins down just a little more.
Americans have no shame, noticed this when I went on holiday, everyone talking out loud about their private life. In the UK nobody would dare to bargain, expect in places where its accepted... car boot sale, buying house, certain type of car shops.
Stop being scruffy beggers and stop wasting your time haggling and begging over a few cents, time is money my friends, don't waste your life arguing, get some self respect.
I think if you get surprise money that's not in your budget, then you can spend it on things that aren't in your budget. My first response was to interpret your point as being that you don't have to throw all your extra money in the splurge/fun category. I think when people ask you what you're spending it on, there may be an underlying assumption that you're going to splurge, and they want to know how you like to do that.
Of course, you might prefer to put the money in the debt payoff category, retirement category, next new car category, charity category, etc. If you have a budget, then at least one of your categories will get the extra money, right?
Maybe your point is that you put some of the money in each category, in the same proportions as you add your other money? And then you will be able to reach all your goals a bit sooner? As opposed to creating a new goal that you can meet right now?
Note: my extra surprise money used to all go toward (early) retirement savings (except for gifts, which I treat like you do). But for now it's going toward my remodeling savings. These are categories I want to put a much bigger pile of money into, but not at the expense of my other categories. And so that's where my surprise money goes. I suspect others feel the same way about splurge money: they would rather spend a lot more money splurging than they do, but not at the expense of eating, living indoors, etc.
And it sounds like some people find that cash feels like "extra" money and other people find that credit cards feel like extra money, but they know it's not really, so they try not to tempt themselves.
If your traveling and need a hotel that you haven't booked ahead of time. Find a Wi-Fi hotspot and book a room on the internet for that night. Its always significantly cheaper than booking at the hotel. I've walked into a hotel before to ask their price, walked out and used the hotels own WiFi from my car, booked a room and saved 50%.
I was part of an organic/whole foods coop for a while a few years ago. It was so spendy, and I hated having to order such large cases of everything. Amazon sells some very manageable sizes of things, and they prices are much lower than the co-op on many items. Some things that we use regularly are the diapers, coffee, vitamins, and even some things available through 3rd party sellers like my all time favorite tea-tree face wash (the BEST for acne!)
I couldn't live without Amazon where I live! And I split cases of large items with my mom so things always stay fresh. Getting together an Amazon co-op is an awesome idea, too. (And for extra savings, I place all orders with my Chase/Amazon card and get 3% back on purchases!)
Linsey, my friend and I spent a bunch of time this morning comparing several of the Amazon grocery items (mostly the baking items and the spices) to the prices she can get from her bulk order co-op. Several of the Amazon prices were much lower, particularly the bulk box of dried cherries. Like you said, though, you have to definitely do you research. They are not the best deal on everything.
Seems we're on the same page! I think that a well planned budget allows for more freedom, rather than less. Once we got serious about our finances (2-3 years ago, early-20s) we found that we stopped worrying about money. Want that new t-shirt/CD/pair of shoes/etc.? Go for it. The budget is there, and as long as we respect it, it will look after us. I know people our age that make a lot more than we do, but we've got a nice house, a decent car (we're carpooling now that it's getting too cold to scooter), and good retirement savings for our age. We don't really need or want everything, as we've made room in the budget for frivolous, guilt-free spending.
Fair enough. Maybe I should have left this one out. But, I do want to clear up that I'm NOT in any way referring to shelters or pounds. They are saviors. I've just seen way too many private parties selling puppies for an "adoption fee" without shots in the first place only for the new owner to have a not so healthy puppy for their great deal. Most people "endure" all the raising of puppies either because they choose to breed, or they didn't get their animal fixed in the first place. I think I'm more of the ideal that a well cared for puppy will often come to you with the first set of shots thus saving you money in the long run. And, no, I'm not saying your dog isn't worth lots of vet money because I know mine is. Just something to think about when getting yourself a new buddy.
I don't know if it's okay to post links in your comments, so if not, feel free to delete. I've come across 2 sites that would probably benefit anyone using Amazon regularly.
Amazon Filler Item Finder gives you a list of items available in categories that you specify, based on the exact amount (or a range) that you need to spend to get free shipping. http://filleritem.com/index.html
With Amazon Price Watch, you plug in the ISBN or ASIN from each item with your email address. You will receive an email if the price drops and can request a refund of the difference from Amazon within 30 days of the purchase. http://www.frozenwarrior.com/~pricewatch/
Great comment about not mentioning AAA right off the bat. Often the "walk-in" rate is the cheapest. People spend all this time researching and reserving online beforehand, when it's often cheaper to just walk in (barring it's not some huge holiday weekend).
Also, thanks for pointing out about being reasonable. You have to assume hotels will have some noise. I was only suggesting not to be shy about complaining if you have a legitimate problem. Bitching only to get a break and make the staff crazy is just bad karma.
I often go through the electronics section of Walmart looking for items that are almost sold out except for the one on display. Displays work just fine. And if you get a manager chances are you will get a discount. Walmart will give you price drops. But you have to get a manager.
I use something along the lines of...
"I've traveled thirty minutes to get this tv I have been eyeballing in your add. However, I see you don't have any in boxes left. I wouldn't mind the display, but I wouldn't want to pay full price for something that is used."
The standard off is 10%. Sometimes if you give them a good story you can get more than that.
If time is money, how much did you lose typing up the negative feedback? You people are weirdos, you are attacking the fact that this article was written in some cases, not the content itself. Don't read an article about negotiating to save money if you think it's a practice that is below you.
Just yesterday I negotiated free shipping on an order with an internet retailer using their Live Chat function. Took 2 minutes and I saved $18. All you have to do is ask.
You make great obervations, Andrew. Very well-researched and documented. Thank you!
The reason why I (and I imagine others) tend to balk at a 10% avg annual rate of return is that most people don't invest 100% of their portfolio in equities. To do so isn't necessarily wrong as equities are arguably the best way to get a good rate of return over inflation in the long run, but constitutes an aggressive investment strategy which many people don't quite have the stomach for.
And heck - wouldn't you prefer to be safe than sorry? I'd rather count on 8% per year and possibly make more, than count on 10% and possibly make less.
Great advice here. I'm not sure why so many people are negative about some of it. I don't see anything here about making anyone's life "hell" or "haggling and begging". The whole article seems to be based on asking nicely, and if they say no you're not out anything.
How incredibly petty all of this is. The first tip about exchanging services with the landlord is great but the rest is just about making the life of small businesses hell.
Dear Friend across the Pond:
Americans may share private things in their lives, but that's part of our charm. You need to see the movie "A Fish Called Wanda."
Archie: You make me feel free.
Wanda: Free?
Archie: Wanda, do you have any idea what it's like being English? Being so correct all the time, being so stifled by this dread of, of doing the wrong thing, of saying to someone "Are you married?" and hearing "My wife left me this morning," or saying, uh, "Do you have children?" and being told they all burned to death on Wednesday. You see, Wanda, we'll all terrified of embarrassment. That's why we're so... dead. Most of my friends are dead, you know, we have these piles of corpses to dinner. But you're alive, God bless you, and I want to be, I'm so fed up with all this. I want to make love with you, Wanda. I'm a good lover - at least, used to be, back in the early 14th century. Can we go to bed?
I categorize the money that I spend. I don't categorize my assets. At least, not the way you describe--I don't divide them into "retirement savings," "house downpayment," "new car," etc. My monetary assets are all just one big lump. (Even money in an IRA isn't necessarily allocated to retirement--it's just in that kind of account for the tax advantage.)
When I get money (from whatever source), it joins my big lump of money. It doesn't get allocated to anything in particular until it's time to spend it.
From time to time I reevaluate my budget. Does my income, together with my lump of money, support my long-term plans? Does my budget cover my needs and wants? Does my actual spending match my budget? Based on the answers to those questions I change my budget, but I simply don't allocate income to budget categories--income goes into the lump of money.
The fact remains, though, that my friends and family are unhappy when I can't answer the question "How are you going to spend that money?" Having spent way too much time thinking about yesterday and today, I think the answer they're looking for is the answer to the question, "What's the most interesting purchase coming up that you've budgeted for but haven't bought yet?" That might do the trick.
"Often the "walk-in" rate is the cheapest."
this is wrong on so many levels.
walk ins will always get charged the most.
the best thing to do it to use a third party website (orbitz, priceline ect...)
they sell the rooms for the cheapest as they will get paid by the hotel regardless.
"The biggest mistake you can make is to say "Well, I have AAA or AARP" right off the bat, because most hotel employees are told that in that situation they are to give out the regular price and refer to it as discounted."
this is also wrong- there is a set AAA/ AARP rate most nights. On these nights these rates are ALWAYS lower than the walk in rate.
Just want to clear something up. The animal adoption issue wasn't the point of the article. All I'm saying is making sure your animal has its shots MIGHT help you by getting a healthier animal in the first place and save on unecessary costs later (ones that might have been prevented). Of course like humans, any animal can get sick and I'm not arguing that anyone should deny their pets medical care. This article wasn't aimed at or about the "idiots" SigChat mentions who adopt an animal only to grow out of the "trend." Those people probably aren't reading this anyway.
Sure, time is money, but how much time does it take to ask for a discount. It's not begging. In fact, I've been places where it was considered rude NOT to haggle with the salesperson.
All you people who are whining about this article need to realize it was just a starting point of ideas. You morons are so busy looking for someone to hand feed you ideas that you don't realize that if you want to save money all it involves is thinking a little...probably because many of you can't anymore.
RE: Puppies...give it a break loser. If people want a puppy they can get it however they want and many who are getting an animal can't go shoveling money out to take the animal to the vet...they'd perhaps rather spend the money on savings in case the dog gets sick.
Are people so stupid that they need an article to give them everything in such minute detail that they have nothing left to complain about?
Ok as for farmers market I have found the opposite of the actual response here. When I go to places like wallmart and or big stores I seem to be able to buy something for half the price. Yet the disadvantage of going to such places is the quality :(
Regarding the adoption of animals, please don't adopt if you're too cheap to pay for vet bills, or necessary vet check ups. I understand that some people are looking to save money, but if you're the kind that thinks that you can a few corners by having someone else pay for an animal you intend to adopt - let alone thinking that you could save the cost by not taking your pet to a clinic to get checked up or have 'x' operation, I highly advise that you don't adopt a pet. We're not talking about free food or booze, this is an actual life - and there are many idiots who adopt an animal only to either no longer want it because of the expenses involved, or because their children have grown out of the 'trend'.
I don't know what farmer's market you go to, maybe it's a big-city market where the "farmers" are just ripoff artists selling the same trucked-in-from-California stuff you could buy in the grocery store down the street. Where I live, the vendors at the market are actually local farmers, selling meat and produce from my area. The food is fresh, healthy, and high-quality, and I know they're not making a lot of money. It's hard enough to get by as a small organic farmer without people trying to shave your margins down just a little more.
Americans have no shame, noticed this when I went on holiday, everyone talking out loud about their private life. In the UK nobody would dare to bargain, expect in places where its accepted... car boot sale, buying house, certain type of car shops.
Stop being scruffy beggers and stop wasting your time haggling and begging over a few cents, time is money my friends, don't waste your life arguing, get some self respect.
I think if you get surprise money that's not in your budget, then you can spend it on things that aren't in your budget. My first response was to interpret your point as being that you don't have to throw all your extra money in the splurge/fun category. I think when people ask you what you're spending it on, there may be an underlying assumption that you're going to splurge, and they want to know how you like to do that.
Of course, you might prefer to put the money in the debt payoff category, retirement category, next new car category, charity category, etc. If you have a budget, then at least one of your categories will get the extra money, right?
Maybe your point is that you put some of the money in each category, in the same proportions as you add your other money? And then you will be able to reach all your goals a bit sooner? As opposed to creating a new goal that you can meet right now?
Note: my extra surprise money used to all go toward (early) retirement savings (except for gifts, which I treat like you do). But for now it's going toward my remodeling savings. These are categories I want to put a much bigger pile of money into, but not at the expense of my other categories. And so that's where my surprise money goes. I suspect others feel the same way about splurge money: they would rather spend a lot more money splurging than they do, but not at the expense of eating, living indoors, etc.
And it sounds like some people find that cash feels like "extra" money and other people find that credit cards feel like extra money, but they know it's not really, so they try not to tempt themselves.
If your traveling and need a hotel that you haven't booked ahead of time. Find a Wi-Fi hotspot and book a room on the internet for that night. Its always significantly cheaper than booking at the hotel. I've walked into a hotel before to ask their price, walked out and used the hotels own WiFi from my car, booked a room and saved 50%.
I was part of an organic/whole foods coop for a while a few years ago. It was so spendy, and I hated having to order such large cases of everything. Amazon sells some very manageable sizes of things, and they prices are much lower than the co-op on many items. Some things that we use regularly are the diapers, coffee, vitamins, and even some things available through 3rd party sellers like my all time favorite tea-tree face wash (the BEST for acne!)
I couldn't live without Amazon where I live! And I split cases of large items with my mom so things always stay fresh. Getting together an Amazon co-op is an awesome idea, too. (And for extra savings, I place all orders with my Chase/Amazon card and get 3% back on purchases!)
i thought the average joes were 99 of a hundred whose interest is not to know the truth for the benefit of the initiate
Thanks, Valerie!
Linsey, my friend and I spent a bunch of time this morning comparing several of the Amazon grocery items (mostly the baking items and the spices) to the prices she can get from her bulk order co-op. Several of the Amazon prices were much lower, particularly the bulk box of dried cherries. Like you said, though, you have to definitely do you research. They are not the best deal on everything.
Seems we're on the same page! I think that a well planned budget allows for more freedom, rather than less. Once we got serious about our finances (2-3 years ago, early-20s) we found that we stopped worrying about money. Want that new t-shirt/CD/pair of shoes/etc.? Go for it. The budget is there, and as long as we respect it, it will look after us. I know people our age that make a lot more than we do, but we've got a nice house, a decent car (we're carpooling now that it's getting too cold to scooter), and good retirement savings for our age. We don't really need or want everything, as we've made room in the budget for frivolous, guilt-free spending.
Fair enough. Maybe I should have left this one out. But, I do want to clear up that I'm NOT in any way referring to shelters or pounds. They are saviors. I've just seen way too many private parties selling puppies for an "adoption fee" without shots in the first place only for the new owner to have a not so healthy puppy for their great deal. Most people "endure" all the raising of puppies either because they choose to breed, or they didn't get their animal fixed in the first place. I think I'm more of the ideal that a well cared for puppy will often come to you with the first set of shots thus saving you money in the long run. And, no, I'm not saying your dog isn't worth lots of vet money because I know mine is. Just something to think about when getting yourself a new buddy.
I don't know if it's okay to post links in your comments, so if not, feel free to delete. I've come across 2 sites that would probably benefit anyone using Amazon regularly.
Amazon Filler Item Finder gives you a list of items available in categories that you specify, based on the exact amount (or a range) that you need to spend to get free shipping. http://filleritem.com/index.html
With Amazon Price Watch, you plug in the ISBN or ASIN from each item with your email address. You will receive an email if the price drops and can request a refund of the difference from Amazon within 30 days of the purchase.
http://www.frozenwarrior.com/~pricewatch/
Great comment about not mentioning AAA right off the bat. Often the "walk-in" rate is the cheapest. People spend all this time researching and reserving online beforehand, when it's often cheaper to just walk in (barring it's not some huge holiday weekend).
Also, thanks for pointing out about being reasonable. You have to assume hotels will have some noise. I was only suggesting not to be shy about complaining if you have a legitimate problem. Bitching only to get a break and make the staff crazy is just bad karma.
I often go through the electronics section of Walmart looking for items that are almost sold out except for the one on display. Displays work just fine. And if you get a manager chances are you will get a discount. Walmart will give you price drops. But you have to get a manager.
I use something along the lines of...
"I've traveled thirty minutes to get this tv I have been eyeballing in your add. However, I see you don't have any in boxes left. I wouldn't mind the display, but I wouldn't want to pay full price for something that is used."
The standard off is 10%. Sometimes if you give them a good story you can get more than that.