Who pays full price for a car? No one! Yet there are stories of people paying over list price for high demand vehicles such as Toyota Prius. Do you negotiate prices in every purchase? Of course not, that would be too much trouble. So when would it be worth it? There are two (2) categories of purchases that would be worth negotiating a better price. The first is a large purchase such as buying a house, car or travel. 
The second is recurring purchases such as groceries, services, or clothes. This is the basis of my approach to become rich. That is there are two (2) ways to reduce your expenses. One would be to cut it out. The second is to reduce the actual cost of the item. I like the second as to the best way to reach your goal. Let’s remember the goal is to achieve success financially. My approach to becoming rich is maximizing my efforts. That is I have a plan to increase my income, but more importantly, I have a plan to spend less than I earn. Most people need help in achieving this goal. It is like losing weight, we know we need to, but we need help.
So how do you this? The easy answer is to look at all your expenses and look for ways to either reduce the cost or stop spending your money for it. My first example may highlight the approach better. Most people have cars and you need gasoline for the car. You can drive less, perhaps use public transportation, but you still have to pay for some gas. You can search for the lowest prices in your area on the Internet. That is an excellent start, but you can go further. Costco members can buy gasoline at their stations at a still lower price and receive a three percent (3%) rebate. This is a good illustration of my approach to lowering your expenses. Now don’t spend those savings yet. The savings should be used to either increase your savings account or establish a savings account. The goal is to save ten percent (10%) of your gross earnings each year. The savings should be invested to grow for purchase of that first house or retirement.
The Internet is your friend in trying to reduce your expenses. If you can ask the question, you can find a way to reduce your expenses. It generally takes just a little time at first to find what you want. Can you buy everything for less? The short answer is No! Then you have to think if you really want it at regular price. The unintended consequence of checking prices on the Internet is that you reduce impulsive purchases. That is a good thing! I saved thousands of dollars on major purchases such as a big screen TV, clothes, subscriptions, clothes, and travel. The Internet search engines and shopping bots allow you to find information easily and quickly. Remember everything is negotiable and the Internet can help you achieve this goal. Everyone loves a deal! What are you going to do? You should never pay full price for anything again!
Photo by: Flickr
Well, never paying full price for anything is certainly a mantra I try to live by. I have become addicted to Amazon and other places when buying things that I don’t need immediately. Cutting the overhead and middle man in many cases will compound savings.
One of the benefits of online shopping is using shopping bots to find the bargains. In many cases, you can use coupon codes and get free shipping. I started using subscription to my favorite sources for additional discounts too.
Whenever I make a larger purchase (typically anything >$50) I will do a lot of price research and then search for coupon codes with the retailers. I’m almost always able to save a few bucks by going this route.
I include my recurring expenses as something I will research and take appropriate action. It may be personal items that add up to a hundred or two annually. It is one the reasons I avoid buying household items at the supermarket. I buy them at Target where the prices are lower(similar to Costco) and I get a 5% rebate too.