EDIT: I forgot to mention, the post that inspired me so much was http://www.handsomeorhandy.com/?p=183. Check out his page for some really interesting reads!

I am by no means frugal. I bought a 47″ TV with my first paycheck last year.. and I continue to buy things I don’t need (laptop, motorcycle?). When it comes to paying for things I don’t skip a beat when I can get an amazing deal.

Think of all the things you currently own and how much you could have saved with a bit of quick thinking and a bit more research.

1. The first thing you could do when buying something is wait a day before you buy it if you can. Chances are you might find a better deal or realize you don’t want it at all.

2. Compare prices. Alot of the time I will check out an item at a store that I like, then either use my cellphone or wait until I get home to compair the prices. Using Froogle (I refuse to call it shopping google.) check who has it and what they are selling it for. Make sure you factor in shipping. Sometimes its just more cost effective to just buy it locally even if you are paying for stocking fees.

3. Look for coupons. I don’t have a specific coupon site, but whenever I find something I like I automatically find a coupon through google to either get free shipping or some percent off. If there isn’t one available (there usually always is) try putting that item in your “wish list” or put it in your shopping cart, and close the window. A Lot of shops have this new feature that I love that says basically,

saw you were going to order that but didn’t, heres 5% off as incentive tProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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buy it.” It happened just last week at leatherup.com. I found a 15% off coupon however that I used instead.

4. Check for random deals. I love slickdeals.net and woot.com both of which allow you to get great deals on items. Make sure to check out there forums for a lot of insider info on free items and discount items.

5. Buy it used. This doesn’t have to be old and worn, alot of people return electronics they think are broken just because they don’t know how to use it. I bought that 47″ LCD TV 1080P for only 700 dollars because someone returned it. Their loss, my gain.

Saving money isnt limited to just new items either. A Lot of your subscription based services can be discounted with a bit of effort. Remember, keeping a customer on a discounted rate is always more cost effective than getting a whole new customer. It takes way less money on their end to just keep you than it is to set up an entirely new customer.

Lets take cable for instance. A new customer will have to be installed, verified, and taught how to use his system. That takes at minimum 3 employees to complete; to reduce your bill only takes 1.

If you are wondering how your going to get a lower bill, its easy. Just call them, explain to them how you cant afford the service and are thinking about switching services. Tell them you got this deal mailed to you, the price the deal was, and that you were considering switching. You being the customer, what did they have to offer you that was similar to this deal. Satellite is a great example of this, they are usually half the cost of the local cable company and would make a great factual based argument. If your going to do this, you should make sure you have paid your bills on time and aren’t late when you call however!

Just think of the other services that you could do this with, your cell, your phone, the list goes on.

Did you know that you can haggle your grocery bill? I have never tried this, but apparently you can. I know its a bit unrealistic, but you can always get a deal if you take the time to just ask for it. This really works on smaller stores. Asking a smaller price isn’t going to make you look bad or cheap, and if you get that deal you will feel smarter wont ya?

Take the bike I just bought for instance. I went into that shop atleast 3 times looking at that bike and negotiating the price. It started at $4000 + tax title and doc fees, but eventually I worked them down to $3100 out the door and sold. The retail for the bike was $3800 and that made me very happy.

I hope to hear some of your stories that show how you saved money!