Now, as a single-mom myself, I’m very similar. I’m not as good with saving my money as she was, but I’ve gotten better depending on my needs at the time. But, when I hear what some others do, omg – what are these people thinking?! Some of my co-workers seem to think the world is just waiting to bend over for them. From frivolous lawsuits to manipulating everyone to returning used clothing to refusing payment at lunch, ugh.

Anyway, everyone needs the confidence to haggle a bit. In the past few weeks, I bought an hdtv finally and only because I wanted one. I haggled with the salesmen and haggled with Directv for the HD DVR. Why pay full price for a dvr when you’ve already got your eyes on Directv’s upcoming new Tivo DVR expected next year? It’s a reasonable request.

Chipotle’s great. I ask for extra rice every time I go. “Extra rice, please” or “Double rice, please” is typically my wording. If they charged for it, I’d still ask. They do charge for extra chicken, so I pay that charge. Also, newbie Chipotle employees are skimpy spooners sometimes. I have had to ask for a little more salsa, corn, or sour cream before, but it’s rare. In a place that makes custom dishes according to customer demands, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to make your demands known! I’m surprised someone considers that rude, but I understand this lady may have gone overboard. I’m sure if Chipotle considers themselves abused, they’ll start charging for extra anything. I personally would gladly pay for extra rice, too.

Don’t be afraid to push to speak to the decision maker directly.

I have a list of other situations where you can ask for savings: http://www.theshoppingqueen.com/view_shopping_guide.php?shopping_guide_id=10

There’s also the tactic of asking one person and then either calling back to ask a different person or asking the first person to let you talk to their boss.

Again, I’m all for being thrifty, but some money-saving methods just go beyond the pale. I like the rest of your tips, though.

Also, in some countries, there is a charge for extra packets of condiments.

My wife with our 3yr old and I happened to stop by subway this evening, after a long time. It has been several months since we went out to fast food restaurants, and I remembered this post as we were at the line to get a vege-delite sub sandwich :)

Ugh. My mother. Does that. And napkins! The woman probably hasn’t bought napkins since the mid-80s since she always takes an inch-thick stack home from fast food restaurants.

I’d ask people to put the shoe on the other foot for a moment and ask yourself how you would feel if you had worked a hard 8 hour day and the boss says “Hey, I gave you a lot of hours of employment today, surely you won’t mind shaving a few bucks off your paycheck for a volume discount?”.

Just some food for thought, I enjoyed the article.

Loved Kate’s comment – don’t mess with a pregnant lady! That said, I took a seminar given by a recovering car salesman and he told us about a tool that car salespeople use. Its called the Four Square because the document is split up into 4 squares with a number in each square (for instance, $3,000 in top left square and $15,000 in top right square, etc). Each of these squares represents a dollar figure and therefore a point of negotiation. Unfortunately, I can’t find my notes from the class, but I found a reasonable description at http://www.eautoadvantage.com/purchasing/3-3-1-foursquare.shtml. I recall the teacher saying the four square is only used in new car negotiation. He also mentioned that shopping for cars mid-week, end of the day, end of the month, and on windy days is a good strategy. So if you can combine that – shop on Wednesday before the end of the month, an hour before closing time on a windy day — and you’re willing to walk out — you’re virtually guaranteed a good deal, eh?

On garage sales – Its often effective to chit chat with the person giving the sale ABOUT the sale to get a sense of their satisfaction with the sale. That helps me know if the primary motivation is to make money or to get rid of stuff, which guides my negotiation strategy. In addition, as someone else mentioned, it creates an opportunity to practice talking to people you don’t know (I have a hard time with that too). I’ve had several garage sales myself and I’m typically trying to get rid of stuff. I often end the sale with a $5/bag fire sale – put as much as you can in a bag and take it for $5. It might be worthwhile to bring a your own bag and propose that to the sale-giver if it is near the end of the day – especially if you’ve talked to them and know their primary motivation is to get rid of stuff.

1. A full tank of gas. This is little or no problem for your salesperson to take care of.

2. Touch-up of scratches and/or dents. You’ll have to come back to the dealership at a later date, but they can get this stuff done cheap.

3. A new windshield. Same as above.

4. The option to buy any sort of part or accessory at a dealer cost – just make sure you work out exactly what dealer cost is before you leave.

5. A discount from a local accessory shop. Find out who they use and ask about a discount.

6. Financing just about anything into the deal. For example, if you’re paying 1.9% on your car and you owe $5k on a credit card at 19.9%, ask to have it rolled into your auto loan. Just make sure you pay extra every month.

So maybe look at going in with your neighbors and only giving them one payment (not one for each vehicle) for a volume discount!

My motto, is if you don’t ask you will never know! worst that can happen is you are told ‘no’.