Here is another tip for you Frugal types out there - when you do go shopping, if the item you want is not on sale, ask for a discount anyway. The worse they can say is no. The best they can do is provide you with a discount that saves you lots and lots of money (or at least a good percentage of the purchase price!). Here are a few of my latest requests which helped me save money:
1. Purchase of kid's birthday gifts at Toys R Us - Ok, I only do this once a year and was ready to bite the bullet and pay the price for the items which they had picked out when the cashier saved me.....she had coupons which she applied to my purchase! What was great is the kids had each gotten a $3 gift card in the mail to apply to the purchase of their items, so when the cashier applied the first coupon to the first purchase (I had to make the purchases separate in order to use both coupons we got in the mail) I quickly asked if she had any more of those great coupons behind the counter, could she please apply another one to the second purchase! She did and I came out spending about $30 less overall than I had calculated. All just for asking...
2. Purchase of clothes at Lane Bryant - They usually send out great coupons which I never remember to take with me to the store. When I was there recently and purchased a number of items, I asked the cashier if she might be able to still apply the coupon discount to my purchase because I had received one, but had forgotten it at home. She was happy to apply the discount and the simple act of asking saved me $50. Way to go!
3. McDonald's - The McDonald's I stop at some mornings on the way to work offers a discount card for the students of the local college. (Buy 10 value meals, get one free.) When I learned this, I asked the cashier one morning if I too could have a discount card. She was happy to provide me one and now, about every six months, I get breakfast for free!
These are just a few of the ways in which I have saved money just through asking for a discounts. If you have some great stories to share on this same topic, please add them to this post through a reply.
Until another frugal moment hits...
The Frugal Queen
