There is an old cliché that says “money talks”. That’s great if you have plenty of money to throw about, but what if you don’t? Well, you can still use what little money you do have to get yourself some good deals. With this you can even create a double bonus for yourself. What you want to do is score that bargain and then with what you saved by doing this, chuck it away into a savings account. This is what you call in the investment world Double Dipping.
This is what you could call “compounding your bargains”. This is not just referring to getting a good deal by watching for sales and waiting for discounts. Mind you, there is nothing wrong with this either, but then hey! Who wants to wait for that special sale to come along.
If you want something then you want it now and you should be able to get it at less than the asking price. This is where you are going to make what cash you do have to make this purchase work for you.
It is called the cash discount. You may have heard about this but never really put it into action. Get ready because you are going to be learning the art of money making money!
Now think about the vendors for a minute, and No, that doesn’t mean that you have to feel sorry for them. You are not ripping them off. These are business people and they are not going to give you a discount if it means they are not going to make a profit. A cash deal for the vendor is more beneficial to them than other methods of payment. They don’t have the credit card fees to pay, and they don’t have to worry about a bounced check. This is a done deal for the vendor.
You are going to have to some negotiating but that wad of money in your hand is going to be your biggest tool. However, you still have to do the talking to tell the sales rep how much cash you have on hand right now, and that is all you can afford to pay or are willing to pay for the item. Not much of a conversation but it still takes a wee bit of effort. So what is the payoff? The biggest success I had with this technique was with furniture, mattresses and clothing. I had many times that I got 50% off. Don’t waste your time on big chain shops. This technique works on small businesses that need the cash flow.
Let’s say you want to buy a new bed. The one you really want is $750. but you really had budgeted $500. for this purchase. You have $500. With cash in hand the sales rep tells you that the bed is already on sale for the $750. but for you they will let you have it for $500.
So you have now saved yourself $250. It took you all of ten minutes to close the deal at the bargain price.
Imagine that you had an investment that paid 25% for 10 minutes and the risk was zero. Would you take it? I would dive into it. I love this technique so much that I combine the cash discounts into my yearly investments portfolio! In the end of the year I sum up all the discounts I got. It is usually in the 35% range and adds up to a few thousands.
But, it just shows you that with very little effort and some cash in your pocket instead of a credit card you can make yourself some amazing deals while scaling up your savings account.
For me, the first time I was going to try this I was a bundle of nerves. I had never been one to bargain so it was a new experience. After my success though, I never looked back and I very seldom pay the asking price for anything.