Money-savvy people know that in order to save money, asking for a discount while shopping is one of the easiest ways to cut costs. While this is easy to do at a farmer’s market or a yard sale, many people are hesitant about asking for a discount at the grocery or department store, fearing that they may look foolish or that they may somehow offend anyone if they ask.
Asking for a discount doesn’t need to be an awkward experience, especially if you’re already on a tight budget. The good news is that there are many ways that one can get a discount, and on certain instances, you don’t even have to ask a manager or a salesperson to slash down prices on any item.
Here are some easy ways to get a discount every time you shop.
Sign up for loyalty programs
Some department stores or groceries have loyalty programs wherein you can get massive discounts on a variety of items, and you can also get rewards on certain purchases. If you frequent a certain store in your area, find out if it has a loyalty program and sign up immediately to save money on your next purchase and to get rewards or discount coupons.
Be observant
When shopping for clothes, check for easily fixable details such as a missing button, a small rip in the seam, and the like. If your item has a flaw, ask if the store offers a percentage off for damaged goods. According to The Balance, most store management is allowed to reduce prices up to a certain limit on damaged items.
Know what type of discounts you can qualify for, and use them every time you shop
Some retailers offer military, veteran, government employee, senior citizen, and student discounts, so make sure to take advantage of these. According to motivational speaker Dave Ramsey, most stores won’t advertise these discounts outright, but it doesn’t hurt to ask before you check out. Make sure to have your identification card with you just in case they need verification.
Do some research on retailers’ secret price codes
Have you ever went clothes shopping and noticed that some tags are marked differently than others? Or maybe there’s this one store that you frequent that has different colored tags for items?
According to Lifehacker, most major retailers have secret price codes, and the colors, numbers or symbols on the tags will clue in the staff on how heavily the item is discounted. You can check out the sites compiled list of secret price codes to know how much you’ll be paying for items the next time you shop.
For more, check out Jobs & Hire’s report on the amount you should spend on fun things each month.
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