It’s smarter to barter
As the current recession continues to take more victims, with UK unemployment figures up to 2.4 million this week, maybe it’s time to start playing hardball with expenditure. The majority of people are still in work and earning money, but nobody really knows how long this is going to last, or what the economies of the world will look like when the recovery comes. So it’s always a good idea to add some extra income streams to your day-job earnings, but it’s also very important to take a long clinical look at where your money goes when you spend it, and whether you are getting real value for money.
There are a few general tips you can start fitting into your shopping trips, most of which are ancient, but sort of fly out the window during ‘the good times’.
For example, don’t go grocery shopping on an empty stomach! It is very easy to arrive back home having spent double the amount you expected, and on junk food you can easily do without. Best to write a list and stick to it. And go with the intention of getting some exercise; supermarkets tend to put premium goods at chest or eye level so you don’t have to stretch or stoop to pick them up. So look for equivalent goods on the top and the bottom shelves!
Another one I use is to look and touch but then walk away. This is a good one for anything from books to electrical goods. Look at it. Check what you’re getting for your money. Is it worth it? If it fails to impress in any way, walk away. If you still like it, ask yourself, ‘Do I need this now?’ If not, walk away – it’s very common to figure out later that not only did you not really need it then, but you don’t need it at all. And if after all this, you still do need whatever it is, you have the chance to look for a better price elsewhere, online for example.
Wherever you can – probably not in a supermarket – try to haggle the price down. You’d be amazed what offers you can get if you try a little bartering. (Try Martin Lewis’s article for tips and techniques on haggling.) This is especially good when you are not in a hurry – and remember, if you are in a hurry to buy, walk away!
For example, a few months ago I got a BT line installed with a 75% discount; it took a few weeks, some emails and several phonecalls. In another attempt, I wanted to get a broadband internet contract with a mobile phone company. I wanted the price that phone customers were offered, but without actually being a phone customer myself. In return, I said I’d sign a longer-term contract. They said no, and gave me a catalogue to pick a new phone from. What did I do? That’s right, I walked away.
Obviously that wasn’t the end of the matter. I unlocked an old cellphone, and got a new SIM card to join the mobile company on Pay-As-You-Go (£10). They give you the cheaper broadband if you top-up by £10 every 3-months (so that’s another £40 over the year). I then dug out an offer for this broadband company on a cashback site, signed up, and got given a £50 refund. In other words, I got the phone for free and the cheaper broadband on a normal-length contract. Result!
So it is always worth checking online for deals, and speaking to people until you get the discount you are after. It can seem, and they expect it to be, more trouble than it’s worth, but in these days of redundancies, pay-freezes and ‘work-a-month-for-free’ schemes, you owe it to yourself to seriously squeeze every bead of value out of your hard-earned cash. And if somebody – including you – is trying to rush you into buying something….just walk away.
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