Free From Broke

A Personal Finance Blog for Regular Folks

Melissa

The Good Guy Discount: Do You Regularly Haggle and Ask for Discounts? You Should!

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Do you ever ask for a discount when making a purchase? 

Do you consider doing so a challenge that you happily take on, or an embarrassment?

There seem to be two types of people in this world–those who happily ask for a discount and those who would just as soon overpay than ask for a discount.

Which are you?

My mom loves to ask for a discount.

When I was a teenager and in my early 20s, I found this practice unbelievably embarrassing.  My mom, very social by nature, would chat up the salesman or cashier, and just before the transaction ended, she’d say, ever so sweetly, “I’d love to buy this, but what kind of discount can you give me?”

I saw her bargaining as begging, and it made me cringe.  Yet the strategy worked for her; she often walked away with a sizable discount.

Ironically, years later, I, too, often find myself bargaining.  Honestly, there’s no better way to save money, and I don’t mind hearing “no.”  I’m not afraid of a retailer’s rejection, and I’m ecstatic when I save money.

How to Haggle and Ask For a Discount

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How I Made the Switch from Traditional Employment to Freelancing and How You Can, Too

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I majored in English in college. 

(Honestly, this is probably the worst decision I have ever made.  If I had to do it over again, I’d probably major in something more practical like journalism where I could still utilize my love of reading and writing.)

I went on to graduate school where I majored in English and Teaching English as a Second Language.  One year after I graduated, I snagged a job as a full-time English composition teacher at a community college outside an urban area.

In the beginning, I loved teaching even though the load was heavy.  I was expected to teach 5 classes a semester; each class had 28 students.  Each student had to write five essays during the semester.  That means I was grading 700 essays in a 16 week period.  These essays were each 3 to 4 pages long.

The load was heavy but manageable before I had children.  But when I had my son four years after I got the job, I started having difficulty balancing my work life with my home life.

By the time I had my second child four years later, I no longer enjoyed my job.

The quality of students was deteriorating.  The school hired full-time security guards to roam the halls because there had been so many problems with students threatening teachers and fighting in the classrooms.
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Frugal Vs. Cheap: Which Are You?

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Frugal, cheap, tightwad, miser, tightfisted, penny pincher. . .

We tend to use all of these words interchangeably to refer to people who are tight with their money, but there is a distinct difference.

The Definition of Cheap

Cheap has a negative connotation, as does tightwad, miser, and tightfisted, perhaps with good reason.  If you look up the meaning of cheap, you’ll see it says, “giving or sharing as little as possible” (Merriam-Webster).

Scrooge in A Christmas Carol is the perfect example of someone who is cheap. 

He does whatever he can to hoard as much money as possible and does not want to share with others.  We’ve even coined a term for people who don’t want to share or aren’t charitable–scrooges–after the character in A Christmas Carol.

I had a friend in graduate school who, if he took a girl out to a dance club, would only take her when it was ladies’ night and the woman got in free.  Then he expected his date to split his cost to get in!  When he took a date out to eat, he only went during happy hour and would only order off the appetizer menu so he could get the food half price.
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You Have Power In Your Wallet – Vote With Your Dollars: Change Businesses Based on Your Purchases

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After the recent governmental shut down, you may be feeling increasingly frustrated with our government. 

You may feel that you have no voice in politics and economic decisions.  Of course, you have the right to vote, but much of what the government does is largely out of your hands.

However, you can still take a stand and make your voice heard by voting with your dollars. 

Every day that you spend money, you’re making a choice and choosing one company over another, one product over another.

How you spend money is your voice, your vote.

Due to the economic law of supply and demand, if enough people show that they want better or different items, manufacturers will take notice.

For instance, “Making your next car a hybrid shows the automobile industry that you want more eco-friendly, fuel efficient vehicles, which in turn forces them to produce more.  Buying organic foods show that you care about our groundwater and the chemicals you are consuming.  Using reusable grocery bags demonstrates that you don’t want millions of plastic bags ending up in our oceans and landfills.  Buying products from corporations who are using methods to improve their environmental footprint helps their bottom line which shows their competition this is something important and forces everyone in their industry to raise the bar” (AG Beat).

How Are You Voting With Your Dollars?

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Where to Educate Yourself for Free Online – You Don’t Need to Spend to Learn

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With the average cost of a college education increasing 12 fold in the last 30 years (Huffington Post), some are deciding it’s not worth the expense and simply shunning the college experience.

For those who do want to attend, college is beginning to feel more and more out of reach.

In fact, “Bloomberg reports that the rate of increase in college costs has been ‘four times faster than the increase in the consumer price index'” (Huffington Post).

But if you shun attending a traditional college, all is not lost.  There are plenty of ways to get your education for free, thanks to the Internet.

Eight Places to Get a Free Education Online

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