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My wife Laura and I are constantly on the hunt for a deal. If we can seal those deals and save a few bucks here and there, we feel the dollars saved can go towards our kids education, retirement savings, or that new fly-fishing rod to satisfy my incurable need to hook and land a beautiful brown trout in a cold northern lake (No, Sweetie, I don’t have anything on lay-away).

One reason we’re successful at snagging great deals is because we committed to living differently. We are, financially speaking, politically incorrect, or what our teenage friends at church just call “wack.” Early on in our marriage we got fed up with debt and decided, who cares if haggling and negotiating are not in vogue? Let others buy without thought of price and live to impress others with their stuff; they may just end up sucking wind paycheck to paycheck and swimming in debt.

So I say be wack and fear not. Take every opportunity to ask for a discount. Smart retailers just want to keep inventory moving at (almost) all cost. Their vast clearance sections and weekly “annual sales” testify to this. Why wouldn’t the seller be willing to part with that shiny, stainless-steel 5-burner barbeque grill on the showroom floor for $25 off the listed price? If they are not willing to part with that grill at your price, at least ask for them to throw the grill brush into the deal. If they are unwilling to throw in a $10 brush with the $300 grill, maybe you are shopping at the wrong store.

Be more wack: take some cash. How low will Lowe’s go? If they won’t discount for green, I’m sure House Depository will. Finally, be prepared to walk. If the stores we shop at aren’t willing to do a deal, we find stores that are. If convenience is your only concern, be prepared to pay full price. If you want to save, you must be willing to be a little ‘wack.’

About Victor Encinas

Victor is a certified financial counselor by Dave Ramsey’s Lampo Group, 212Connection.com Approved Coach, and a Seminar Team member for Dan Miller’s 48 Days to the Work You Love seminars. He enjoys life by clearly and compassionately helping his clients create and achieve their vision to thrive. Victor serves his church by facilitating financial programs and helping others to realize their potential in the financial and career areas of their lives. Victor resides in Phoenix, Arizona with his lovely wife Laura and their 2 adorable children, Jude and Audrey. Victor loves to fly-fish for brown and rainbow trout in the small creeks and high desert lakes of Arizona, as well as, play guitar, eat Japanese food, play baseball with his son, Jude, and read to his daughter Audrey.