Readers of this blog know that we’ve been doing a lot of home improvement since we bought our house. Homeowners everywhere know that sprucing up the old homestead costs money. That is why whenever I work with a contractor or handyman I always ask for a discount. Sometimes companies publish coupons or run promotions. We were able to save 10% + $50 off our mattress because the store we bought from offered a discount to employees where Shae works. We saved the other $50 by delivering the mattress ourselves instead of having them deliver it. That worked out great because we already rented a truck to handle other deliveries.
Sometimes the deals aren’t published and you specifically have to ask for them. That was the case when we replaced our gutters today.
I couldn’t find any published deals so I flat out asked them if they had any discounts. To my surprise and benefit they were willing to offer a 10% discount for cash payments. I know that Visa, MasterCard, Discover and other credit card companies typically take anywhere from 1-5% of a transaction so it makes sense that companies are willing to offer a discounted price if you pay in cash. In fact, it isn’t too uncommon to see truck stops and small mom & pop restaurants offer one price for cash and one for credit (or just refuse credit altogether). In this case, the old saying is definitely true, “Cash is King.”
Sometimes my own customers ask for a discount and they almost always receive one, provided that they ask nicely. Asking for a discount takes almost zero effort, usually the worst that can happen is that you are told no, and you potentially have quite a bit to gain.