A blog post I recently read, written by Amy B. Scher , reminded me about one of the best practices that a person can use to protect and gain the greatest value from their own money. Negotiating the bottom line on your purchases is not old school and it's certainly not "dirty pool". Seeking to negotiate downward adjustments to your purchase prices shows that you have respect for the work that you have done to earn your income and it also shows that you understand capitalism in motion. The following list is only a partial exposure of the ways you can negotiate lower costs for yourself. With some considered imagination you can easily put the negotiation concept to work for yourself in a multitude of buying situations and as you do, the practice will become quite natural and very rewarding.
Save money on your rent:
You can often save money on rent by trading your skills for a portion of your rent payment. If you have the tools and equipment, offer to take care of the lawn at your rental for a monthly rent reduction. You can also do the same thing with snow removal. Offer to paint the interior of the property or look for other repairs that need attention and form agreements to be compensated for doing those jobs. Additionally, if your landlord owns multiple properties, you can negotiate to take on some management duties by collecting rents, making repairs or becoming "the go-to person" when there are problems or complaints. Just be sure to get all your agreements in writing, signed by your landlord and witnessed by a responsible third party. Also be sure to designate who buys what and keep all appropriate receipts for materials purchased to complete tasks.

Farmer's markets, flea markets, and road side stands:
Buying from independent sellers can be a great way to save significant dollars on things. Independent sellers are not bound by company rules, regulations and pricing requirements. Most independent sellers are fully prepared and willing to "haggle price" with you. Let's say you are going to make a large batch of salsa so you need lots of tomatoes. The road side produce seller who has tomatoes at 3 for a dollar will probably sell you the entire bin of forty tomatoes for $8 because then he doesn't have to take the daily left-overs back home. Generally speaking, I have found that if you give independent sellers an opportunity to sell out on an item, they'll give discounts of 30% or more just to close the deal. Selling out at discount beats taking home a few stragglers at full price... just ask Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: WMT), they'll tell you I'm right.

Scratched, dented and irregular:
Many retailers, even some of the largest, will give noticeable discounts on merchandise which is less than perfect. You can save hundreds of dollars by purchasing appliances from "retail seconds" outlets and you'll often find items in store that have minor blemishes that were missed by the stock people when loading the shelves. This strategy takes patience but it nearly always pays off. I recommend that you find someone to ask about the item before you take it to the register. Simply show the defective or damaged item to a sales associate and ask if the manager can talk to you about a discount on the merchandise. It may take a while but a good manager will respond to your fair offer. Three warnings I'll give you on this scenario are: 1) Never damage merchandise yourself to attempt to gain a discount on it. The legal repercussions can be worse than if you just stole the item. 2) Be aware that many of the appliance and electronics deals you find on eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) are these retail seconds, factory refurbished, open box, and restock items. 3) Most often, these sales fall under the "all sales final" heading so you'll have no "right of return."

Hotel / motel compensatory discounts:
There are a couple situations mentioned in my source article for getting discounts from hotels. One situation involves complaining about noise disturbances when they happen and a reader comment suggests that you don't mention discounts that you bring with you, such as AAA or AARP, until after you have been quoted a room rate. A married couple can also ask for a single occupancy room. In my estimation your spouse can be considered your guest in this case and after all, you'll most likely be sharing the one bed so why be charged for a second one? If Hilton Hotels Corporation (NYSE: HLT) management gives you a problem about it in the morning, just ask them if the room you slept in was a single or double occupancy unit and if they informed you of a prohibition against guests in your room... end of argument.

Getting pets:
There are many no cost and low cost ways to adopt a new pet. Your local animal shelters are great places to get started although they generally don't negotiate their fees. Most animal shelters will fully vaccinate dogs and cats before releasing them to a new home and the fee they charge you for this service is generally about one third what a local veterinarian will charge. Most animal shelters are in touch with reduced cost, spay / neuter programs so you can realize significant savings there also. Ask if the shelter will include any vouchers for veterinarian services along with the animal. Consider looking at those public note boards in the grocery stores. People are often posting notice on those boards that they are giving away or selling animals and if they have a stated price you can often succeed with a counter offer. You can also scan your local bargain fliers or classified shoppers for the words "free to good home". Many a pet has found new lodging through classified ads and many people selling animals as pets will entertain counter offers.

Make retailers serve you:
Often times you can get extra value from retailers just by asking. For large items such as appliances and mattresses you can specify that you want free delivery included and make that a condition of the sale. Don't let them tell you that they won't deliver items for free. Nicely respond that if they want to make a sale, they'll deliver. You can also make removal of your old item a condition of the sale. This is an especially nice option for getting rid of old mattresses and refrigerators. When purchasing electronics such as theater systems or computer suites from places such as Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY) you should also consider having the retailer set up the equipment for you. Keep this in the back of your mind when considering the price you're going to pay for your purchase. Many of the big box electronics retailers are beginning to sell installation services because equipment set-up can be so very tricky. Make those set-up services a condition of the sale and you'll be getting some cheap peace of mind.

These are just some of the ways and places where you can seek to negotiate a better bottom line for yourself. In times of economic challenge it always pays dividends to take your time and hunt down your bargains. In those cases where you cannot get a seller to work with you in accomplishing price adjustments, just walk away with a smile and move on to the next guy. Take it from me, in the world of business, when your contacts won't work with you there's something particularly satisfying about patting you wallet and nicely saying "no deal."