Our experts:
Gail Vaz-Oxlade, author of 10 books on personal finance and the host of Life Network's new "Till Debt Do Us Part." Gail says she "always negotiates everything." This includes her last car. She wanted zero per cent financing, not the 2.8 per cent being offered. When the salesperson told her he couldn't meet her expectations, she thanked him for his time. "I got up and left the office," she says. "And he caught me on the showroom floor." Given a few seconds to mull it over, he decided he could give Gail what she wanted after all. "And I'm still driving that car," she says.
Ellie Rubin, international speaker, TV personality and author of Bulldog: Spirit of the New Entrepreneur (HarperCollins Canada, 1999) and Ambition: 7 Rules for Getting There (Penguin, 2004). "One of the best deals I ever struck was when I took a senior sales job at a communications company. I guaranteed that I would double the quota they wanted me to reach within six months instead of 12. If I reached my goal, they owed me double the bonus. If I failed, they owed me nothing. Guess what happened?"
Grant Yoxon, managing editor of the online magazine Canadiandriver.com. "I always feel like I'm getting ripped off, so in my family, we always say, ‘Is that the best price you can give us?'"
Right now, Grant and his wife are in the market for a new dining room set and have been negotiating on and off for six months. They regularly visit the store, check the price and talk to the salesperson. "When the price is right, we'll do it," says Grant. "But we're not paying top dollar." And he's in no rush to buy -- a move he says puts you in a better bargaining position, whether you're after a new washing machine or a shirt.
Now that you have that hard-earned money, don't waste it. Our experts explain how to negotiate:
• The price of a car or appliance
• Your home's selling price, mortgage and insurance price
