Smart shopping: 5 things for which you should never pay full price

Call it negotiating. Call it being frugal. Or just call it smart shopping, but there are some things you should just never pay full price for.

Christie Hardcastle, the Community Development Officer for Credibility, a consumer credit counseling service said, "When it comes to negotiating the worse thing they can tell you is no. And sometimes they don't have the ability to lower the price on an item for whatever reason but they might be able to do something else."

Hardcastle helped our West Palm Beach Scripps station WPTV create the following list of five things you should never pay full price for:

No. 1 Appliances

Major retailers like Sears and Best Buy will price match, so shop around for the lowest price before you buy.  If a sales rep can't lower the sticker price any more, ask for a warranty to be thrown in at no cost.

No. 2 Furniture

If you're willing to wait a few weeks, chances are the next big sale is coming to a furniture showroom near you.  Right now spring models are hitting the floors so last year’s models might be hitting the clearance area.  If you feel like you've hit rock bottom with a sticker price, negotiate free shipping costs.

No. 3 Dining out

These days, there are a boatload of websites offering dining out discount coupons.  Three offering consistent savings in our area are: Groupon, Living Social and www.restaurants.com.  

"You can literally cut your dining bill in half. So you're still going out, you're still going where you want to go, you're just paying a lot less for it," said Hardcastle.

No. 4  Going to the movies

Most major movie theater chains offer rewards cards where you earn points equaling free snacks first, discounted movie tickets later.  Also, if you really want to see a movie, prices during the week are usually cheaper.

No. 5 Personal care items

We’re talking about body wash, deodorant, razors, shaving cream and toothpaste.  Get in a routine of doing a simple coupon search before hitting the store.  While shopping, look for items with a coupon attached or ones that you can earn points toward your next purchase of the same item.  Get in this routine for a few weeks and you’ll never pay full price for personal care items again.

Hardcastle said, "If you focus on how hard you work, what it takes to earn that income, and you kind of look at even saving a hundred dollars on a major purchase, that's really a lot of money."