Just a heads up to my readers that next week will be back-to-school week here on Suddenly Frugal. That means Monday through Thursday I’ll be highlighting different deals and ways to save money on your back-to-school shopping. Friday, as always, will be Freebie Friday. If I can slip in some back-to-school freebies, I will. Stay tuned!

Last week we decided to take a staycation by visiting Lancaster County, Pennsylvania (aka Amish country). Lancaster, by the way, is less than two hours from our house. I consider that to be a staycation.

While I didn’t get any pictures of the Amish–who were out in the buggies in Bird-in-Hand and Intercourse (yes, that’s the name of the town)–I did capture some neat pictures, which I’ve uploaded below.

The first picture is of a cornfield near Paradise, PA–can you see the embedded advertising message?

The next picture is of  the Strasburg Railroad, which we rode and really enjoyed. I would recommend a ride on it to anyone visiting the area.

The third picture is a dining room table made of reclaimed barn wood that we’re hoping to buy to furnish our renovated space. This table is WAY cheaper than anything we’ve seen in traditional stores. Plus, it’s pretty gorgeous, don’t you think?

Enjoy.

Today I’m spending the day with a reporter for a national news outlet (can’t reveal it quite yet) who will be shadowing me as I hit the stores to haggle. My goal? To get the best deal possible on cabinets, countertops, appliances and furniture for our kitchen renovation.

I’m used to haggling in my freelance writing business, but that usually involves asking for more money when I get an assignment. Usually, a quick “Is that the best you can do?” results in my fee going up–so I have to wonder if the same “Is that the best you can do?” technique will work in a retail environment?

Before we hit the stores, I figured I’d better study up on the best ways to haggle. Here are some of the tips and tricks I’ve learned. I plan to road test these today:

• Do your homework first. One of the items I’m hoping to score a deal on today is a new stainless steel refrigerator. My husband and I have been shopping for one for the past few weeks, and I now know more about cubic foot interiors of fridges and ice dispensers than I ever thought possible. I’m also very familiar with brands and prices. Just last week we saw a Kenmore Elite refrigerator at Sears that was the best deal we’ve seen all year. During my trip out today, I’m going to see if any of the stores I visit (not Sears) can beat that deal. If they can, then it looks like mama is gonna be buying a new fridge today.
• Damaged goods can equal discounted goods. I know that whenever I’m in a retail store and I find a stained or torn article of clothing that I was interested in buying, I don’t just toss it to the side. Instead, I look to see if there’s an identical piece of clothing on the rack, and if there isn’t, I used the damaged item to my advantage. I’ll bring my potential purchase to the register, point out the flaw and add, “This is the last one of this shirt/sweater/pair of pants on the rack.” Then I’ll ask, “What can you do for me?” Usually, I can get a few bucks knocked off the price–great if I know that I can clean or repair the article of clothing at home. I’m thinking that if I find any dinged or scratched appliances on my trip out today, I’ll try the same technique.
• Haggling is a lot like shopping at an auction. If you’ve ever bid on an eBay item, then you’ve probably given yourself a price limit. You’ve done some research and know the “real” cost of the item you’re bidding on. When the price surpasses what you’re comfortable spending, you need to stop bidding. Haggling works the same way. You should know ahead of time how much you’re willing to spend, and when you can’t haggle your way down to anywhere near that price, you need to walk away.
• Your feet are your most valuable negotiating tool. So you couldn’t haggle to the price you wanted and you’ve decided to walk away. Then do it. Quite literally. Sometimes the act of physically walking away from a salesperson may have him or her calling after you to work out a deal. It works all the time at car dealerships and yard sales. Why not give it a try when haggling for appliances or electronics?
• Be reasonable about what you try to haggle for. Asking a salesperson at a big-box store to give you a break on a brand-new, out-of-the-box flat-screen TV won’t get you very far. But asking that same salesperson what kind of price he can give you for a floor model of a flat screen might just snag you a deal. My plan today is to ask about floor models for all of the kitchen cabinets, countertops, dining room tables and appliances I’m interested in purchasing. A little birdie told me recently that about twice a year, the Lowe’s and Home Depots of the world dismantle their kitchen display centers so they can bring in new inventory. I wonder if I could negotiate a good deal if I “offer” to take those cabinets and countertops that they used in the display off the store’s hands. Sure, I’d have to rent a truck (about $75 a day) to get the stuff home, but I’m betting that the money I’d save on the floor models would be way more than the money I would spend on a truck.
• At some point state how much you can afford to pay and then stick to that figure. This may seem like the worst thing to do–maybe you could have gotten the item for much cheaper, you know? But if you already know how much you can spend and you’ve done your homework on what things cost, then sharing your budget can’t hurt. Either the salesperson is going to work with you and your budget, or he’s going to tell you to have a nice day. Stating our budget upfront helped my husband and me when we were negotiating with the contractor doing our renovation. Multiple times we stated very clearly the amount we could afford to spend on the project. We knew the contractor wanted our business, and we knew he was willing to work within our budget. So while we were shocked to see the low price he gave us on his bid, we were also pleasantly surprised to learn that our tactic actually worked.

What about you? Do you have any haggling secrets–or haggling success stories–to share?

We are currently recovering from a birthday party yesterday, during which we hosted seven teenage girls. This was for my daughter Jane’s 14th birthday. Need I say more?

We’ll be back on schedule tomorrow–hopefully!

Never forgo a home inspection when buying a place to live. Let me repeat that. Never forgo a home inspection when buying a place to live.

When my husband and I first started shopping around for a new home, we saw a number of houses where we could envision ourselves living. On the surface every place looked perfect. But thanks to the insistence of our Realtor, she made sure we had each home inspected.

Now home inspections are not cheap, but the hundreds of dollars that we spent on them have saved us from spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on money pits.

You see, before buying the house where we currently live, we went to contract on three other houses. In two of the instances, it was the home inspection that lead us to back out of the contract. (Our Realtor made sure to write in a cancellation clause.) On the third house the sellers pulled out on us.

In house number one, the previous owners had done zero upkeep on their 50-year-old house. And I mean zero. The windows were all painted shut (and therefore needed to be replaced), the concrete in the garage had settled, sloped and cracked (and needed to be replaced) and the roof had been leaking for years, leaving the insulation in the attic sopping wet (and needed to be replaced). Um, thanks but no thanks.

In house number two, here was the biggest problem that the home inspection uncovered: the house had had a number of floods in the basement. And the owners being too cheap to replace the carpet or wall board just left them as is. I knew there was a problem down there when, on inspection day–a day when it was raining–I walked down into the basement, and my eyes started burning.

“Something is down here that I’m allergic, too,” I recall saying to the inspector.

“It’s probably mold,” he replied, kneeling down on the damp carpet to look for telltale mold signs.

He found them–dark blotches–in a number of different areas of the basement.

“I could do a separate mold test right now, but it’ll cost $600,” he told me.

“Do it!”

I figured spending $600 on a house that I was going to buy for $600,000 was worth the risk.

Three days later we found out that not only was there mold in that basement, but it was the toxic mold that took over New Orleans homes that sat submerged after Hurricane Katrina–stachybotrys. This is the stuff that makes people really sick.

Not surprisingly we canceled our offer on that home, too.

In the home we eventually bought–and are now living in–we also paid for a home inspection. While it didn’t uncover anything that would change our mind about buying the house, it did clue us in on the age of certain parts of the house or areas of the home where we should plan to make repairs or get replacements in the near future.

In fact, the home inspection report came in handy last week when our contractor told us we needed a new roof. (You’ll recall we’re currently having an addition put on our home.) At first I thought the contractor was pulling my leg and just trying to jack up the cost of the job. But after pulling out the home inspection report, here’s what I read:

“Asphalt shingles typically have a lifespan of 20 years. The shingles on this roof are 16 to 18 years old. Budget to replace roof in next 2 to 4 years.”

Well, we bought the house two years ago, putting us right smack dab in the time when the home inspection estimated we would need a new roof.

So we told the contractor replace our roof. When it comes to homes and their roofs, you don’t want to be penny wise and pound foolish.

The same is true with home inspections. When you buy a home, you are making a huge investment. So spending the money on a home inspection is the best way to protect yourself from investing in a money pit.

Once you’ve sold a home, you understand the importance of having a show-ready house. That’s one that looks and smells perfect, and (hopefully) makes any potential buyers want to make an offer. A Realtor is a great resource for helping you figure out what actually makes a home show-ready. That’s why I’m thrilled that today’s post is courtesy of Realtor Dee Dee Bowman, at Coldwell Banker Hearthside – Lahaksa in Pennsylvania. She’s here to offer 6 suggestions for getting your home show-ready and ready to sell on a shoestring. Take it away, Dee Dee.

The news from real estate markets across the country is mixed – up here, down even more there, and holding steady here and there. But the real estate news that is most important to you is always local – what’s happening in your neighborhood, town, county, state or region. If you are thinking of buying or selling now, talk with your favorite Realtors. They can help you make the smartest decision for your situation.

And if your decision is to sell, then it’s time to get busy. While a few super-organized folks might be able to put their house on the market with minimal effort, most of us will need to do some serious work in the weeks before the sign goes up and the photos are taken.

Everyone has seen the HGTV shows that profile home-makeovers in advance of home-selling.  Typically, a team of carpenters and designers descend on the house and, fortified with a $2000 budget, overhaul a couple of rooms. It makes for good TV, but is not for the budget-conscious.

Instead of redecorating, you can follow these frugal and fool-proof steps to get your house ready for market:

1.    Clean, clean, then clean some more. Get into every nook and cranny and root out dust, dirt, grime, grease and cobwebs. Your house should sparkle. It should smell fresh. You should be able to eat off the floor. This task (which could take days, even weeks if you are being completely thorough) will cost very little, especially if you use home-made cleaners, recycled clothing for rag, and newspapers and vinegar for doing the windows.
2.    Get rid of the wallpaper. Yeah, I know. It was really expensive. It MAKES the dining room. Whatever. Buyers hate wallpaper. Trust me. They really hate it. Take it down and paint the walls. Choose one of the newer decorator colors that says “updated.” You can get a good idea about colors that are popular in your market by stopping in at model homes in the best new construction communities. These folks have done market research and should know what people like.
3.    Put stuff away. This should not even have to be mentioned, but many people just can’t part with their things…even if it’s a temporary separation. Take down the wall of fame in the family room; strip the tables, countertops, tops of cabinets, mantles and other surfaces of your personal collections. Empty your junk drawer. Edit your pots and pans to just those that fit neatly in the space you have. Clean the excess out of the pantry and the linen closet.  Load up all those paperbacks and DVDs. Pack up anything you don’t need every day. The point of this huge effort is to show that your house is easy to keep organized; that there’s room for everything. It will feel calm and serene. You’ll thank me when you sell the house and you have to move out…half the work will have already been done. And this costs you nothing (get your boxes on Freecycle or Craigslist).
4.    Take a good, hard look at the entrance to your house. Does your front door need painting? Is the knocker tarnished? Is the light fixture filled with cobwebs and dead bugs? Are the house numbers aligned properly? How about the foundation plantings? Are they over grown? Is the walkway in good repair? This is the part of your house that greets every visitor first. Be sure it makes a good impression.
5.    Dress up the master bedroom so it looks like a private retreat. It’s only an illusion for most people, but it’s one we all seem to like to cling to. If you have a little bit of a budget, splurge on a nice bedspread, bedskirt and throw pillows. Clear personal items from bedside tables and the dresser and choose a couple of decorative items from elsewhere in the house to make it look pulled together. Do the same in the master bath, maybe splurging on new shower curtain and matching towels (then don’t use the towels until you move to you new house).
6.    Get out of dodge. That is, take yourself, your children and your animals out of the house for all showings.

Stay positive, and good luck.

Feel free to email Dee Dee if you have any specific questions about getting your home ready to market.

A reporter from National Public Radio (NPR) contacted me today about a story she’s doing on consumers and haggling.

While I was able to share some of my own haggling anecdotes with her, ideally what she’s looking for is a regular Joe or Jane in the DC area to interview for her NPR story. She wants to speak with someone who has haggled in the past to get a good price on something and is planning to buy something in the near future–and would allow the reporter to tag along and witness the haggling first hand. She’s looking for “regular” retail haggling, not someone who plans to haggle for a car or home purchase.

If this describes you or someone you know, please drop me an email: leah dot ingram at comcast dot net. Deadline: Thursday, July16, 2009.