5 times haggling is likely to pay

4. Financial aid

Although you are "negotiating," don't dare use that term -- or worse, "haggling" -- in conversations with financial aid officers if you want a better package, cautions Paul Wrubel, a co-founder of TuitionCoach.com, a financial-aid education site. "Talk about, 'How can we work together to close the gap (between expected family contribution and the cost to attend)?'" he suggests. "That's a much less threatening approach."

Leverage competing offers. Tell College A that they're your kid's first choice, but from an affordability perspective, College B makes more sense. Ask the financial-aid officer if he or she can match the other school's offer.

Ask for a reassessment if you encounter financial hardship. Any loss of income in these tough economic times -- say, from a job loss or depleted home value -- should trigger a special circumstances re-evaluation, Wrubel says. During a reassessment, the college will judge your ability to pay based on projected income for this year instead of last year's actual income as reported on your federal return. Many colleges have discretionary funds set aside for such appeals.

• Your 5-minute guide to saving for college

5. Tag sales

Sellers at flea markets and yard sales want to unload their items before calling it a day, which gives you plenty of leverage to bargain, says Leann Houston, a spokeswoman for the Fentress County Chamber of Commerce in Jamestown, Tenn., headquarters for the World's Longest Yardsale. Her best tricks:

Go late. Early on in a sale, vendors have little incentive to haggle, Houston says. "There are so many people coming through, they can be pretty sure of getting a better deal," she says. Later in the day, they may be more willing to drop the price on that antique bureau or mountain bike to avoid lugging it home.

Bring small bills. Exact change makes it easier to enforce your maximum price. For example: "I only have a $10 bill. Would you take $10 instead of $15?" It's also less insulting to the seller because you aren't pulling out a bill big enough to cover their initial asking price, she says.

• Smart Spending blog: Lessons from a yard sale

This article was reported and written by Kelli B. Grant for SmartMoney.com.

Published Dec. 9, 2008

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