A penny saved is a dollar earned - B. Franklin

You can drag the retailer to the consumer court for the same. Most of the time, bargaining is not possible in showrooms as they have a fixed company price and they can’t get any lower than that.
In this article I will give some tips on how to bargain so that you can own the product at the cheapest rate possible.

Don’t show Interest on the Product

This is the most important tip to bargain anything, never let the shop owner know that you are very much interested into the product. Once he knows that you are interested he can assure himself that you are going to buy it. This way you won’t be able to bargain effectively. This specially holds true when you are shopping for some product. Instead of calling it product everywhere, let’s take the example of a shirt.
Let’s say you have gone shopping to buy yourself a shirt. You go to this shop and find a shirt that really matches your taste, but hey stop there. Don’t let the retailer know about it. Take 2-3 shirts with that shirt and mix them up with the one you like. Go to the billing counter and ask the price of all the 4 shirts, then stress on the price of the one you don’t want to buy.  Here are the possible scenarios

• He would say sorry sir this shirt doesn’t come at that price, you can have this shirt instead (the shirt you like).
• Tell him you bought the same shirt for much cheaper rate at the competitor‘s shop.
• Tell him you didn’t like the quality of the shirt, but since I hadn’t bought a shirt for some time now you have come to purchase one.
• It is a good strategy to shop with a friend. Retailers pay a lot of attention to the conversation you have with your friends. They can make out if you are going to buy or not by hearing the conversation. Make it sound real and he would be more comfortable.

Short on Budget

This is another good strategy for bargaining; tell the retailer you are seriously short on cash. This way you are making the retailer aware that even if he wants to charge you more he can’t because you just don’t have the cash to pay for it. If he sticks to that price, he will lose the sale.
Avoid using Credit/Debit card
Making a purchase using credit card can be easier for you but as soon the retailer knows you have a card, he is assured that he can charge you anything he likes and you are paying for it. More over they charge 3-4% extra on the purchase. There are also chances that you can over purchase using a card. So it is wise to carry cash before the purchase.
Ask for Discounts

Many of us don’t bother to ask for any discounts as we assume that there would be none. But sometimes some retailers don’t tell you about the discount until you ask them. This way they can make more profit on a discounted product. You can also ask for discount on similar product from other company too. You can always opt for a discounted product.

Change shops

It is wise to know about the price of the product at other shops too. This way you can surprise the retailer by telling the correct price of the product. This will assure the retailer that you have done your homework and are aware of the average price in the market. Sometimes we are so used to one shop that we always end up making purchase there. If you are a loyal customer, don’t let him take you for granted. You can demand him to reduce the price and he will.
Recommend his shop to friends
Let the owner of the shop know that you are promoting his shop with your friends and you will bring even your friends here for shopping. This is a very tricky situation for the retailer and most likely he will fall for it, as you are bringing an extra customer to him. You can start demanding more discount to him after you made him an extra sales.

Bargaining the right price

This is the question most of us will be thinking at the time of bargaining, what should be the right price to bargain and the answer to this question is very tricky, because it depends on lots of factors like the location of the shop, the shop owner, the products etc.
In India at some places we can bargain up to 50-60% of the actual price he tells. For example a shirt that costs 500 Rs. Can be bought for as low as 250 Rs or 230 Rs, but again as I said it depends on the location and other factors. If the shop has lots of competition you can bargain big time, but if he has an exclusive product it is not really easy to bargain. But an ideal price to bargain in any shop would be 15-20% of the actual price. Start with 30% and scale down gradually, it takes lots of patience to do some serious bargaining.  If you don’t have the patience to bargain, let your friend do it for you.

Conclusion

I hope these tips would help you save some money, for every penny saved is like a penny earned. As you start implementing these tips you will find out that few tips work great on few shops, some don’t. But over time you will find “The” right shops to make your purchases.

image source - Flickr

Sleep is a state of mind, where the human brain relaxes and saves all the important information into memory cells. This is one of the reason why we have dreams. Coming back to our topic I have listed the 3 tasks before you start your day.

My great day came and went, I do not know how.  Because it did not pass through dawn when it came, nor through dusk when it went. - Antonio Porchia

Pray to God:
You may or may not believe in god, but I am a strong believer. Every morning I get up, I thank god  for keeping me healthy so far. Pray for your friends and family and end the prayer with asking for a successful day. Praying installs a confidence into us. At the back of mind, we have thought running that God will take care of the day and the day will be a great one.

Work it out :
A 30 minutes work out a day is enough to keep you away from most of the health related diseases. Dedicate minimum of 30 minutes for daily work outs. These workout will prepare the body for the days stress and also make you feel more energetic and confident to take on with your tasks.  If you are planning to join a gym, these tips will help you get started. Make sure you exercise before having your breakfast. If you are not comfortable doing workouts, you can opt for yoga.

Plan your day :
It is very important to plan your day ahead. In your mind browse through all the pending work left or any new work which you are going to take out and also plan on how to it finish off. Planning ahead will give you an extra edge over your competitors. Some of the common points can be

1. What time I am supposed to reach my office/school.
2. How do I commute? Is my vehicle in fine condition ?
3. Do I have to meet/call anyone before going to office/school ?
4. Do I have to pay any pending bills etc?
5. Is there any pending work left at office/school ?
6. What could be the possible work which I would have to do at office/school.?
7. Do I have any appointment with doctor/layer/client etc ?
8. What time work will get over and I will be back home.
9. Is there any evening party ? Or are you expecting any friends or relative?
10. Anything which I missed ?

You can even write it down and keep it as a to-do list for each day. Some people have the habit of writing diaries to record there daily schedules. It may take some extra time, but it will make sure you wont miss anything.
All these tasks are important to prepare us for the day’s work. At the end of the day, evaluate what you could or couldn’t do.  Try it for a week, and you will start seeing amazing results in your day to day life. Have a great day.

Image Source : Flickr

“A champion needs a motivation above and beyond winning.” - Pat Riley

The 5 major needs identified by Abraham Maslow were Physiological needs, Safety needs, Social needs, Esteem needs and Growth needs. The Physiological need is the most basic need and is mandatory for the survival. This need form the base to other needs. The 4 needs i.e. Physiological, Safety, Social and Esteem are also called us the Deficiency needs or the D-Needs. Shortage in these needs can make the person Anxious and tense. Now let’s see each needs in further details

Physiological Needs :

This is also the most basic need but also the most important need. Physiological need mainly consists of

• Breathing
• Drinking
• Eating
• Sex
• Excretion

The Physiological needs are usually common for all living animals. These are the basic survival needs, I don’t think I need to explain much here. Lets move on to the next need.

Safety Need :

These needs get second priority. This need basically deals with survival. How we survive in our society, work, etc. The Safety need includes safety from

• Personal injuries or health risks.
• Lack of job.
• Shortage of resources.
• Problems in family.

The levels of hierarchy are such that once the lower level of need is met the person moves up the hierarchy to meet the next need. Incase any need from lower need is not met, he gives priority and tries to meet that need first.

Social Need :

If these needs are met, the person is satisfied that he is socially accepted. This need includes the love and affection he needs from his near and dear’s. The human behaviour lot depends on this level of need. A person who is deprived from Social Need in early part of his life can have serious Physiological problems.

This level of need includes

• Love from Friendship.
• Affection of family.
• Sexual Intimacy.

Esteem Needs :

This level determines how he is accepted into the society. Education plays an important role, to fulfill this need. A highly educated man is readily accepted by the society and respected. Self-respect and respect for others determine a person’s esteem. Esteem needs can come in blood if you are born into a Royal Family. In the sense, you are naturally accepted as a person who should be highly respected, just because you were born in a royal family.

Another place where esteem can be a problem is at work. At, work we meet many people of same respect level. A shortage in this respect level can be de-motivating and can create friction among two people.

Growth Need :

This need is the need to excel in the field of intrest. Growth needs are further divided into 3 sub needs

• Cognitive needs
• Aesthetic needs
• Self-actualization

To excel in field of intrest it is human tendency to explore new things and there by updating his level of knowledge. By gaining new knowledge, person becomes more intelligent.  Cognitive need explains why a person always explores the world around him to understand it better. May this need is one of the reason you are reading this post.

Self-Actualization is the instinctual need of humans to make the most of their abilities and to strive to be the best they can. Working toward fulfilling our potential, toward becoming all that we are capable of becoming.

Maslow writes the following of self-actualizing people:

• They embrace the facts and realities of the world (including themselves) rather than denying or avoiding them.
• They are spontaneous in their ideas and actions.
• They are creative.
• They are interested in solving problems; this often includes the problems of others. Solving these problems is often a key focus in their lives.
• They feel a closeness to other people, and generally appreciate life.
• They have a system of morality that is fully internalized and independent of external authority.
• They have discernment and are able to view all things in an objective manner.

The maslow’s theory of need may explain why we do some of the things that we do. As I mentioned previously in the post that a person who can meet all these needs is highly successful . He leads a very fulfilling life that inspires others to follow him.

Image Credit

Video : Sound the Bugle now

Lyrics of the song :

Sound the bugle now - play it just for me
As the seasons change - remember how I used to be
Now I can’t go on - I can’t even start
I’ve got nothing left - just an empty heart

I’m a soldier - wounded so I must give up the fight
There’s nothing more for me - lead me away…
Or leave me lying here

Sound the bugle now - tell them I don’t care
There’s not a road I know - that leads to anywhere
Without a light feat that I will - stumble in the dark
Lay right down - decide not to go on

Then from on high - somewhere in the distance
There’s a voice that calls - remember who your are
If you lose yourself - your courage soon will follow

So be strong tonight - remember who you are
Ya you’re a soldier now - fighting in a battle
To be free once more -Ya that’s worth fighting for

If you haven’t seen the movie yet. I highly recommend this movie for your family and friends. You can get the DVD from Amazon.

“An apology is the superglue of life. It can repair just about anything.” - Lynn Johnston

But who says sorry can make all the difference. It is not wrong on your part to say sorry, even if the fault was not from your side. But to make or break friendship it requires two people. So directly or indirectly you might be involved for the differences. It is not a good feeling to be disliked by someone, at one point of time in life we will surely miss them. If you know, the fault was from your side confess to your fault and ask him/her sorry by heart. Initially he/she might not consider your apology by later they will surely. There are different way you can ask sorry to a friend

Say sorry with a Gift :

Before you are going to say sorry, make sure you are carrying a gift or a card at least. Specially, if your friend is a girl these gifts matter a lot. For a guy a simple hug will do, but girls expect some gifts to remember the moment.

When you say sorry mean it :

If you are saying sorry to someone, mean it. Never say sorry just for the heck of it or just to please the person. If you are sorry mean it or just don’t say it yet.

Look into his/her eyes :

When you are asking sorry look into persons eye. This will make them understand that you really meant your sorry, because eyes can speak more than what we think. Open your eyes wide when asking sorry, and search for the answer in his/her eyes. If he/she is looking into your eyes, your apologies are almost sure to be accepted.

Don’t make a fuss about it:

Do talk about the issue to clear why the mis understanding occured. But don’t drag it too long as it will only end up blaming each other and soon you will be back to square one. Respect each other’s point of view and tell what you felt and thought.

Ask sorry man o man :

Try your best to ask the person sorry face to face. This way, you will be able to express your feelings better. Asking sorry on phone, chat, e-mail can sound easy but don’t have the same effect as face to face.

If you are staying far from your friend or can’t meet him/her for some reason, I would recommend you send them a personalized e-card.

Always remember as an old saying says.. ” It is better to be late, than never “.

image source : Flickr

” God didn’t have time to make a nobody, only a somebody.I believe that each of us has God-given talents within us waiting to be brought to fruition. “

In this post I will tell you about a man who faced the exact same fate. His name is Nick Vujicic , He was first born child into his devout Serbian Christian family, Nick Vujicic was born in Sunnybank, Brisbane, Australia, limbless, missing both arms at shoulder level, and having one small foot with two toes protruding from his left thigh. Initially his parents were devastated, however Nick turned out to be otherwise perfectly healthy.

His life was filled with difficulties and hardships. One such hardship was not being able to attend a mainstream school because of his physical disability, as the law of Australia required, even though he was not mentally impaired. During his schooling, the laws were changed, and Nick was one of the first disabled students to be migrated to a mainstream school.Being bullied at his school, Nick grew extremely depressed, and by the age of eight, started contemplating suicide. After begging God to grow arms and legs, Nick eventually began to realize that his accomplishments were inspirational to many, and began to thank God he was alive. When he was seventeen, he started to give talks at his prayer group, and eventually starting his non-profit organization, Life Without Limbs.

Nick graduated from college at the age of 21 with as a double major in Accounting and Financial Planning. He began his travels as a motivational speaker, focusing on the topics that today’s teenagers face. He also speaks in the corporate sector, however his aim is to become an international inspirational speaker, in both Christian and non-Christian venues. He regularly travels internationally to speak to Christian congregations, schools, and corporate meetings. He has spoken on four continents (Africa, Asia, Australia, and North America), in over 12 countries, and to over two million people face to face.

Well this is his story, and I am totally inspired by his story. He is a direct testimonial to mind over matter. There is nothing bad that can ever happen which makes you quit. Being born in this cruel world without limbs by itself is the worst thing that can ever happen to a human being, but even after being born so today he is a successful man and is financially independent. He used his biggest disability to his biggest strength. Not only he is financially independent he is being blessed by millions of people across the world for changing there life forever.

To reach more people he is currently writing a book titled “No Arms, No Legs, No Worries”. His company “Attitude Is Altitude” also sells a DVD about his life. If you are planning to support his Non-Profit organization do get involved.

From his story we can learn

• Life can be really un fare at times. How we take it can make all the difference.
• Never say quit. Remember there is always a better future waiting for you.
• Nothing is impossible.
• If you think can do it, you will do it.
• Don’t hide your emotions, express them.
• Believe in your self at all times.

Next Time You Think Life is Hard.Think Again!

Image source

Conversation should be pleasant without scurrility, witty without affectation, free without indecency, learned without conceitedness, novel without falsehood. - William Shakespeare

In this blog post I will try to share 5 tips on how to talk to anyone. If we observe the pattern closely, most of the successful person have been good talkers.

Starting a conversation :

Ever wondered why ? When you meet a person and all you could say to him/her was a simple “hi”. How to take a conversation beyond that point can make all the difference. It requires one of the person involved to initiate the conversation. Most of the time, none of them initiate any conversation and just pass by. The best part of starting a conversation is you don’t need a reason to do it. You can just stop by and even comment on that person’s dress to start a conversation. Once the conversation starts, rest will automatically flow in and fall in place.

The point that I wanted to mention here is, don’t expect the other person to start a conversation. Do it yourself, and the next time you meet that person he/she will be the one to start it.

Make them feel like you knew them forever :

If you have observed some people, when they talk you feel as if you knew them forever. They come close to you very soon, and you find much comfortable talking with them. The reason is because, they talk that way. If you can be one, you can make lots of new friends and even strike many successful business deals. It all starts with your body language, don’t feel defensive when you meet a person for the first time. Feel relaxed, observe the way he talks to his friends.

If he is already in a conversation and you were just watching the proceeding of the conversation, interrupt the conversation by expressing your point of view. Try not to comment against that person, support him/her with your point of view. This will install immediate trust for you in there mind. The person will then add your point and try to continue the conversation and expecting you to support him/her more. Once that conversation is over, you can either greet each or conclude the same conversation in such a way that he/she is satisfied.

Avoid sounding like a jerk :

Jerk is sarcastic, mean, unforgiving and never misses an opportunity to make a cutting remark. People don’t like jerk’s as they can be sometimes too straight forward. Don’t be cursing a person always, be good and talk about there positive aspects. If you talk bad about a person to him/her, she will think he talks the same to others about me. If you have a comment or have to make a remark, keep it with yourself. Not all comments are liked and not all situations needs a comment.

Mind your phone manners :

Having a control over phone manners is extremely important. A conversation on phone doesn’t mean you can talk what you want to. On a phone it becomes more important to talk carefully, because a person can’t see your body language. A simple joke can be misunderstood as a sarcastic comment.

Don’t carry the phone conversation for too long, Once a person gets used to talk to you phone he/she will prefer to talk to you on phone. The reason for this is, they will feel more comfortable talking to you on phone than in real life. Nothing beats a face to face conversation.

Make them feel they are special to you :

Every person is different , they think and converse differently. It is important to understand people as individuals and converse according to them. Having a pesonilized touch in your conversation will make them feel special individually in the group. This feeling is important to them, because it makes them understand there importance in the group.

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The road to happiness lies in two simple principles: find what it is that interests you and that you can do well, and when you find it, put your whole soul into it — every bit of energy and ambition and natural ability you have. - John D. Rockefeller III

Here, in this post I will try to mention the points that I follow to get happy and frankly speaking I am happy most of the times. We must also remember sadness is also an integral part of happiness. Happiness and sadness are like two faces of the same coin, by following these steps we are only increasing the probability of happiness. If we are happy at all point of life, we really can’t understand it’s true meaning.

Simplicity :

Simplicity is probably the biggest secret to a happy life. With our daily schedules, work environment, constant work stress, personal problems can make life really very complicated and confusing. The amount of complication multiplies as more and more people get in touch with us. The simple solution to this situation is don’t allow anyone and everyone to interfere in your personal life. Having a lots of friends is good, but close friends should always be few. It only sounds stupid when a person boasts saying, I have lots of close friends. To me it sounds like, I have lots of complications.

Don’t be too bothered about others :

Sounds too rude to be true, but it is. If you are too concerned about others, you are stressing yourself unnecessarily tensions and situations. This doesn’t mean you leave your near and dear’s into stress and wash you hands. They do require care and love . Unnecessary tension will only increase to your stress level.

Appreciate what you have :

Being contend with what we have, will generates a great level of satisfaction in life. Before thinking of people above you, think once about the people below you. But at the same time you need to be ambitious and prosper in a rightly manner. The success which you gain at someone’s expense won’t last longer and won’t be satisfying either.

Be fit and healthy :

A healthy body is equally important for a healthy mind. Exercising 3-4 times a week can really change you as a person. Make you more confident and energetic in the way you take things. If you are planning to join a gym do go through these starter’s tips which I mentioned earlier. Being healthy and fit doesn’t mean 6 pack abs or bulging chest. A simple Yoga exercise can lead you to a happy life. Stay away from addictive stuffs, drinks, drugs. They do please your mind but they make your brain so dependent on them, absence of it will make you stressed and unhappy.

Be independent :

Never expect anything from anyone, the reason most of the time we feel bad is we expected too much from them and got too little. Try to be as independent as possible, be a one man army. It is easy said than done. Try to minimize your dependence on other, love being yourself and do not change for anyone or anything. The more independent you become the lesser your expectations will be from others leading to lesser unhappy moments.

The pain of having a broken heart is not so much as to kill you, yet not so little as to let you live.

In this post I will try to give 5 tips that will surely help you out in someway to come out of this stressful situation.

1) Erasing their memory

Erasing there memory can help speed up the healing process, every time we see there picture or the gifts they gave it reminds of all those bitter moments which we really want to forget. Remove his/her picture from the wallet/album and give it to someone else who can keep them safely untill you want them back. The question that might be raising in your mind is why would you want it back anyways ? The possible answer to this question can be, just because you had few bitter moments doesn’t mean you should forget those precious better moments that you had. Never ever distroy those memories as you may regret it later when you need them.

2) Alter you schedule

Make an abrupt change to your schedule, this will help you to forget his/her quickly. If we still follow the same schedule you will tend to remember him/her at a particular point of time for eg. when he/she used to call. Plan your schedule in such a way that you are keeping yourself busy at that point of time. Avoid the places where you people used to meet and spend time.

3) Get busy / Get a new hobby

A famous saying says ” An idle mind is a devils playground “. So based on this principal get yourself a new hobby. A hobby can really get you busy and make you feel better. A creative mind is far away from all stress and pain. The hobby you choose can be of your choice, some of the hobbies can be painting, gardening, collecting, photography etc. I would highly recommend gardening compared to other hobbies because it can really make you busy and nothing feels better than connecting to the nature.

4) Go out connect with friends

It is really important to connect to friends when you are broken from inside. Connecting to friends will help ease your pain. Share your pain with your friends and they will surely help you get out of it. Try to be in someone’s company at all time. This will keep you away from your ex partner’s thought. If you are one of those who doesnt like to go out much, you can make new friends via Social Networking websites like Orkut, Facebook, MySpace, etc.

5) Apply these Tips

You are really not helping yourself, if you are not applying the above said tips to your practical life. For applying these tips, you must first prepare yourself to come out of this situation. Once you have decided you are coming out of this situation, stick to it and soon you will realize you are back to normal kicking ass! Just imagine yourself how you were before this relation started. Just be yourself for no one can/should change you!!

Always remember there is always another day, another hope, another love!

After this post if I was able to mend one broken heart, I think I have done my job.

The biggest diversion is our social network. When you are the most busy, everyone seems to be remembering you and start diverting you to the topic which they like to discuss. Which makes us to loose focus to our topic, ultimately loosing interest in the post itself. There can be situation when you are expecting someone at those times you can be in invisible mode. Let us see the various social interactions that can act as a diversion.

By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination. -Christopher Columbus

Messenger service ( Yahoo, MSN, GTalk etc.)

These are probably the biggest trouble makers, mainly because of the reason other user can start an interaction. Even though you might not be interested to start an conversation they can start it and it would be too rude to tell them no. You can use a status message like “I’m Busy” etc. But it hardly adds any value. People will just buzz you to ask, what are you busy with? The best way to avoid this situation is by either staying invisible or signing off completely from the messenger service. If you still want to chat while working, turning off the chat sound would be of great help. So you can chat with them at your pleasure without much diversion.

Social networking websites ( Orkut, You tube, myspace etc.)

Another trouble maker are social networking websites. Sometimes as you will be busy blogging, just to check who’s online you login into your favorite social network only to be sucked up into it. It is a well known fact that social networking websites can be addictive. There is not much you can do this to avoid it. Couple of things that you can do is

• Use a url blocking software. Enable the software as you start blogging. So even if you enter the url it will be blocked which can remind you to resume your work.
• Another way to avoid this is by not using the browser itself. I always prefer to blog on a word processor first and then transfer it to wordpress. This way I don’t have to run my web browser until I am finished with the content.

Your mobile phone

Your own personal mobile phone too can be a big distract . Specially those forward messages that can reach to you at random timings. Personally I have lost many good points while blogging just because my phone started ringing suddenly. It is better to put your mobile in silent mode. If there is a call let it ring, if there is a message let it not notify me. You can always change this in your mobile profile. If you want to completely get rid of your mobile phone while blogging, I would recommend you put the mobile for charging. As the charge lasts longer when the mobile is charged after turning it off.

Browser Crashes

This can be really frustrating, you are almost done with your post and dang this software has performed an illegal operation and the browser closes. I would bet after this happens you wont have enough courage to write the post all over again. Browser crashes can’t be avoided but we will see how to recover if it ever happens while blogging.

• Don’t open too many tabs/windows while writing your post. A lame website is enough to make your browser crash.
• As I mentioned early in the post do not blog directly into wordpress, blog it on a word processor and later move the text to your wordpress blog. If you still love blogging directly into your wordpress blog I recommend you use the “Save and Continue” button as frequently as possible. This will save the file as a draft, so in case of a browser cache last saved content can be recovered.
• Close unnecessary applications, specially if you have a lower memory in your system.

It will be tempting for you at the beginning but as you will get used to this you will realize that you are blogging more frequently and more importantly blogging better than ever.

I actually wrote this post at my personal blog jeba.in, but thought it would be a worth to share it here at beautiful scraps too.