Don't be Afraid to ask for Discounts

Pre-losing my job and the economy taking a dive, I would have been too embarrassed to ask for discounts on anything.  A few years and a 2 kids later, I sing a different tune.  I am a stay-at-home mom/college student.  I now inquire about student discounts and other discounts I could be eligible for as much as I can.  Being able to keep my family healthy is especially worth looking to discounts for.

I raised pretty poor, and was taught not to ask for anything.  Asking for things made me feel greedy.  Asking about discounts made me feel tacky.  I have had to get over this, in order to afford to stretch our money as far as possible.

My family in on financial assistance through YMCA.  My daughter is a little more overweight than her pediatrician would like, and I try especially hard to find activities for her to do to keep her active, and that she enjoys.  Last year, she tried ballet.  She insisted that she liked it, though she seemed to have no interest in learning the steps.  She liked dressing up, but that was it.  She has been in Tumbling all school year, and seems to love it!

As part of my financial assistance, we are supposed to receive a 50% discount on programs, too.  I have inquired about it periodically throughout her taking the class, and the Customer Service folks point out (a little rudely) that I save $10 already by being  a Y member.  I was on Unemployment previously, due to being laid off, so I just left it at that, as I had a little money coming in.  My Unemployment has now run out, and we are surviving on my hubby's part-time job and my occasional babysitting job for our income.  The $24 dollars that I normally pay for her class is what I make for a single day of babysitting.  Don't get me wrong, she's worth it, but it really is a lot of money to me.

Today, when I paid for her class, I again inquired about the 50% discount I should be eligible.  The boy at the front desk looked it up, and sure enough, I was supposed to receive a discount!  Her class only came to $12!

I am very grateful to YMCA and them being able to have programs like this!  Otherwise, families like mine wouldn't be able to put their kids into these programs, which are so good for their emotional and physical development!

Getting over feeling judged by asking for discounts isn't easy, but I figure that the worst they can do is to say "no."

Thanks for reading!

 - Hot-Mommy