Today's Way to Save Episode 1: Haggling

Bonjour bonjour mes amis,

Today is the start of a brand new series here on a Tightwad Abroad, called "Today's Way to Save", where I'll be chatting about the quick ways that I've been stretching my hard-earned savings here in France!

I feel like a good place to start is with haggling: the precarious art of negotiating a lower price with a merchant.

On Paris's Pont des Arts, or Lover's Bridge, famous for the thousands of locks fastened to the chain link, vendors of sorts pedal padlocks to lovers hoping to 'lock in' a long-lasting relationship. Like many a Francophile, I wanted to immortalize my love for Matthew with our own cadenas de l'amour. But, after accidentally dropping a coin through the slats of the bridge into the Seine, I was not about to shell out €5! Thus, I tried my hand at negotiating with a hawker. It went a little like this (in French):

Me: "Pardon me, sir, how much for this blue lock?"

Him: "€5. Best price."

Me: "Hmm, too bad. I only have a few coins left."

Him: "How much?"

Me: "€3. Yep, here's all that I have.

Him: "I won't make any money, but I want you to have a lock. €3"

Me: *mini happy dance* "Thank you, good night!"

And voilà, I won my little lock. 

Haggling can also be applied to unofficial souvenir sellers most anywhere in the city; especially the ones asking, "moins cher?", "for cheaper?". HOWEVER: make sure to ask a local or online if haggling is acceptable and culturally appropriate wherever you are before trying yourself. Furthermore, make sure to have exact change to avoid wrecking your charade, and don't be afraid to ask low and work your way up. That's how haggling works. 

Note: Haggling won't always go as planned, but it is always worth a try, if for nothing more than practicing the target language. I misread a price tag at the Cours Mirabeau Christmas Market and embarrassingly offered a vendor €3 for a €50 hat! To be clear, the "0" was covered, but still, one of us had a good laugh.

Most importantly, just because you can buy something at a "better" price, doesn't mean you need to buy it! The most fool-proof method of saving money is not to buy anything at all.

I hope you enjoyed this wee little tidbit; I know I enjoyed writing it! Have you ever haggled for anything? Tell me in the comments!