Get Low(es)

In the midst of gallivanting (Robbie loves that word!) here, there, and everywhere this summer, Robbie had to do his own laundry once or twice.  It was in drying his clothes that Robbie discovered our dryer was not the best in the world.  As in, it ran for an entire night.  Yes, the clothes were dry, but an entire night?!  
Sooo, Robbie and I knew it was time for a new dryer.  We headed to Lowes after dinner one night (who knew Lowes closes at 10!!) sans kids and found a dryer we really liked in the scratch and dent section.  Not being an impulse buyer, Robbie said he wanted me to research the dryer, then go look at the other Lowes in Birmingham to see what they had in the scratch and dent section.  On a whim, I decided to research not just the dryer, but the washer, too.  I mean, you never know.
Mom and I loaded the kids up to head to the other two local Lowes.  And I was not excited.  The dryer we found was perfect for us.  Let's just buy it and save the gas.  
As the kids ran wild in Lowes with Mom, I checked out the scratch and dent goodies.  And there it was(cue angels singing)...the matching washer!!  For $700...originally $899!!  I asked the lady who was working if that was the final price, and she said they actually needed to mark it down again because it had been sitting on the sales floor for two weeks.  After knocking off another 10%, the price was even better! I called Robbie to tell him the exciting news.  And he said to ask if we could have it for $500.  So I did.  ANY THEY SAID YES!!  (Turns out someone was moving the washer from one of the shelves and hit the side of it on the shelf, resulting in a teeny scratch on the front.)
I bought that bad boy in no time flat and we were on our way to get the dryer.  The dryer had been marked down to $719, so I thought I would try to get it for $500, too.  I mean, all they could say was no.  And they did. But we did get it for $675, which is not bad for an $899 dryer.
MKay.  The lesson of this post is to always shop the scratch and dent section before purchasing a big item.  The second is to negotiate.  Yes, it can be extremely intimidating, but what an incredible feeling when you save money!  Even if the store won't budge, at least you tried!  And the last lesson is to listen to your husband when he tells you to be patient!! ;)