Bargaining with respect

My husband and I are looking at getting a second vehicle. We found one we like, and it’s in great shape, but they’re asking more than we can afford to pay. How do you make a low offer without making someone angry or insulting them?

by Dave Ramsey, Syndicated columnist | Columnist, External

Published Dec. 6, 2014, 5:00 a.m. ET

Dear Dave,

We have three daughters under the age of 5, so we may be spending quite a bit on things like weddings in the years to come. Is there a Baby Step for weddings? If not, during which Baby Step do you recommend setting aside money for this?

Carrie

Dear Carrie,

I don’t have a Baby Step for weddings, but in my mind it would come after Baby Step 5, which is putting aside a college fund for your children. Once you have education savings, retirement and extra house payments underway, then you could start putting aside a little extra for weddings.

This may not make me popular with some young ladies or their moms, but an education is more important than a wedding. Maybe this is the dad in me coming out, but if I had to choose between paying for college educations and paying for big weddings, I’m going to pay for school. In my mind, anyone who disagrees with that is kind of a twit.

Weddings are wonderful, and you should mark these kinds of milestones with celebration. But a wedding is only a one-day event. Plus, there’s absolutely no statistical correlation between the size and expense of the wedding and the success of the marriage!

My husband and I are looking at getting a second vehicle. We found one we like, and it's in great shape, but they're asking more than we can afford to pay. How do you make a low offer without making someone angry or insulting them?

Angela

Dear Angela,

It's always a smart move to try and stay on the seller's good side. You want to be classy and diplomatic, and never point out the bad things about an item someone's selling just to drive down the price. If you insult their merchandise or insinuate the price is unfair, you're likely to blow the whole deal right off the bat.

How about this? Tell them it's a fine vehicle, and their price is fair, but the amount they're asking is outside your budget. Let them know how much you want to work out a deal, but, in order for it to fit into your lifestyle, you can only pay a certain amount. You might throw in that a lot of people are selling things right now because of the economy, and you're just looking for the very best deal.

Maybe that, and letting them know you're standing there with money in hand, will help swing this thing in your favor. Good luck, Angela!

Dave Ramsey is America's trusted voice on money and business. He's authored four New York Times best-selling books: Financial Peace, More Than Enough, The Total Money Makeover and EntreLeadership. His newest book, written with his daughter Rachel Cruze, is titled Smart Money Smart Kids and is out now. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 6 million listeners each week on more than 500 radio stations. Follow Dave on Twitter at @DaveRamsey and on the web at daveramsey.com.