It pays to ask about discounts for retirees or seniors!
More and more businesses offer discounts to seniors or to retirees. But a number of businesses don’t advertise those discounts regularly. They probably advertised when the new policy was put in place, but many just don’t pay to advertise discounts regularly. For this reason, it is always worth the time to ask.
A friend just moved to a new city and made a number of wonderful discoveries. First, many apartment complexes give discounts to seniors. The only way to know the age limit is often also by asking. Some apartment complexes are only open to people 55 and over. Some complexes have a fixed number of units available to retirees at a reduced rate. Some complexes offer a discount on any unit to someone 55 and over. Some, however, only offer the discount to people 65 and over.
When my friend moved, she expected to lose the 5% discount on groceries offered by one major supermarket chain on Wednesdays. She was both surprised and delighted to discover that a different chain in the new city offers a 10% discount on the entire supermarket bill to everyone 55 and over on a different day of the week. She estimates that the amount she saves at the supermarket each week pays for either a movie, extra gas for an outing, dinner out once a week, or any number of other treats.
When she went on her first shopping excursion, she discovered that other stores in the strip mall with the supermarket also offer retiree/senior discounts on the same day of the week. Now she saves when she gets her hair styled or cut, when she buys office supplies, and when she buys shoes!
Asking if discounts are offered can save you enough to give yourself some little treat each week. And, it never hurts to ask.