There's one thing you need to do before anything else. Do this before you even get in the car to go shopping for a bed. This is absolutely critical to saving money. If you don't do this first, then you're putting yourself at a disadvantage.

What is this all-important, most critical first step?

You must decide that you are not going to buy a bed right now.

That's right. Before you even walk into a store, you already know you won't be buying anything. You must firmly plant this idea in your head. Convince yourself that it is not even possible for you to buy anything right now. You could not buy a bed at this time any more than you could sprout wings and fly away.

Why?

Because you have to know what your options are before you commit to one. If you don't know what other options you have, then how do you know you're getting a good deal?

And many of the salesmen you meet will try to get you to buy a bed before you leave the store. The last thing they want you to do is leave their store without spending any money. And they have time-tested, proven methods to get you to buy. Right now. Even if you didn't plan to.

But none of their tricks will work on you. Because you already know that you're not going to buy anything right now. There's nothing you can do about it. So no matter what kind of incredible deal a salesman might offer you, you can't take it. You're not buying right now.

They may offer you $500 off the bed you want if you buy it right now. Well, that's pretty appealing. But if you already know you're not buying right now, then you'll have to pass.

But don't feel like you're passing up a great deal. Ever. You'll always be able to get a good deal if you use the tips that you'll be reading about shortly.

You can even be completely straightforward and tell the salesman "I'm just looking today. I'm not actually ready to buy yet." Say it as many times as you need to.

Of course, many salesmen will take that as a challenge and offer you an even better deal to get your emotions involved and override logic. Just write down their best offer in your notebook and politely tell them "not today."

By simply being a reluctant buyer, you've gotten the salesman to cut the price down. Now, if you come back later to look at the bed again, you can use this new lower price as a starting point, whether you deal with the same person or not.

Although this is a very simple rule, don't take it lightly. You truly must forbid yourself to buy a bed when you first start shopping.

And I promise you that if you simply refuse to buy anything, you will get a better offer. It's just as simple as can be, but it takes some discipline to do it.