The best way to save on your salary is to shop around, experts said Thursday.
“If you can go shopping, it’s a lot more of a cost-saving strategy,” said Andrew C. Weintraub, a professor of labor economics at Duke University.
If you want to avoid paying for a large-ticket item like a plane ticket or hotel stay, it may be wise to shop on the internet, he said.
You also can’t do a whole lot to make sure that the prices you see online are accurate, said Gary Kagan, who teaches at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of the book “The Cost of Doing Business.”
“You can’t rely on people’s word,” Kagan said.
“They’re not going to tell you what they think is the right price, so you have to trust them to tell the truth.
It’s a little bit like when you’re going to the dentist.
If they tell you it’s the right one, you’ll probably get the right tooth, but if you don’t, it’ll make it hard to get it.”