Today’s tip is to use a featured called “price protection” whenever possible, which lets you protect yourself from price drops. In plain terms: If you buy something and the price goes down, the company will refund you the difference.

Price protection is something you hardly ever hear about, but it tends to be applicable to very expensive purchases…meaning you can save a lot. Here’s how it works: When you make a purchase, occasionally the price will drop shortly thereafter. (For example, on flights, or if you bought the original iPhone and the new 3G iPhone came out a few days later.)

The trick is, many times you can often get refunded the difference. If you imagine a flight dropping $200 (which is very possible), or a new computer dropping $100, that can add up quickly.

Since I love making purchases on line I haven’t used the price protection offer yet. But one day, I have a bright dream that I will purchase something offline and avail myself of the generosity of the corporate automatons out there.

Note: Don’t do this for $20 purchases. Don’t waste your time. Just focus on the big 5-10 purchases you make per year and optimize those.

Total savings $20 to $100

Last thing to do

Leave a comment on this post describing how much you’re saving with this tip and any unusual techniques you use to make this tip work.