A group of church friends took Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University last year, and it was very helpful for us. But we hadn't been able to try the smart way of making a bigger purchase (which is a good thing cause we haven't needed to make any). The basic idea...
-Most people finance large purchases which means they pay interest (and often late penalties too). Which means they pay more than the full price.
-The FPU way is to save in advance, instead of spending it on monthly payments with interest, and when you have it, shop around. Tell the stores that you won't need financing and you can give them cash right now, so they should charge you less (cause they won't have to wait to get your money).

With our growing family, we decided months ago that we were going to need a bigger table. I realized that I've actually never spent a dime on dining room furniture, which seemed to make this a little easier. Anyway, we saved & I started shopping around four or five weeks ago. I hadn't had any luck bargaining, but I'd still felt a sense of freedom when I left a store, money still in hand. But yesterday, I tried again with a table that Beth & I really liked. It's sturdy, rounded (fits our space) and will allow us to have our family and some guests around it. It was pre-owned (for 2 days) so the price was already dropped. I had my cell phone calculator help me figure out the cost of the table, chairs & a bench that we wanted. It was quite a bit more than what I had budgeted, so I told him I couldn't do that, but that I didn't need financing and could pay him right there if he could come down on the price to meet my budget. He gave me a store coupon, plus a group discount (never would have thought to ask for this) and it ended up well under our budget. I accepted real quick. We ended up getting it all for about 25% less than the listed price. Yippee!
After he asked if I wanted it delivered, I said, "I'm assuming that will cost something." He said, "Yes."
Me, "No thanks, I can borrow a truck." Him, "How much would you be willing to pay for delivery?" This was funny. His whole approach changed. I'm sure he usually doesn't offer this. Anyway, he came down from $75 to $45, but I still declined - thanks to my great Father-in-law, who lets me borrow his truck.