Tight times call for desperate measures, especially for those of us who love to shop. We found some new extreme ways to save-- being used by some very savvy shoppers. When Nicole Martinez isn't texting friends, she's hitting the mall. "I love to shop, I live for it," she admitted. While she always looks for deals, she was very surprised recently when a salesgirl at a clothing store offered to "work with her" on prices. "She was like giving me 20% off on one thing and I was like, 'I like this other thing. Can I have 30% off of that?' and, she was ready to do it," Nicole told us. Most people would never dream of haggling in a clothes store…but money saving expert Tawra Kellam says shoppers really can ask for extra savings in all kinds of places they wouldn't think of. "I have never had the experience of going into a store where they wouldn't haggle in some form," Tawra told us. She should know-- she's the founder of the thrifty website www.livingonadime.com. Tawra says you can wheel and deal on everything from dishwashers and dryers to milk and eggs. So why don't more of us do it? Many customers are simply too naive or nervous to ask for a deal. "If you can get over that fear, you can really start saving huge amounts of money," Tawra told us candidly. And timing is everything. For clothes, wait for items that are about to go out of season or are slightly damaged. When it comes to dairy, find out when new shipments come in. The day before, ask for a discount for what's on the shelf. For big ticket items like electronics or appliances, target the end of the month. Kellam explained why. "A lot of times they haven't met their goals for the month and so they're more than willing to wheel and deal with you to give you a good deal." Paul Mellon isn't a haggler…but he certainly knows how to barter his way to bargains. He owns a moving business and adventure travel company and uses a website that allows him to trade those services for all kinds of things. "Everything from a vacation in Hawaii, acupuncture, clothing, auto repair," he told us. Bartering is taking off as something new, but really, it's the oldest form of commerce, said Debbie Desousa, who is with Barter Bucks. Her site is a network of more than 50,000 members. Just list what you want to barter or trade, and establish a value. When someone uses your services, you accrue credits in your account to use on anything else the site offers. "When we send you business, we charge you 5% in cash, and when you spend your credits we charge 5% in cash," she further explained. Some sites charge a flat membership fee and some are free. Some simply match people for direct trade of services. No matter how the sites work…bartering works for Paul. "If you asked me to put a dollar amount on it, I'd have to say I've bartered at least a quarter of a million dollars worth of stuff," he estimated. Remember, when you barter, you might not see cash but you still need to pay taxes on the value of the transactions. Also we contacted several large retailers. Only one responded-- and denied its salespeople haggle as "policy."