PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Sally Kaczor is not shy about telling people her age.
Just the opposite: the 77-year-old has learned to use her age to her benefit — especially when it comes to saving money.
"I've been asking for senior discounts for a while now," Kaczor said, joking that "there's got to be some advantages to growing old."
Kaczor and her friends often make sure to go to places they know offer senior discounts, whether it's restaurants, movie theaters, hotels, clothing stores or hair salons. Kaczor said she even makes sure to get a senior discount when paying for her dog's licenses. And she's found she can get free drinks at Taco Bell.
Indeed, senior discounts can be a good way for people to save money on food, shopping, entertainment and a host of other expenses.
And with people looking to pinch pennies, a growing number of consumers are taking advantage of these age-based discounts.
"People are looking to save money," said Bart Weitz, executive director of the David F. Miller Retailing Education and Research Center at the University of Florida. "You see that people are more interested in senior discounts now and are more willing to ask about them."
Weitz said that the population of consumers over the age of 55 or so is an important segment of the market.
Not only is this demographic growing as the Baby Boomer generation ages, but seniors tend to have a lot of spending power, Weitz said. Typically, their children have moved from home, and mortgage and other obligations have been paid off.
"There's been an increasing focus on seniors over the years," Weitz said.
The number of senior discounts available has grown since the early 1990s, said Joan Rattner Heilman, author of "Unbelievably Good Deals and Great Adventures That You Absolutely Can't Get Unless You're Over 50."
"Back in 1990, senior discounts were just getting going," she said. "They just became more and more prominent. ... It's amazing all the strange places you'll find senior discounts now if you just ask."
Heilman suggested that seniors check to see whether other promotions being offered are better than the senior discount, or if other sales can be combined with a senior discount.
That's the technique Jupiter, Fla., resident Selma Tenenbaum, 80, employs on her regular trips to Bealls Outlet.
"They never say if you have one discount, you can't use another, so I use them all," she said, ticking off several deals the store typically offers in addition to senior discounts.
"By the time I get through with all of those and my senior discount, I can get a Faded Glory blouse for 40 cents," she said.
Still, some consumers are hesitant to classify themselves as "seniors" to save money.
"Oh my, you never call Baby Boomers 'seniors.' They don't like it," Leslie Read of Jupiter said with a laugh. Read, a real estate agent, specializes in working with older clients. She added that her husband is now old enough to take advantage of senior discounts but refuses to.
"People are hesitant to say 'I want a senior discount,' especially when they're 50," Heilman said. "But just get over it, and get your discount."
Allison Ross writes for The Palm Beach Post. E-mail: allison(underscore)ross(at)pbpost.com.