Melville, N.Y. ? Tough economic times have apparently elevated price haggling to a must-have skill set for strapped consumers who are tightening the grip on their cash.

Just over half of the 4,055 respondents in the American Pulse Survey conducted online last month by BIGresearch admitted to bargaining for a better price, most often for vehicle-related expenses, appliances and electronics.

What’s more, consumers from all income brackets admitted to haggling, said Pam Goodfellow, senior analyst with BIGresearch, a consumer research firm in Worthington, Ohio.

“Gas and grocery prices are starting to wear down the entire population,” she said, with people “trying to make their dollars stretch a little further” by seeking free shipping on appliances or “making a smart little deal” on, say, a shirt with a missing button. Goodfellow and her fiance just got their bank to waive some of the closing fees on the home they are buying.

The economic crunch seems to have left no category untouched.

Dennis J. Sheridan, of Long Island, is haggling over dental care. Sheridan, 65, is negotiating with a dentist over the $750 his insurance company won’t pay toward some needed gum work, even though he’s pessimistic about his chances. “I don’t think I’ll win out,” he said.

Even if the dentist drills him on the charge, Sheridan can take solace in other penny-pinching strategies that have saved money. Instead of going out every Sunday for a nice afternoon meal and a movie, he and his wife go out just three times a month to save on gas, restaurant and admission costs. Sheridan, who is retired, also said they are considering getting rid of one of their two cars.

While people have been cutting back on driving as gas prices have escalated, they are also cutting corners on other expenses. The American Pulse research of respondents from Survey Sampling International found consumers saying they are dining out less, choosing discount retailers over department stores, and shrinking their vacation budgets.

Still, if by chance survey respondents happened upon $100,000 lying in the street, they wouldn’t use it to fatten their lean wallets: 58 percent said they would return it.