Negotiating.. not my strong point.

I've decided that in all high schools they should teach how to negotiate. Seriously, I suck at negotiation and that's like what half a person's life comes down to.

This all came about as I am now trying to negotiate a pay rate for the job I've just been offered. Yes, me, offered a job!! YAYY! Well, now it come down to waiting to see if they'll accept a different offer.

Some people I talk to are like "just accept whatever they offer". But of course the company came in at my the lowest in my range. I should have waited until I knew more about the job to discuss pay, but I didn't. Now I feel like I should be paid more.. and to truly be happy at where I am in my life I would like a little bit more.

I don't think I'm breaking new ground by trying to negoiate. Yes, this economy is rough, but I will not give myself away for free!

Meanwhile, I had to call my mom up and ask her how I should go about negotiations. We decided since they emailed me the offer I should email back my response. But I really should have been able to do this without my mom talking me through it.

Same goes with buying a car.. which I plan on doing in the next couple months. I can't negoiate.. but isn't this the prime economy to negotiate?? I need a how-to class. What am I going to do when I go to look at homes in a few years??

Speaking of cars, does anyone have any leads on really good deals? I'm looking into GM because I really did like my pontiac up until it got too old. They have some good offers.. like recent college grad and customer loyalty.. both of which I should qualify for. But I'm willing to look other places if the deals are tremendous. Any suggestions?!?!

I'm really just trying to bide time until I found out if this job works out!! Keep your fingers crossed for me!!