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And he believes the club are in a better position for adopting the hardened stance, using last week's arrival of Jimmy Bullard as a prime example.
Jewell revealed he initially offered Peterborough a higher figure for the midfielder than the £275,000 eventually paid.
Posh turned that bid down but were later forced to accept a lower offer after some serious haggling.
The Latics boss said: "This club is cutting its cloth and gone are the days when we were paying out ridiculous amounts.
"Players here still get well paid but there will be no going back to the time when four-year contracts were given out on silly money.
"Other clubs add a few noughts on when we make a call about a player, but I have my value of someone.
"If the other club's value is too much over that, I don't believe in doing a deal.
"It's the same with agents, you won't believe the amount of lads offered to us who have been Wigan supporters all their lives!
"We are now one of the first ports of call for agents because of the declining state of the transfer market. I was talking to an agent last week and he was telling me that Portsmouth, Cardiff and Wigan were the only clubs outside the Premier League who had any money.
"But we also have to work inside a budget, and if a player and his agent are only interested in money, then that is when the deal stops.
"Of course money is important but in the past it has been given out to players here who have sat on their contracts and not given value for money.
"Even now we are going to get some signings right and some wrong, I'm no different to anyone else.
"The transfer market is dying on its feet at the moment as clubs are trying to get their house in order financially.
"I think it will pick up eventually if clubs get on an even keel. The only reason we spend is because of the chairman.
"The money that comes in through the gates wouldn't keep us going, it's the chairman who keeps us going.
"If he was to pull his money out tomorrow, this club would be struggling financially like anyone else."
Citing Bullard's capture late last week, Jewell believes he has done a shrewd piece of business.
"At the start of last week I offered more than £275,000 for him," explained the boss.
"The price then went up and we to play hard ball.
"In the end we got him for less then we first offered, although with all the calls made, my mobile phone bill must be astronomical!"
Article from the Wigan Evening Post.