Madd World

Like
my brother and sister, I am a bargain shopper. We are a family of cheapskates. =)
We owe it all to our parents who taught us how to be frugal. We actually enjoy shopping—in fact, we
really love it. We just like to beat the
system and get the most bang for our buck. It is standard practice for us to head straight for the clearance
racks. There are times when we get
pleasantly surprised by what they have there especially when the stores are
getting ready to turn over their inventory. You should try taking a look sometime. 

Outlet
shopping is a favorite of ours. Before
we leave, we go on-line to get all the coupons.  I am known among my family and friends to be
really lucky at finding incredible deals. While I was in Texas, Cheryl and I went outlet
shopping. I needed to find a school backpack
with wheels for Gabby. (I would normally
not mention the store but in this case I will and you will understand why in a
moment.)  I have a new favorite
store—Bass.  I really love this
store!  I was able to buy a really nice,
brand spanking new backpack with wheels for Gabby for—get this—ONE CENT!  I kid you not.  I wish I had the receipt to show you. Cheryl can vouch for me. Apparently, it was a discontinued item and
they needed to liquidate it.  Don’t you
just love outlets?!  That same day, we
went to another store, this time a high-end home décor store. The clearance rack was on sale with an
additional 75% off the clearance price. Needless to say, we found more good deals for just a few cents. These were really nice, new bathroom
accessories. We were in shopping
heaven. We were really happy with all
the really nice bargains that we found that day. Vic couldn’t even complain about my shopping
expenses for that day—and that is saying a lot!

If
you find that impressive, I can top it. Now, this is where I truly excel. I am one of those people that some of you despise when it comes time
to check out at the grocery store. : )  I
love cutting coupons! I get them from
the newspaper, magazines, the mail and any other place that they are available
at. What I particularly like are the
weeks that these big chain grocery stores have triple coupon events. This is when they triple the face value of a
coupon whose value is 99 cents or less. Let’s say that my coupon is 75 cents. The total amount taken off the item is $2.25. There are times when an item becomes practically
free when the coupon is tripled. Just
this past week was triple coupon week at a grocery chain.  My total shopping bill was over $165—after
all my coupons were scanned I paid $92. I had a total savings of over $70. That made my day! I got such a
high from all the savings! 

I
really don’t consider myself a cheapskate. I’m just a smart shopper. Contrary
to the impression that I may be giving you, I don’t always buy things at a
bargain—much to Vic’s dismay. If there is something that I really want, I
get it whether it’s on sale or not. I
also believe in the saying that “you get what you pay for”. Good quality items come at a price which makes
it worth the purchase. There are times
when quality cannot be compromised.  But it is always nice not to have to pay the full price.  = )

I
keep all my coupons organized systematically. You will find most of them in my purse—which is why I need a big
bag (in addition to the coupons I need all my mommy paraphernalia). You should ask me to see the inside
of my bag when we meet. Even my children
have picked up on this habit of mine. Whenever
they see a coupon they make it a point to give it to me—yes, Ally too. This is a lesson in practicality.  Hopefully, this will be one of the many things
that they bring with them into adulthood. It will
be one of my many legacies which I want to leave with my children. 

Until
next time. Take care.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 27th, 2007 at 10:56 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.