December 5, 2016

• Looking Like a Thief

  Sometimes there are deals that are just too good to be true. You get that email touting a 4 day/3 night stay in Palm Beach that is absolutely free. Sort of. You have to get yourself to Palm Beach on your own dime. You have to sit through a 4 hour presentation using every sales technique known to man including the "hard" sell. And you have to pay for your own meals except for that one that they serve during the sales pitch for the time share in Botswana. But I digress. This isn't about that kind of offer.

  You see my neck of the woods is kind of depressed as far as the job market goes. Fewer employed people per capita translates to fewer consumers with liquid and leisure dollars. That means that the stores are in a fierce competition to get your remaining disposable income. So far I've cached in on several offers. I had a coupon for $10 off a $10 purchase at J.C. Penny's store. In addition I had reward points worth another $10 off any purchase. I bought gifts that were 50% off and then applied the 2 discounts. I spent $5 and some change. Then there was the Kohl's sale. I had a $15 off any $25 purchase and an additional 30% off along with $10 in Kohl's Cash. I bought some gifts that normally I wouldn't have considered because they would have exceeded the budget however when the dust settled I had to pay $2.11 for a big bag of goodies. I was being very frugal and Sparky was thinking I was some how scamming the system. He wanted to know if I'd lost my mind and had become a shoplifter. I showed him my receipts. He was impressed.

  Last week Sparky picked me up after work and we drove to the next town over where there was a Carson's department store. You see I got $100 in coupons in the mail. I've never shopped at Carson's since moving from Michigan City (in 1990). The coupons were as follows:
  $50 off a $50 or more purchase of clothing - bought 2 hoodies at 40% off paying $4.36 each.
  $35 off a $35 or more purchase shoes/accessories- bought Men's Isotoner gloves and men's socks. Had to shell out $2.67.
  $15 off a $15 or more purchase of cosmetics/fragrances - Got some Clinique blue eye shadow for $1.61.
  We saved over $184. We left the store feeling like bandits but without the guilt.

  When I got home there was another flyer waiting in the mailbox. J. C. Penny's had another offer - $10 off a $25 purchase. Sparky sneered at the coupon. He wants to wait to see if they will send an even better offer. It is kind of scary that the stores are actually paying us to buy their stuff. Not that I'm complaining. I keep thinking of that saying, "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth"...

  • 6:30 am
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