Before I was married and when I was a working woman, I found bargains pretty regularly. This was due to several factors. 1) I lived in an area where I was never at a loss for a store or a mall. There were three malls within reasonable driving distance, and if I wanted to go to Kohl's or Target, there were several of those, too. 2) I earned an income of my own (but let me add that I was ALWAYS careful about spending money). 3) As a teacher standing in front of many students each day, I liked to make sure I was carefully groomed, with a little style thrown in. I always felt like if these poor kids have to look at me for forty minutes at a time, I might as well look interesting. (My feelings on fashion, and fashion for the Christian woman, would be a whole other blog post.)
I developed a rule that a product had to be under $10 in order for me to purchase it, shoes included. The only exception I would make was if I needed something specific that I couldn't find in that price range, but I rarely needed to break that rule. I really never had a problem finding things under $10. In fact, some of my favorite shoes cost only $4.
My coworkers and students alike (well, mostly the female students) enjoyed hearing about my bargains, and often many reported to me when they scored a good deal. My own family stands in awe of the deals I find, but it doesn't take a stroke of genius or luck. It is a simple, no-nonsense approach that refuses to compromise.
Last Friday, I had planned a trip to Kohl's to shop for Brian's birthday. I was excited to get out of the house with Caleb and make a killing, something I don't get to do too much these days.
Side note: It still is an adjustment shopping with a baby. Wheeling a bulky stroller around is not easy, and poor Caleb was bumped into many a rack. (Thankfully, his car seat carrier keeps him well-protected.) It's a struggle to hold several items while pushing the stroller, but I am not easily defeated when it comes to shopping.
This was a shopping trip for Brian, but I never can resist the chance to stop by the women's clearance shoe section. That was my first stop, but in my defense, the doors were right by the women's shoe department. As I scoured the racks looking for a good deal, I was at first disappointed. Most of the so-called bargains were not bargains at all, with many items still in the $20 range. I was about to give up and move on as I approached the bottom shelf of the very last rack. This is what I saw:
Eddie Bauer boots in my size, 90% off?! Sign me up! To boot (no pun intended), I had a 30% coupon, thus bringing the $109.99 boots down to $7.70. (And no, there was not a thing wrong with them!) I am looking forward to wearing them, because they are super-comfortable (something my post-partum feet definitely crave), and I am guessing warm (something desperately needed here during these Pocono winters).
I proceeded to the men's department where I continued to score some more great deals, including three items for Brian that were also 90% off. I can't go into details here, folks. It isn't his birthday until Thursday.
I don't get out much to shop these days, but I was glad good deals were waiting for me!
Oh, and of course you want to see the boots:
