When I stopped to add up everything before checking out, I realized that I was about to spend $20 out-of-pocket. Now, that $20 was going to get me $37-worth of merchandise. But I took a good hard look at what was in my cart. I realized that I didn’t really need ANY of it!
Now that I have a healthy stockpile built up, I don’t usually NEED to shop. Sure, I need to grab fresh produce and dairy items each week. But, other than that, I can usually create a meal plan using just what’s on-hand. And we have enough personal care items to replace what we’re currently using a couple of times over. Why would I want to get deals that added up to only 50% off when I know that within the next few weeks, I may be able to get some of those items free or almost-free? I would much rather keep my stockpile stocked with freebies than pay 50% to add to it.
So I was able to put back the double coupon items that I had chosen and walk out with just the shower curtain liner and the two throw pillows that I intended to buy. (By the way, Kmart has some really great housewares items in their clearance section right now.) I didn’t spend the extra $20. For me, that was a wise choice.
Have you ever stopped yourself mid-shopping and realized that you were just shopping for the sake of shopping?