On Saturday I went to Stop and Shop. Now, that in itself was a mistake, because shopping on the weekends is pretty much hell, but what can you do. Anyway, the best deals I saw in the flyer were for lean cuisine (half price), Prince Pasta (I have so much pasta already), Thomas' English Muffins (I'm all set on breakfast food for months), etc. Basically, instead of shopping we grabbed the few things we needed: Ground Beef, Pork Chops, Paper Napkins, Eggs, and Coconut Milk. Now, the meat was on sale, so it was as good a deal as you can get at Stop and Shop, but we could have gotten a better deal on Napkins and Coconut Milk. On the other hand, we didn't notice we were out of napkins until we were out, so we really needed them, and we use coconut milk so infrequently that buying it when we don't explicitly need it isn't the best idea. I think the only thing we got that wasn't on our list was Cambell's tomato soup, but it was on sale and we had thought about buying it anyway.
I could have gotten more free pasta-roni, but I haven't eaten all the rest of the pasta-roni I got for free. I could have gotten some relatively cheap pasta but I still have a ton from when it
went on sale at Shaws. I could have grabbed some English Muffins, which I love, but If I don't drastically reduce the number of cereal boxes in the top of our coat closet my roommate might kill me.
Sometimes the best thing to do is not to buy it, even if its a great deal.
What really good deals have you resisted lately?
~Katharine
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I've recently adopted a similar approach to shopping - be it for food or clothing or a new mobile phone. I ask myself if I really need it and most of the time, I don't (although sometimes I do give in if I really, really fall in love with something). It's a good way of thinking, not just for your finances, but for the environment. And when so many people in the world are starving or struggling to afford food with spiralling prices around the world, it seems shameful to throw away or not use some of what we buy.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I've always been pretty good at thinking like this with regards to most things... My weaknesses being groceries and technology.
ReplyDeleteWith big purchases, I've found it's a good idea to wait a couple days. Quite often, the desire to get it passes once you get past that original impulse.
ReplyDeleteI agree Lindsey, it is always best to wait a few days, it can only help :)
ReplyDelete~Katharine