Only 31 days left!!

Ok, so little known fact about me...I love to get a good deal. Not just a couple dollars off but a great find at an unbelievable good price. This is how I manage to buy nice things for my expensive taste at the budget I am currently living on. I do this in many different ways.

First I shop all the time. Not buy all the time but shop. There is a huge difference (one that has taken my husband years to figure out) in the art of shopping and just buying. I stop into some of my favorite shops and look.

Second I buy clothes for the kids out of season. Last fall I bought Palmer a Nike reversible coat that is adorable (originally marked $80) for $12. I also bought Emily Levi jeans for $4 each. She has to have adjustable waists and these can be expensive. I don't buy trendy thing since they will be out of style by the next season but I do buy the basics and this saves us a ton.

Third I live in the outlet capital of the world. Outlet stores were invented in Reading Pa and is home to some of the largest outlet malls in the world. It took me a while to get used to outlet shopping. The hit or miss when it comes to sizes and having to be careful about buying discontinued styles not rejects that have something wrong in the sewing or something. When I shop for the kids I go to Lancaster. There they have Tommy kids, Ralph Lauren kids, Gymboree, Children's Place, Babygap, Carter's, Oshgosh, and Pottery Barn Kids. All are about 20-50% cheaper than the regular stores with the same quality and cuteness. When I shop for Bret and I, I got to the Premier outlets just outside Philly. Here they have White House Black Market, Ann Taylor Loft, JCrew, Gap, Ann Klien, Liz Taylor, Levi, and many many more. When I get the chance to go to New York I hit the not so secret shops that sell knock off purses that the most fashionable person you know could not tell the difference but my pocket book can.

And finally I always shop with coupons and look for sales. My husband kids me the most about this one b/c he cracks up at having to check my purse before we hit the register everywhere. When I bought the material and things for the kids costumes I spent $10 on Palmer's costume and $15 on Em's because I bought one cut of material at a time using my biweekly mail coupon for 40% off. I also bought the pattern during their $0.99 sale.

So you can imagine what the most important bargain shopping day of the year would be....BLACK FRIDAY. I said it. I am one of the crazy people who stand in line at 3 am to get the door buster good deals the day after Thanksgiving. I don't mind the crowds or standing in line. I can also clearly show exactly how much I save every year by going out on this crazy day. The savings is just the justification to my husband. I do it because I love it. I love it so much that I subscribe to the websites that post the advertisements for the different stores a month in advance. I plan my morning according to what store opens first, the biggest/hardest/most important gifts to get, and location. Last year was our first BF in PA and I didn't have a babysitter for the kids and Bret had to work. So I only could hit one store. I chose Walmart the mother of all the good deals. I stood in line at 3:30 until 5 when they opened. I was in line, shopped, check out, and back home before Bret left for morning conference that started at 7 am. It was a short day last year but I made out with what I needed and still got my savings. This year my in-laws are in town for the holiday so I have a babysitter (my mother-in-law might actually join me too...we will see) and I have already seen a couple of new adds. I am pumped.

Bret has only gone with me once in 10 years and that was only because he wanted a new TV and I told him that he had to come with to get it. He says he would never go again but I don't' believe him. If he had the day off I am sure that he would go just because he can always find something that he wants for an unbelievable good price. In fact I am not convinced that he is not going to try and go this year before he heads off to work. Only 31 days left!!