Tuesday, July 26, 2011

The (Not So) Frugal Housewife

I should probably hang my head in shame as I post this photo of all the stuff I bought at the outlet mall this weekend:



It's probably hard to see what all I bought, so I'll give you a little breakdown:

5 Maidenform bras $35 (that's $7 each for $20-$30 bras!! )
6 panties (Buy 5 Get 1 Free, Aerie)
a pair of jeans
a pair of jean capris
a pair of jean bermuda shorts
a pair of black work khakis
travel mug
6 stacking reusable lunch containers (Buy 4 get 2 Free, now I can stop throwing away 3 Ziploc bags every day for my Husbands lunch)
Real Simple: 799 new uses for old things (book)
car trash bag & organizer
2 pop-up mesh food tents
4 mini spatulas 
a drying towel for dishes 
2 tools to remove corn from the cob (my mom and I freeze corn in the summer so we have fresh tasting corn all year round)

Total Savings: $621.54!!!!

I made a list before the trip of everything I have been saying for months now that we/I need and I actually found everything that was that list this weekend. This was my most successful outlet shopping trip ever!

I did actually stick within my shopping budget. Except for the little brown Coach cross body bag I bought from a friend for $10! It's the perfect bag for long shopping trips and come on, I'll pay $10 for used Coach all day long!

Wait, what? No... no, that isn't a brand new silver Coach bag sticking out of the corner of the photo! That would have put me WAAAAY over budget. How could I possibly say I was working towards a frugal lifestyle after buying that bag!

<hanging head in shame>

<hanging head in shame but gripping on tightly to my new perfect handbag>

I did, I splurged. I've tried to justify it by saying that it was 66% off, which it was. I also convinced myself that I really haven't bought many new handbags over the last 3-4 years and that I can totally get a good couple years out of this bag, which I haven't and can. But, at the end of the day, it was still a splurge and I had to pull money from savings. 

To my credit, I have been at a Coach outlet at least 10 times with friends who were buying up a storm and yet I managed to walk away empty handed. While I've found great deals on bags before, there was always something about each bag I didn't like. This time was a different story- this bag was perfect! If I were a handbag, I would be this bag. 

Sometimes we ladies just have to treat ourselves! 

Last but not least, before I show you some bag candy, I'll leave you with these parting words: Clearance price + 50% off + 30% off!










1 comment:

  1. I think you did great. We all need a little splurge from time to time! The great thing about coach is they hold their value pretty well. I just sold my one and only coach bag for 50% of what I paid for it, you try selling anything at that high of a price and most people will laugh at your!

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