Instant Gratification Yesterday Syndrome

Buying something on a whim without regard as to whether or not you can afford it or if it is really necessary to make you happy in the long run is a condition I like to call the "Instant Gratification Yesterday Syndrome". 

It could be something as small as a chocolate bar or as large as a new car.  Buying on impulse is a dangerous thing and can wreak havoc on your budget.  Instant Gratification Yesterday too often leads to tomorrow's Buyers Remorse.  In my experience these conditions are epidemic during the holiday season. 

In order to avoid both of these afflictions, it's important to THINK before you buy.  Something as small as a chocolate bar wouldn't take much time to think about.  Will it put you over budget?  Are you hungry?  Not too big a deal to make a quick decision.  When you get into higher priced items it gets trickier.  Especially if a slick salesman is filling your head with all the reasons you SHOULD buy.  This is the time to step back and really THINK about it. 

Here's a possible scenario.  You head over to the local mega store, you know, the one you need a road map to navigate and a GPS to find your car.  Okay, you're heading in there to snag a new pair of slippers for Grandma.  On the way to the shoe department you have to pass through electronics.  Then you see it.  The most beautiful 60" LED, Internet ready, DVD playing, Hi-Def TV you've ever seen.  You stand mesmerized watching the bluest ocean scene, or perhaps the most vivid football game, you feel as though you are there.  This thing can transport you to places you've never even imagined!  AND IT'S ON SALE!!  50% off!  This is your lucky day!  Or is it? 

Ask yourself a few quick questions  "Did I want this TV 5 minutes ago?"  No, then you don't really want it now, keep walking to the slipper department. 

"Is a new TV in my budget?" If you've been planning for a TV purchase and saving accordingly the answer might be yes, if you haven't then the answer is no and on to the slipper department you go. 

"Is this more TV than I need?"  You may only have room for a 27" TV, or don't need the Internet option.  If so, better go get those slippers.

"At 50% off is this a good price?"  Just because it's 50% off doesn't mean it's a good deal.  If the TV was overpriced to begin with 50% off may just be getting it down to what the normal price should be.  Doing a little research ahead of a big purchase will make it easier to see a good value.

"How long is this price in effect?"  If the item is going to be on sale for the rest of the week, go get the slippers then go home and think about it.  You may feel you don't want it as much a few days later.  If you do, try comparison shopping to see if you can snag that TV for even less somewhere else.

It all comes down to making informed choices.  Plan your purchases and do your homework.  Know what you are looking for, don't let over the top marketing tell you what you want. 

I myself have been afflicted with Instant Gratification Syndrome Yesterday.  I now take preventive measures and keep my condition under control.  By saving throughout the year, researching and delaying purchases until the deeply discounted Holiday sales begin you can acquire things you've been wanting for a fraction of original retail cost and get through the shopping season with your budget intact.



 

The Marc House Orchids

Today is Shop Local Saturday.  It's meant to promote shopping at local smaller establishments.   I took advantage of a promotion by American Express.  By registering my card ahead of time they offered a $25 account credit for spending $25 or more in a single transaction at one of the local merchants listed. 

I decided to take advantage of this by shopping at the Marc Plant Store.  The Marc House is a local nonprofit designed to help mentally challenged individuals lead independent lives.  Marc stands for Monroe Association for ReMARCable Citizens.  Residents work at the plant store and are able to learn a marketable trade.  It's a great organization that does a great service. 

I purchased two orchids today.

This one:

 

 

And this one:

 

Two beautiful flowers that will be a beautiful addition to the Casual Shack garden.

                               Here's how the deal worked:

                           2 Orchids @ $15.00 each = $30.00
                                 7.5% sales tax              = $ 2.25
                                 Total                               $32.25
                  Rebate from American Express   - $25.00
                           1.25% Blue Cash reward   -       .37      
                         Actual Cost of 2 Orchids         $ 6.88         

All profit from the $30.00 sale goes to the Marc House and I got an amazing deal on Orchids!  Does it get any better than that?         

 

The shopping report, what I saved today!

I do my grocery shopping once per week.  I do a circuit of three different stores.  It starts at Walgreen's, then next door to CVS, culminating at Winn-Dixie.  There are only two chain grocery stores in my area.  Winn-Dixie is 7 miles away, Publix is 20 miles away.  To save time and gas I have opted to stick to one store and make the best of what they have to offer.   It does hinder my savings potential but it's the price we pay for living on a rock in the middle of the ocean.

Here's what I need to prepare for my weekly shopping trip:

 

 

Each Saturday I buy 4 Early Edition Sunday papers giving me 4 sets of coupons.  By buying the early edition I spend $4.00 each week as opposed to the $8.00 I would spend buying the Sunday edition.  Some people use more coupons but I find 4 is my magic number, anything more for me and my often hectic schedule would be overwhelming.

From those papers I pull out the coupon inserts and the ads for the stores I'll be visiting.  To clip the coupons I seperate them into single pages, stacking each like page together.  I then cut four like coupons simultaneously.  After cutting I take each stack of 4 coupons and file them into my coupon binder.  My binder is divided alphabetically.  I don't over categorize things, I like to keep it as simple as possible.  For example, the "F" section has fruit and frozen foods, the "M" section would have meat as well as medicine.  It's just easier for me to remember things that way.  If I try to micromanage my coupons I'll forget where I filed them and invariably waste them. 

After organizing the coupons it's time to make my list.  In addition to the items we need I like to check the ads for deals on items we might be running low on in the near future.  By buying extra and stockpiling when an item is at a great price I avoid having to pay full price on an item because we ran out of it.

For the CVS and Walgreens list I like to visit a site called HIP2SAVE.  There are many sites that can help you to find the best sales and coupon combinations but I like this one because for me it's extremely user friendly.  The site name is pretty cool too. 

As I make my lists, yep there's 3 of them, I look for buy one get one deals for products I use.  If I have a manufacturer coupon for the item I'm sweetening the deal.  The preparation process, start to finish, usually takes me about 2 hours.  Once my lists is done it's off to the store. 

After about 2 hours of shopping, I came home with this:

It's hard to see what's in the picture so here's a list:
4        Mrs. Smith's deep dish pies
2        Cool Whip
1        8 oz Philadelphia cream cheese
1        1/2 gallon whole milk
1        cucumber
3lbs.  sweet potatoes
2        32oz Kraft mayonaisse (with bonus Shake n Bake!)
2        boxes Stove Top Stuffing
4        Ritz Fresh Stack crackers
20      large cans Alpo Chop Filet dog food
4        cans Campbell's turkey gravy
2        packets McCormick brown gravy
1        McCormick Gourmet Chicken Rub
4        cans DelMonte vegetables
4        2 liter Diet Coke
2        15 pound frozen turkeys
6        6 oz cans Bumble Bee white chicken
2        Lady Mitchum antiperspirant
4        2 liter Mountain Dew
4        2 liter Diet Pepsi
2        12 packs Mountain Dew
5        12 packs Diet Pepsi              (yes, we drink too much soda at the casual shack)
2         2.8oz French's french fried onions
1        box Kraft Mac n Cheese
1        32 oz bottle Powerade
1        Phillips universal remote control
1        Easyfeet
1        Starbucks doubleshot
1        Starbucks refresher
1        Thermacare back wrap
1        Finesse shampoo
1        Advil 10count
1        Kotex U panty liner 18 count
1        1.25 liter Diet Coke
1        box Nature Valley Protein granola bars
1        Carmex lip balm
1        roll Charmin Basic

That's a lot of stuff. 

AT CVS I spent $45.02, saved $34.16 for a savings of 43%
At Walgreen's I spent $30.75, saved $33.00 for a savings of 52%
At Winn Dixie I spent $75.69, saved $90.06 for a savings of 54%.

My out of pocket for all three stores and the 4 newspapers was $155.46.  I saved a total of $157.22 using $11.05 worth of manufacturers coupons and taking advantage of sales.  That's a total savings percentage this week of 50%.

50% sounds good, right?  It gets better! 

Cash back!!  That's right, both CVS and Walgreens gave me coupons good toward future purchase.  At CVS I received 16 Extra Buck rewards totalling $32.92!  At Walgreens I got one for $4.00.  I will use these as cash toward my shopping trip next week and report back here as to how I'm going to maximize this $36.

But wait there's more!  Remember the Universal Remote and the Easyfeet in the list?  I don't need either of those items but by buying them I got an equal amount of Extra Bucks so in the cart they went.  I'll put both these items into the annual Trash to Cash yard sale for a potential additional $10 in my pocket.

So there you have it, $312.68 worth of products, $155.46 out of pocket, a 50% savings with a bonus of $36.92 in register rewards and 2 items for the yard sale.

Life really is good, keep it casual!

Making the most of Holiday shopping on the internet

Black Friday is not what it used to be.  More and more shoppers are opting to sit in their jammies shopping online as opposed to waiting in line for hours and fighting for one of a limited supply of the hottest toy or electronics item.  Online stores have responded with huge discounts referring to the Monday after Thanksgiving as Cyber Monday.  Last year I picked up some awesome bargains on Thanksgiving Day.

You can optimize your online holiday savings by shopping through a portal such as ShopatHome.com and Ebates.com.  Simply register with them, search the list for the store you want and click on the “coupon”.  You will then be redirected to the store you have chosen.   After completing your purchase you will be credited for the percentage offered in the deal you chose.   I’ve gotten rebates ranging from 3% to 8%.  We purchased a riding lawn mower last year through ShopatHome.com, we received a check for $120.00 and we got free freight delivery directly to our door.  In addition, we used our cash rewards credit card and received an additional 1.25% cash back on top of that. 

Check with your bank and major credit card, they may also offer a shopping portal with a cash rebate. 

Whichever way you choose to do your holiday shopping remember to gift from the heart and keep to your budget!