About
Copyright © 2010 Andrea Langworthy
Any copying, redistribution or retransmission
of any of the contents of this service without
the express written consent of Andrea Langworthy
is expressly prohibited
Everyone says we should tighten our belts. As we try, though, we are tempted by too-good-to-be-true coupons and once-in-a-lifetime sales on everything from extravagant items to bare essentials.
President-elect Obama says the economy will get worse before it gets better. I shouldn’t dare to spend a dime but when I looked at my wardrobe and saw a dearth of winter clothing, I wondered if it would hurt to use some of the department store coupons I’d received to buy a couple of sweaters, some trousers. Maybe a little jacket or two. It might stimulate the economy, I rationalized. I wrestled with my thoughts, then asked my husband for his opinion. He agreed. Since I weeded through the shelves and hangers of my closet last spring and gave away items too big, too small, or so old they were comical, there wasn’t much left. I gathered the store coupons and off we went. Coupons added to advertised mark downs meant the store would probably pay me to take garments off their hands.
Are you old enough to remember when the word “sale” meant something? Did you shop for deals in Dayton’s basement? Montgomery Ward’s bargain room? Mom dragged us kids to the depths of Dayton’s regularly. Dad’s sister, Aunt Kaye, got “a steal” on everything she wore but looked like a million dollars. If you complimented her outfit, she’d say, “Oh, kid. I got this at Monkey Ward’s bargain room.” Dad loved a deal, too. In the days when “close-out” meant something was really being discontinued, he bought six sewing machines at J.C. Penney’s — one for each of his five children and one for himself — even though I was the only one of the group who could sew and hated it. But Dad lived for bargains. I, the apple, didn’t fall far from that tree.
At Macy’s, I headed for the women’s clothing section. I found sweaters and pants; even a couple of jackets. I piled pieces into my husband’s arms and we made our way to the register where I proudly presented my stack of savings passes. One after another wasn’t any good because an item had already been marked down or was a value leader to begin with. No doubling up on coupons, either, we learned. The cashmere sweater I thought would cost only $33 dollars would be more than twice that. Some coupons had expired; others wouldn’t be good for days. Pouf! went the closet full of outfits I dreamt about as we crossed the river on our way to the mall. In reality, I couldn’t afford to fill many hangers with my allotted budget. Deflated, I asked the sales clerk why the store doesn’t just mark things down once and for all and stop sending out all the gimmicky coupons. She laughed and told me about the customer who said the coupons are only good for undies.
Even though I was able to save a bit on some sweaters, two pair of pants, and a couple of little jackets, I paid more than I intended because most of my coupons wouldn’t work. The frustrating experience left me exhausted.
Do you remember the fable about the boy who cried wolf? When there really was a wolf, no one believed him because he’d tried to trick the townspeople so many times before. Well, never again will I fall for the department stores crying wolf about their big sales and their coupon come-ons. Now, I’m tightening my belt. It will have to be my old belt, though. All those worthless coupons meant I couldn’t afford a new one.