Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Toilet Paper, Target, and New Shoes


I haven't been to Target in months. (Read 3-6 months probably)

I love Target. Target shoes, target clearance, target is great. However, I find myself wanting things I don't need and feeling disappointed. So I decided not to go there if possible. And I hadn't for months. Most other necessities I got at the grocery store and the rest I 'magically' did without.
Last week I had not been paying attention and we were on our last roll of toilet paper. Eeek! This desperate time crunch is exactly what the frugal shopper doesn't want. I wanted to look at ads for a few weeks and wait until the tp was on sale. Instead, I just looked at a grocery ad and Target ad and Target had the better price.

I found a few other coupons for some free trial size items to get and went off to the big red Target.

Wow. I had forgotten or never noticed how much...junk is at a store like Target, Kmart, or Walmart. Aisles of things I don't need and couldn't dream of spending money on. I looked in a few of my favorite spots like the clearance rack and realized even these items were not something I would need, at any price! I was tempted by the shoe clearance but reasoned myself away since I had just gotten an awesome pair of Puma shoes at a garage sale for fifty cents earlier in the week.

So I left paying for toilet paper, 3 free after coupon travel size items, and a new sense of pride in realizing how little I really do need to live. I know I'm not swearing off Target, and they have great deals. Yet knowing how many more productive places that money could go is a real motivating factor.

Here's the proof that the Target shoe selection lost v.s. garage sales last week: