I used to use coupons while shopping for food.  I rarely do that anymore–we stopped getting the newspaper on Sundays and I was finding that we were doing a whole lot of clipping and not using many of the coupons.  Plus, if we stick with store brand stuff at Wegmans, you can’t use coupons anyways.  But one thing I have not swayed one bit with is bargain shopping when it comes to toys and clothes for the boys and James and I.  I rarely ever buy anything new from the store.  But it comes at a cost.  A time cost.  And a patience cost.

Today, I chose to take the kids to a consignment sale that I heard about through some friends, called Mommy City.  They advertised that there would be toys and clothes and baby things and all sorts of other things.  They advertised the days and hours and that Sunday would be 50% off.  What they didn’t mention though was that when they opened at 10:00 am on Friday, and every stay at home mother traipsing their children with them would be trying to navigate through the ridiculously small area that they rented.  I swear there were no less than ten large strollers in there–one mom with a side by side double stroller, and one mom with a triple stroller.  And literally there was NO room to maneuver.  The line ended up being about thirty people long, taking up one of the two aisles for shopping.  Was it worth it for me to stand in line for a few pieces of clothing and some superhero toys for the boys?  Probably not in some people’s opinions.  But if time is money, and I can spend twenty minutes standing in line for a pair of Janie and Jack pants, Gap shorts, a Children’s place swimsuit and swim shirt, Children’s place t-shirts for Brayden and a pair of jeans for him, seven superhero books for a couple dollars, a trio batman construction set for $2 that normally is $20 and a couple of “guys” on the cheap, then yes, it’s worth it to me.  Because for what I spent on ALL of that, someone else will walk into a Janie and Jack store, pick up a pair of pants just like the ones I bought, and spend almost two times more on that ONE pair of pants than I spent on my entire purchase.  And that to me is a victory.  Even if I had to make my way through a terrible crowd, squeezing my big old belly through tiny packed aisles. . . even if I had to bring my two boys with me and give them lollipops to keep them happy . . . and even if I had to dig, dig and dig through piles of things to find stuff that fit our needs, wants and style.

And also, we like to go to Hank’s in Webster to get ice cream because the boys get it for free.  Another one of our bargain tricks 🙂