I had one hundred dollars to spend.
Do you know how much stuff this deal-lovin’ mama can get for one hundred dollars?
After Christmas, I had a one hundred dollar department store gift card burning a hole in my purse. My mind started to buzz with ideas of what I could do with that money.
In the past, I’ve been known to hit the sales with a gift card in hand, passing up things I’d been wanting forever (but couldn’t afford) in favor of filling up my basket with lots of clearance stuff that I didn’t know I needed.
That was my definition of getting the most for my money.
The way I did things in the past hasn’t really work out very well for me.
This time, I was determined to be purposeful. Deliberate. Wise.
As I walked to the microwave to heat up my just-brewed coffee . . . it hit me. I needed a new coffee maker.
We have coffee-maker issues. We break carafes. Glass coffee pots are not safe in our home. And our most recent carafe-less coffee-maker isn’t working well anymore. We were in desperate need of a new coffee-maker, but I hadn’t bought one because I wanted one with a stainless steel (unbreakable) pot.
But those are more expensive.
Like . . . almost one hundred dollars.
Hubby was concerned. He knows how I love to milk any giftcard for as much as I can. Coffee-pots do exist in the 30-40 dollar range . . .
And then I could hit the clearance racks too!
But coffee-pots in that lower price range are destined to be shattered in our home. And even if we’re lucky enough to find a replacement carafe that actually fits . . . they’re around 12 dollars apiece! Those numbers multiplied by the 3-times-a-year that we (on average) break a glass coffee pot . . . mean that the expensive unbreakable one is actually a good deal!
So I bought it. I used up all but a few dollars of my gift card, and even though my trip back to the front door of the store was filled with longing clearance-rack glances, I’m happy.
I didn’t really need more stuff.
I needed an unbreakable coffee pot.
Molly W. says
Good for you! I’m a huge sucker for a sale and have been known to buy “weird” things just because they were a steal so I can relate.
Rebekah from Simply Rebekah says
Sometimes when I read your blog I get confused. Did I write this???? Oh no. It is just Nony being all creepy in my head again.
Taycia says
i got my Black and Decker coffee maker at a community yard sale! Love it. It isnt stainless, but rather the plastic outside/stainless inside unbreakable caraffe. Keeps mah coffee hot for 4 hours (and i drink it by the gallon anyways) without burning it. You will not regret this purchase 🙂
Heather G. says
So glad you went for something that would last and be useful for you guys regardless of cost!
As an aside, I will now have “the minute he walked in the joint…. I could tell he was a man of distinction, a real big spender….” going through my head the rest of the day.
Dakotapam says
I don’t break carafes, but I wear out coffee makers. Coffee is my favorite food group!
Stephanie says
We have caraffe-less coffee maker and it makes life soooooo much easier! It just holds the coffee in there until we put a cup against it. Glad you found something you love that will not clutter up your home 😉 I love clearance though haha
Pagan O. says
Awesome! I’m much the same when it comes to spending gift cards. I received one for lane bryant this christmas and immediately thought of a few cute tops I could get. Then, to make it worse, they were recently having a 60% off everything sale. That’s 3-4 tops possibly I could have gotten instead of just 2! Then my brain kicked in and reminded me I was down to my last bra, and it was hanging on by a thread (haha). Suffice to say, I got 4 bras instead of some cute new tops I may or may not have worn ever. Doesn’t it feel great to actually do something-useful- with a gift!? 🙂
Elizabeth K. says
Wow. We had to do a similar thing with a kohl’s giftcard because we needed a new vacuum. It was VERY hard for me to walk by the clearance racks too. I felt only a little sad, though, and that sadness went away before we even got out to the car. My husband thought I was a little crazy, so I’m glad to know I’m not alone.
Jennifer says
Way to go! It is so hard for me to resist the allure of super marked down , yet unnecessary items, to splurge on quality over quantity. $100 is a lot of money, but sometimes it can be a good idea to spend it all in one place.
dawn says
way to go nony!
Livin In Duckville says
Good for you!! I have $150 sitting here (birthday money). One thing I know I want is tan pants & a red long sleeve shirt. I also want spice containers, but I haven’t found exactly what I want. I figured I’d spend it on something that I DO want instead of, like you said ‘clearance’ stuff I didn’t know I wanted until I saw it….
Lynn @ Scrapity Anne says
Ahh Nony……you read minds, don’t you? This is SO ME! I always go for quantity, I want everything I can. It’s no wonder that my home is so cluttered! I seriously need to focus on de-cluttering this year and making my home more peaceful for everyone. Thanks for the post, and way to go on your coffee pot! My BFF bought me a Keurig for Xmas so I’m all set too.
Dawn says
Great job, Nony! I have been guilty of this, too, and completely understand the need to feel you got the best bargain for your buck. I remember when I was in high school I wanted nothing more than a pair of GUESS jeans – they were the ‘It’ brand back then but my mom said “no way”, there was no way she was spending that much money on a pair of jeans. However, my mom loved to shop and couldn’t pass up the clearance racks. Usually, at least once a week, she would come home with several items for me that she had picked up clearance; ugly, out of style, poor quality things that I would maybe wear once – at the most. At one point, I added up all the “deals” hanging in my closet (with the tags still on them) and was crushed when I realized I could’ve owned at least 2 pairs of jeans for what had been spent on all the good bargains that I would never wear. No, clothes are not everything but for a girl that was bullied/teased all through school because of the way she looked and what she wore this was devastating. And it also took me until I was almost 40 to accept that I was “worth” something that didn’t come off a clearance rack.
Having said that, I am frugal and love a good sale but I have learned that you usually get what you pay for. And that often if we forgo the 20 so-so things (that will just clutter up our homes ) we can afford to get something really nice … and that is the better deal by far.
Milehimama says
I had the same problem! Actually, I was tired of the big automatic coffee makers breaking down. It seemed like I had to buy one once a year! Also, it took up too much room on my countertop. My countertops are rarely clear.
So I got a coffee press. And broke the glass carafe- twice. So then I bought a stainless steel stovetop percolator
http://bit.ly/zvL8qY It’s $36 at Amazon.
It actually makes better coffee, IMO. So you let it boil until it’s as strong as you like (I boil it for like a minute, I don’t like put-hair-on-your-chest-coffee) and then I put it in a Thermos so it will stay hot.
Nony says
I . . . . am totally a hair-on-your-chest coffee girl! I didn’t even drink it until I got married and now have to have hubby’s strong stuff!
I do know that we used a campfire coffee pot last Thanksgiving and everyone said it was the best coffee they’d ever tasted. Hmmmm.
Cherish says
Major progress!!! Good choice.
Jacqi says
This is years later, but yay for you! I wonder if you still have it.