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.
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.
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.
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 🙂
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.
I don’t break carafes, but I wear out coffee makers. Coffee is my favorite food group!
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
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!? 🙂
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.
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.
way to go nony!
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….
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.
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.
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.
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.
Major progress!!! Good choice.
This is years later, but yay for you! I wonder if you still have it.