Gearing up for retail season

I am a sucker for a sale. Tell me there is a special on select brussels sprouts, and I'm there. Add a coupon and a limited time offer, plus a gift certificate for special customers only, and get out of my way.

My other half does not understand the power of those four letters, S-A-L-E. We have been gone for a few weeks, and our mail has piled up. The coupons I had saved are now out of date, and if I want to take advantage of some of the new ones, I only have until Friday. New ones will come out, but they may not be as good as these.

I will have to plan ahead to catch the early bird specials in the fabric store and the department store on the same morning. Then on to the linens section for a look at the matching napkins and tablecloths for the "discriminating" buyer.

Wait - I don't sew. Well, I don't sew anymore. Probably the dustiest thing in the house is my sewing machine. After the duster, that is. Why should I go to a fabric and trim sale? So I don't miss anything. They might have big buttons. I love those. Never mind that I don't have anything to put them on.

Anniversary sale, harvest sale, one-day sale. I am not picky. No cars or furniture though. My sale purchases have to be for little things. Then I don't have to deal with more than a little guilt.

What is so irresistible about $30 off $100? It is the same as 30 percent off. As I went up to the counter to pay, the deal was still running through my head. I looked at the new clothes I had picked out. The sweater was the extra. I can't call it an extravagance if I take the $30 off and then pay full price for the jeans and two shirts.

This is what drives my other half around the bend. "What difference does it make where the $30 is deducted?" The total is the same is what he thinks. But, I wouldn't buy the sweater if it was $30 more. That would put it in the "I'd better wear this twice a week" category.

Oh no, here's the ad for the baby things. Our granddaughter is almost 10 months old. That makes all of those 9-month-size clothes too small. And I am sure she is getting tired of her toys. Time for new challenges. And at 20 percent off, all that fun will be a bargain - unless I can find those toys and clothes for less elsewhere. That is the challenge - not using up my "It's on sale" energy too soon.

As I went from the baby store to the jewelry counter in the department store, I realized I had moved from the orange and brown harvest sale to the red, green and white Frosty the Snowman holiday sale. I need a break.