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The way I see it, the less times you go shopping the less you will spend. In my case, I usually only go to one store a week and sometimes two if I'm feeling frisky. This cuts down on how much I am buying but it also cuts down on the temptation to buy more.
Now, I don't exactly do this by choice. My almost one year old takes two naps during the day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon which makes it impossible to get out of the house much at all. This means when I do get out I have a distinct purpose to only go where I need and get what I need. No random Target trips where I buy some necessities but also cruise the clearance end caps to pick up things that I don't really need and definitely no running around town picking up every deal.
While staying home does save me money I know that it means that I miss out on awesome deals sometimes, and I am okay with that. When I average out how much I save by not going to the store )as in not buying extras because I'm there), the gas it costs to go to the extra stores and my sanity of taking three kids with me (one being a cranky baby who had to cut her nap short) I am still ahead by leaps and bounds.
So next time you think you want to run around getting deals, sit down and think about how much that cheap stuff is actually costing you. You may find out that it is better to stay home!
I agree for us the killer is gas with 17 mpg van it just isnt worth it.
ReplyDeleteMy stupid SUV gets about the same mpg. If you want a real eye opener on how much it costs you to drive places, go to Map Quest. When you get directions you have the option of putting in the type of vehicle you have and then it tells you how much money it costs to drive from point a to point b.
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