Bon Journal

Bargain shopping in America

Buy when it's cheap not when it's needed.

That sums up what bargain shopping is.

You spend time collecting and cutting out coupons. You get the incentive to buy it and keep it in case you might use the purchased item one day.

After all, why should you buy something if you can get it more cheaply, like when it's on sale?

I had a list of things I wanted to buy in America. But they weren't on sale, except at discount stores such as Marshalls. My sister looked through coupon advertisements that came with newspapers. Her list was longer than mine because everything in Maui is expensive.

Armed with coupons and a borrowed car, off we went shopping.

When I lived in Singapore, I shopped because I had plenty of disposable time and income. I wasn't burdened with home renovations, piano practice, or maintaining my websites. Nowadays, shopping is a chore I try to avoid as much as possible. Only when I'm in another country, away from my daily routines, do I get to consider shopping as an enjoyable activity.

It certainly helps when someone else is paying for it. So thank you, dear brother, for treating me to the much needed leather gloves, white sports socks, and other things that are cheaper in America.

15 September 2003 Monday