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Friday, July 31, 2009

Why I Didn't Shop This Week


Other than my quick (and unproductive) trip to Dollar General tonight, I did not step foot inside a store this week. Can you believe it!?!? Wonder why?

My usual CVSing time (Sunday after church) was spent with my brother and sister-in-law who were visiting. They're WAY more important than bargain shopping! I worked Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. My husband led worship for our church's home missions week Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings. And, of course, we went with him! I had VERY little time at home this week.

Even though I didn't shop, this week reinforced for me a few things about frugal living .....

First, I don't have to get every deal that comes along. When I first discovered the world of couponing/bargain shopping, I had my mind made up. I was out to get every deal that I saw listed on every frugal blogger's site! At that time I had no stockpile, and I was determined to build one. But, boy was it ever tiring! Now that I've been at this for over a year, I have a nice stockpile built up and don't feel the desperate need to run out and try to get every single deal that's available each week. I've more selective. This week I chose not to pursue any of the great deals that I saw.

Second, I learned the importance of having a well-stocked pantry and freezer. I was able to fix dinner with what we had on-hand. I even pulled some leftover (already cooked) Teriyaki Pork Roast from our freezer for one night's dinner. It had cooked all day when I originally cooked it (yummy!), and it was just as good this time around! We were also blessed with some fresh produce this week. My mom gave us some peaches, nectarines, and melon, and another lady from church gave Emma a cucumber from her garden. (Cucumbers are Emma's favorite food right now!) Produce is about the only thing I may have made a Kroger run for, but the kindness of others meant that I didn't have to go at all.

I was also reminded of the importance of meal planning. With the crazy schedule that we lived this week, it was helpful to know exactly what I had planned to cook each evening. There was no scrambling to find something to throw together. I even planned a night of no cooking tonight, and we stopped at Quizno's to pick up subs. It was all part of the plan, and the plan made things less stressful!

Last but truly not least, I was reminded that my family is much more important than pursuing bargains. I could have taken some time on Tuesday (my only day off this week) and headed out to go shopping. It probably would have been fun at the time! But, knowing what the rest of our days would be like this week, I chose to stay home. That made things much more peaceful for all of us! Choosing not to bargain shop (even when there were some REALLY good deals to be had) this week was my way of putting my family first.

If you're eager to hear about the great deals that others found this week, here are a couple of sites that might help with that.

:: The "Cent"sible Sawyer has a linky for people to share their deals at CVS this week.
:: Attention Target Shoppers has a linky for Target deals in her right sidebar.

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

I really appreciate the way you value your family time over deal hunting. Sometimes we foret. Thanks for reminding us.

Debbie