The Hunt

I'm a girl who likes a REALLY GOOD bargain. And (I think maybe even more) I REALLY enjoy the hunt for the bargain. I enjoy searching through the paper, online, etc. I search the clearance isles at the stores, I wander through the clearance warehouses, I shop at thrift stores on half price days, and I regularly check the "free" postings on sites like Craig's List. I don't want to find just a good deal--I want to find the BEST deal. I do it for groceries, clothes, furniture. And I have to admit; one of my favorite "hunts" is for school supplies.

They sell prepackaged supplies at my daughter's elementary school for a "bargain." I'm just not sure whose idea of a bargain it is--certainly not mine! Instead of settling for the prepacked stuff or spending an insane amount of money, I hunt. And I love it.

I will say I have a few rules that I go by in my bargain hunt. The first and most important one is: I never go out of my way to get the deal. It just doesn't make sense to burn really expensive fuel to save a few bucks. In the end, I would not be saving anything. (I'm sure this is a rule most frugal hunters abide by, but I thought I'd just make sure everyone knows I that I have enough common sense to realize wasting gasoline is a bad idea.) Instead, I combine errands. I usually think about the places I have to drive throughout the week, and I make a plan to stop at the sale places on the way. Another thing I do is price match at Wal-Mart. They will honor a competitor's add if you present the add. (I did that today.)

The difference in school supply shopping and other kinds of deal shopping is you have only a very short time to find all the deals and get all of the things you need before school starts. The pressure mounts.

I must tell you, the more time ticks away, the more I have to purchase, the more excited I get. I love the challenge! (I think it's also that I love to sort of "stick it" to the establishment--and getting a good deal is not the only example of this.) My excitement has been building all week! I printed my children's lists from their school websites, and, after grumbling about how ridiculous some of the required supplies were (a game I play with myself every year), I began my hunt. Prowling through the adds while comparing them to the lists, I made my plan. Then, I executed the plan. Each child now has half or more of the things on his/her supply list. Here are the results so far:

(FYI: For school supplies, I check the weekly adds on Sunday and then the circulars on Tuesday.)


3 standard/metric rulers $.01/each
20 pocket folders w/brads $.01/each
4 composition books $.25/each
2 plastic folders w/brads $.20/each
5 pkgs college ruled paper $.15/each
5 pkgs wide ruled paper $.15/each
2 boxes 24 crayons $.20/each
2 bottles glue $.20/each
6 2-packs glue sticks $.20/each
11 college ruled spirals $.10/each
8 wide ruled spirals $.10/each
1 plastic school box $.99/ each (OK not my best)

Grand total (w/tax of course): $8.83

Not too bad Jolene!