How I splurge on ourselves

Hi everyone

It's been another one of those days. We ran out of milk this morning (I was aware of this), so I decided to just go do my Sams run and pick up milk while I'm there. I don't like to run to the store for just one item, so it made sense to just do my shopping too. Well, I went to Sams and back and as I'm carrying the items into the house I realised that I didn't buy milk. Ugh!! The milk was at the top of my shopping list. The whole point of going shopping, was to get milk 🤦 So back into my car and to Meijer to get milk and fries (that Sams as out of). I'm so glad I didn't realise this while preparing breakfast tomorrow morning. We need milk for our cereal and coffee. 

Then, as I was printing this morning, I got a Drum error message on my printer. What the heck is this? My printer's been acting up (I've had it for years - maybe 10) and keeps printing with black spots. I learned that it's because something in the drum might be dirty or it might have dust, so I cleaned the drum a few weeks ago and still no progress. Now I'm discovering it needs a drum to the tune of $86! Sigh! (apparently drum replacement is a thing. I guess it wasn't dirty. It just needs to be replaced) Thankfully, it still prints, so I'll wait to see if Staples sends me a $20 off $60 Q like they normally do (I have a Swagbucks backup plan if there's no Q). I'm not too bummed about the price, because this printer (laser) saves me tons on ink compared to my HP I used before. I do still have the HP as a backup, but having a laser printer is far better. My toner cartridge lasts me over a year. Less than $60 per year, compared to $30 per cartridge (several times per year) I used to spend on the HP. I'm just bummed about the inconvenience. I never even knew the drum had to be replaced. Mind you, I paid $100 for this printer and now a part costs $86. Scratching my head at that one 😂 It sill beats buying one of the latest inferior products. 

Well, to add insult to injury - I tried to take pictures earlier and my camera screen is just black. No focus, no photo. WTBH?! (The British will get this 😂). Well, I still have my old camera that I need to haul out and charge. I'm going to try & figure out this camera, cause it's only about 2 years old - if that long.

No stockpiling items to share this week. There are deals, but nothing worth running out for, except for the Softsoap deal at RA.

Buy 2 Softsoap b/w, earn $5 BC

2 x Softsoap $10.00

Less DQ (4.00)

OOP $6.00

Earn $5.00 BC. So 50c each after rewards

Let's switch things up for this week. I'm gonna explain how I splurge on new or designer items for ourselves. Those of you who read my old blog, know that I like to buy designer stuff but hate paying designer prices. So, when I need or want something, I look for the best possible deals. Sometimes I find things immediately, at other times I wait months before taking the plunge. As I've mentioned before, I've had to replace many of my shoes and purses, due to circumstances beyond my control. 

For years, I've had a really nice Coach & Michael Kors purse collection. So I've been keeping an eye out for a new purse. Well, I had $40 rewards to use, so when I spotted this one at $149, I figured it was a good enough deal. I don't like to pay more than $100 per purse (Does that make me cheap? 😂I don't even know what the regular price of other purses are these days). I had gcs that I purchased last year. So I used my reward & gc to get this purse and I love it! I mean, this baby comes with a free zippered pouch (a nice bonus that you can use as a makeup bag or wallet).

A week later, I received an email about a big handbag sale at the same retailer. So I went to check to see if the first purse was discounted, because I know that most stores do price adjustments. Well, my purse was sold out, but it still displayed the item with a reduced price ($30 less than what I paid for it). So I contacted CS (gotta love Live Chat) and 2 minutes later, had my price adjusted. 

So I thought to myself  'well girl, you still have a gc AND they're sending you another gc from the adjustment, so you might as well check what else is good' 😂 So, I saw this purse & fell in love. I love simplicity, but that shoulder strap adds something extra to the purse. Besides, it was reduced to $105. That was incentive enough, cause both purses retail for $298 each. But, I know that it's just the MSRP (Manufacturers suggested retail price). I don't know why they call it Manufacturer's price, because manufacturers have zero say in the price. Only the designer/company does. So here's my breakdown:

Total Retail price : $596.00

My total sales price : $254.00 ($149 + $105)

Less rewards used : (40.00)

Less price adjustment (30.00)

Total cost to me : $184.00 for 2 purses or $92 each

I'm not including tax, because Rakuten covered all my sales tax. Plus, I earned another $3.00 from my CC for purchasing the gcs. 

My favorite part of these purses is that it's leather. I prefer quality and will pay a little more for it. I don't care how famous a designer is or how expensive an item is, I always check the fabric content. I want leather. I've seen them selling nylon purses for $100+. Why on earth would I pay that much for nylon? Also, many purses are made from polyurethane, like the one below. I no longer want that. A purse has got to be really, really worth it for me to want to buy it. 

I bought this for around $90 (clearance) a few short years ago. I got a discounted gc with my CC rewards and then used the gc to purchase this purse. Isn't it pretty? It's blue. Of course I had to have it 😂 As you can see, I love satchels. They match my heels perfectly. 

Before anyone thinks I just spend, spend, spend, I should mention that I don't get an allowance or spending money. In fact, many would be surprised to learn that I spend very little cash on myself. Once in a while I'll splurge, but most of my purchases come from rewards, gcs and (before I got divorced) birthday and Christmas cash/gcs. I also prefer buying items that I can get a lot of mileage out of. I take good care of my things, so it usually lasts me years. I'm not going to build another collection. I would like a brown/tan purse though, but it can wait until I find another great sale. 

These items were a need. It's not like I can be all dressed up and carry my phone, keys and wallet in my hand - I can actually visualize this 😂 I'm just showing you how I can still get nice things without breaking the bank. 

I'm just trying to show people that you don't have to pay full price for anything. My father always taught me that Everything eventually has to go on sale. If you have a brand that you're loyal to, keep an eye out for when the item you need goes on sale. Then shop through one of the cash back sites (I actually check different ones to see which gives me the highest % cash back) and look for discounted gcs. Check if the store will allow you to stack coupons or promo codes too. There's so many ways to save on what we need. Things are so convenient these days, that it's easy to do price comparisons with just a few clicks. Don't forget price adjustments. After I purchase an item, I add it to my cart again. Most stores will send you an email if the price drops. That's how I manage to get adjustments on many things. I hope this is helpful to some of you. 

Have a wonderful evening peeps!