Distraction - The Sale Starts in 2 Days

I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time returning things to stores. I keep the ready-to-return things on a small table, the top of a short shelving unit, along with my purse. The table is so nice and neat when there is nothing to return; then it has just my purse and maybe something I plan to take with me the next time I go somewhere. When there are things to return, the tabletop gets crowded and demands attention and feels to my eye much like a todo list.

Today I did something I wasn't proud of, leading to a pair of pants being on the table. I thought about not doing it, but I did it anyway, mostly just because I could. Two days ago, I received a sale flyer in the mail for one of the stores I like, Kohl's. I received a coupon for 20% off of everything plus another coupon for $10 off. I went to Kohl's that day, as I was out on errands in the vicinity, and I knew of some undergarments that I had been planning to buy as soon as they went on sale. After finding the undergarments, I took a brief trip to my favorite department and oh dear, I found a pair of jeans that fit! When jeans fit, buy them! Words of wisdom! I think I'll put them in my "Things I Learned Today" column. At the checkout counter, the cashier pointed out that the sale had not started yet. The mailing had the dates of the sale on it, but I had just grabbed it and gone to the store without noticing. The sale would start in 2 days. I put back the undergarments, figuring I would come back and get them on sale. The jeans, however, fit so well that I decided to buy them at their full price rather than risk coming back to find them gone.

Today the sale started. I was on errands again, so I stopped at Kohl's. I got my underclothes, and do you know what I did? I found another pair of those jeans! Actually, I found 2 pair, one the same as what I had bought and one in another color. They fit that well! I bought everything with the sale coupons. And...now I plan to take the new jeans back with the receipt from when I bought them at the higher price.

I don't really condone this. But, I rationalize it by figuring that I wouldn't have bought the second pair of jeans if I wasn't going to save the money on the first pair, so Kohl's wins anyway. The lady in front of me today saved $100 by buying $300 worth of clothes. I saved $90 by buying $70 worth of stuff. Kohl's always wins! I know that, but it's fun to play.