Saturday, December 21, 2013

Shopping Successes and Defeats December 21, 2013

Happy Winter Solstice. Today is the shortest day of the year which means that the days will now begin to lengthen once again. Even in sunny Arizona, the day begins chilly, overcast with a 90 per cent chance of rain, but I am willing to bet that the sun will shine at some point during the day and that the presence of clouds will ensure a brilliantly colored sunset this afternoon. Successes and defeats, the yin and yang of life confront us all each day.

Why do I accept some of them and get really upset by others? My car received a recall notice this week. The warning that there is a problem is the airbag light which, when I checked, remains lit throughout the drive and does not turn off after six seconds as it should. My car had its mileage- required checkup on December 2nd. Why did no one check this and leave me at risk for brake failure or airbag deployment enroute? No problem, I'll phone and make an appointment on Monday.

But strolling past the shoe aisle at a local department store yesterday, I see a similar pair of sneakers to the ones I purchased at a discount store with a $20.00 coupon for the same price without a sale or a coupon! I feel defeated, just as I felt a few months ago when I saw that my formerly favorite coupon-loaded megastore was selling a sports bra for $46.00 which I believe is outrageous. I found the same brand at another store at regular price for $21.99. So I will now be more careful as I realize that the discount stores are selling their merchandise at the same price as the mall department stores. I will no longer follow the coupon trail, but rather I will wait for the department store sales.

Which reminds me of other shopping successes I hear about. Dr. Oz will recommend a product and masses of people will follow the trail from one store to another to find the product a bit less expensively. The effectiveness of the cream, lotion or supplement is surpassed by the feeling of success at finding the item at a lower price! I do not participate in those hunting expeditions but I did order four boxes of an all herbal product that recently received FDA approval for preventing or ameliorating the symptoms of early Alzheimer's disease. I will advise you in a few months if I feel my cognitive skills have improved. Stay tuned!

 

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