I have always been an obsessive bargain shopper, raised by a family that only shopped for items at a deep discount.  Which package of underwear was purchased depended upon how deep the markdown was. As a child, I always wanted cute underwear like my friends who wore pastel colors with cute animals or cartoon characters on them. Alas, mine were white. Plain white, and sometimes a little too big because that was the package that was on sale.

Unfortunately, I inherited this compulsion to only buy the cheapest items, despite having enough money to purchase things at regular price.  Time after time I have gone shopping for clothes and purchased the least expensive item, even though the weirdly colored plum shirt that was cheaper than the blue one would sit in the back of my closet because it did not match anything else in my closet.

The most extreme example of my compulsive shopping for discounted items took place more than twenty years ago.  At the end of the summer, to make way for school clothes, Zayre’s had racks of children’s clothing for 50 cents each.  FIFTY CENTS! I could not fight the urge to purchase them all, so I did! Because I was leaving soon for Guatemala to adopt our daughter, taking an additional fifteen boxes of clothing seemed like an appropriate donation for the orphanage in which she was living.

This purchasing trait of mine comes in handy for Black Friday deals, pounced upon for Christmas shopping. Instead of shopping in person, as was done before COVID, my current mode of shopping involves my fingers and the computer. I LOVE shopping for Christmas presents and am fortunate to have many people for whom a gift is needed. Hubby, Nana, five adult children, 2 spouses, 6 grandchildren and 15 nieces and nephews from Hubby’s prolific side of the family.

Black Friday is like a shopping fest. With the day off work, I have plenty of time to research the best (least expensive) gifts for everyone. For my son, Steven, who delights in using his tow truck to plow snow, I found a heated vest, heated gloves and a heated hat that would also light the way at night.  For his fiancé, a teacher who loves to wear cute earrings for her young audience, I enjoyed shopping for earrings for each of the seasons and holidays. Halloween pumpkins and ghosts were easily available at highly discounted prices, as were Easter bunnies and Fourth of July flags.  A multitude of stunning Christmas earrings were available, but because she would not be getting them until Christmas, I did not go crazy in this area. My shopping included earrings with spring butterflies, summer suns, little squirrels for the fall, and snowmen for the winter.  Normally, I would only be able to afford one or two of these items, but because of the deep price cuts, my shopping cart was full to the brim.

A coffee cup in the shape of a camera lens was purchased for my nephew who loves photography. A remote-controlled tarantula and remote-control snake were purchased for my nephews who loved the outdoors. Nerf guns and a yodeling pickle rounded out the nephew’s gifts. For the many nieces, I found great bargains on Barbie Dolls.  Unfortunately, or fortunately for me, many of the dolls on the market that characterized disabilities or non-conforming body shapes were not big sellers, so they were available at more than half price, which included a Barbie in a wheelchair, with hearing aids, with an artificial leg, with vitiligo, with Down Syndrome, wearing Burkas, and a plump Barbie with wide hips. Because I value diversity, it was a thrill to purchase such dolls for my nieces AND save money because they were not big sellers.

For Hubby, I found a barbeque lighter that also had a beer bottle opener, which would save him a trip into the house to open it. It was 75% off!

I have great fun shopping, and the Black Friday discounts are alluring.  However, I have had enough fun for now. I have spent enough.  Keep me away from my computer!