The equation from hell:
laziness + convenience = expensive
I am lazy. I admit this whole heartedly to anyone who will listen to me about this "problem". I do NOT like to shop for the best deal. I go to two groceries simply because one offers more organic/gourmet foods then the other and the other provides stuff that is less expensive then the other. I hate going to the gourmet/organic one because it is farther away from my house by at least TEN whole minutes. I love the Farmer's Market in the spring/summer but I wish it could come to me rather me to it... Plus that adds another component of grocery shopping to my life. UGH.
I go to the same gas station (BP) because we have a credit card that gives us cash back on gas purchases but I will not search out the cheapest BP in town (and believe me there are cheaper ones around.) I will go to the same one every time even though it is ALWAYS 2-3 cents more than other stations around because it is close to work/home and it is easy to drive into.
I LOVE to travel but not for the purpose of getting something at a better deal. It some times drives me crazy (okay mostly) that I live in a small town where I cannot get everything I want right here. For instance, in the past two years the mall has closed the Motherhood Maternity store and Eddie Bauer. Where the hell do you buy nursing bras or decent clothing in this town without paying an arm and a leg?!??! I know there are are places I can go to for things in town & out. Places where I can get maternity clothes for "good deals" or buy decent clothing for less.
In fact, a girlfriend said this weekend 'your best deal would be to go to location x (near Indy) - there is a Motherhood Maternity and and Old Navy right there.' I thought 'OH YEAH I will do that. That is a great idea' but the more I thought about it the less I liked the idea of a road trip anywhere to buy maternity clothing. This has nothing to do with my desire for nice maternity wear because I want to have that but it has entirely to do with the fact that I would need to drive 40 minutes to get there and what if I found nothing I liked or what if I was having a bad day and felt yucky... AND OMG can I whine any louder over here?!??!
I always will without fail turn to the Internet. I look for everything I want on the Internet, deals be damned. I mean seriously I would prefer to pay top dollar and shipping costs then drive somewhere or wait for the deal to come to me in the way of slashed prices. I have no patience for watching an item until it is on sale and usually by the time I think to go back they are sold out in every size...
All of this points solidly to pure laziness on my part. I would also prefer to try clothing on or see what the item might look like before buying said item but I have gotten to the point where I just say 'eh if I do not like it I will live with it or return it.' HOW lame is that!?
And really the humor in this is that I am also a cheap skate to some degree. I will pass up things that I totally want (and will regret later!) because I will think that something is too expensive. Or I will buy something online then find it in town or at some other online location & it will be less to which I will be pissed off! Isn't it ironic? (I love Alanis by the by!)
The equation of laziness can really suck! Oh and woe is me :)
7 comments:
I don't think it's laziness. I think it's more of the "How much is my time worth?"
You actually pay for time.
Or that's how I look at it when i refuse to get off my ass to go shopping and order online, shopping costs be dammed!
HA! Hey, thanks! I have a new mantra - How much is my time worth, people? Thank you! ;)
You can still get good deals online! Check out www.retailmenot.com. You type in the website you are looking for- like Old Navy and they have coupon codes to use during check out. Usually you can find % off or free shipping codes.
Also slickdeals.net is another place to look for online deals.
You know me, I'm a bargain hunter!
I'm like this too. I'll almost always pay more for convenience.
I'm with andreanna. My free time is very important to me, and not worth a few extra dollars.
We're often the same way. I've been really tempted to start buying almost all of my clothes online. I hardly ever try on clothes any more...there is always a kid in my arms or we're trying to hurry to get home before someone melts down. If it doesn't fit I know we'll be back at the mall the next weekend and I'll just return it then. I'm surprised Target hasn't started monitoring our transactions since we return so much stuff there! Although, if you consider how much money we spend there I'm sure our percentage of returns is quite small! It's seriously scary to balance our checking account and see just how much of our income goes to Target!
Sometimes I'll pay for convenience (gas is a good example), but I'm more likely to just pass on buying something at all rather than buy something I think is not a good deal. Even with groceries, I won't buy certain fruits/vegetables/meats unless they are less than $X.xx/lb. I don't go to other stores to shop for those items, I just buy different things that week.
Melissa: I agree about Target! It is really the only big box store I shop at in Bloomington and I think I spend a majority of my money there. There is usually at least one visit a weekend to Target and we also return A LOT to Target. The sad part about the amt of returns - I generally go into the store and spend 2-3 times more then I returned! Also, I have almost always been this way with clothes anyway because I HATE dressing rooms SO much.
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