The Thrill of the Hunt

Some folks really... no, REALLY.... get into the whole day-after-Thanksgiving, "Black Friday" shopping frenzy.  They will get up at an ungodly hour of the morning (or not go to sleep at all Thanksgiving night) to arrive at a store for the doorbuster specials that "officially" (?) usher in the start of the Christmas season.

I am not one of those people.

However, one thing that I really do enjoy is the annual "thrill of the hunt" for school supplies.

once the school releases the approved supply list around August 1, I consider it "game on!".  just as a hunter stealthily traverses the plains of the Serengeti for his prized antelope, i will traverse the weekly ads from the retailers (Walgreens, CVS, Target, Wal-mart, K-Fart.... even Kroger the grocery store), looking for good promotional prices on what the girls need.

one note.... i will not drive 5 miles out of the way just to save 20 cents on glue sticks.  i will also not make special trips across the city to get to a different Walgreens when the one we went to was out of an item.

I am well-aware that i will not get the best price on everything.  just not gonna happen.  but, my goal is to get the best prices i can to stretch our funds as far as i can, especially now that we've got 3 in school.

i even check online retailers like Amazon and Officemax, but shipping fees and the "buy in quantity" theory pretty much prices them out of competition.

so, how have we done so far this year?  i am pleased as punch.  the best deals:

- 82 cents for the nice canvas style 3-ring binder pencil pouches (Walgreens)

- 99 cents for Crayola colored pencils 12 pack (Target)

- 99 cents for the really nice colored plastic (not paper) 3-ring binder dividers (Walgreens) --- BONUS:  they have pockets on both sides

- 1.99 for 1" 3-ring "view" binders (Kroger) --- the school was very specific that normal 1" binders would not do;  they have to have the clear sleeve on the front and back to slip a sheet of paper into;  this takes a $1 binder up to the $4+ range; yeesh!

- 50 cents for 24 pack of Crayola crayons (Kroger)

as i said, i am competitive on this but not to the point of buying now and returning later if a lower price surfaces when the new week of advertised specials dawns.

in fact, i have already heard from my friend Dana that she got a better deal on notebook filler paper than me.  Aaaaaaarrrrgh!  (just kidding)

Out for now....

Matt