About sixteen years ago, I met him for the first time. My trainwreck sibling brought home this adorable puppy he had no business adopting because he had not one thing in his life that wasn’t a mess. I was furious at my sibling – he didn’t even take care of himself, how could he drag
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August 27, 2009
Just when I’d gotten the whole anti-wedding rant out of my system, we’re confronted with a rather astounding creature: the only child, Miami bride who is marrying our dear friend.
Full disclosure: Literally the only things we know about this individual is that a) she’s an only child, b) she evidently likes him pudgy, and c) our friend is staying in Florida to be with her.
But if we may amateurishly practice the art of psychological profiling via behavioral observation to ascertain a little more about this mystery woman, let’s do!
Tell me, folks, what make you of this?
No registry information was listed in the invitation. The invite itself was classy, understated, printed on VERY nice card stock that shimmered. Since we’re associated on the groom’s side, there was no handy brides/maid of honor/bridesmaid grapevine from which to glean the shopping 411. Normally, I just give cash. But since we’re flying out there, we’re already spending a whole heck of a lot of money and frankly, I’d rather find a good deal that costs less than the $200 cash we’d feel obligated to give.
I cracked my knuckles (not really, I hate the sound of that) and went to work online. My first foray was to the Macy*s gift registry because what couple doesn’t register there?
And my-my-my! I had to double check the date to make sure we really ARE still in a recession. Also, I know our friend and he’s an REI dude. Like, a dude who has seen fine china but would be hard-pressed to identify the various implements and doodads involved in fine dining. I’m just going to go whole hog on the assumptions here and guess she never let him handle the registry gun but once.
A sampling for your pleasure:
Every single piece of Kate Spade china and flatware made or sold by Macy*s
~ A Platinum teapot — $238
~ A sugar bowl — $105
~ A salt and pepper shaker set — $82
~ A Platinum creamer — $90
~ A gravy boat and platter — $180
Every appliance known to man, platinum pricing
~ DeLonghi coffeemaker — $375
~ DeLonghi espresso maker — $140
Bedding must not be neglected ~ Hotel collection comforter — $760 [someone actually purchased this, btw]
~ Duvet — $470
~ Sheets (5 sets) — $95/each
~ Pillowcases (2 sets) — $95 each
~ Pillows — $220
Does it surprise you that my next hunch also panned out? Where else would this couple be registered? Bloomingdale’s? YES. Target? NO.
At Bloomie’s, we’re Monique Lhullier all the way:
~ 5 pc place setting, we’d like ten — $140 each
~ Creamer — $115
~ soup bowls, we’d like ten — $80 each
And Vera Wang for the flatware, of course.
Our friend is not in a profession where he’s going to be pulling down six figures a year, ever, so my faint hope is that she either simply is unaware that some of us po’ folk can’t spend rent money on a few objets d’art for the kitchen, bathroom or bedroom, or that she’s tailoring the registry to the style her friends and family are accustomed to giving. I find the latter hard to believe, though, because the wedding’s in three days and most of those selections are still wide open for purchase.
Whatever the reason, the registry seems to imply that this lady is waaaay out of his income league, and I can only cross my fingers that Daddy or Mommy’s money will be subsidizing their lifestyle if this demonstrates her idea of normal.
By the by? I did check REI. And Bed, Bath and Beyond. And Linens’n’Things. Nope on every single one.
I finally did find a decent combination of kitchenware that wouldn’t break the bank, found a 10% off coupon via retailmenot.com, and added a little ebates.com action to boot. All told, with gift wrap, it’ll be about $75 which is still way too much for a few baking pans. But what did they really expect? A bi-coastal wedding and they registered for nearly all $100+ items? *sigh*
August 26, 2009
Emotionally, when is it worth it to you to spend money to save time (sanity)?
Shopping for shoes on a tight budget is no joke, and flying wingwoman on a bargain hunt is usually my thing …. BUT …. after a particularly draining and unproductive 6 hour shopping trip through 4 enormous big-box discount shoe stores 17 months ago for a friend, I swore off in-store shoe shopping for the next three lifetimes. Very dramatic, yes. But Lordy!
We walked miles through soulless outlet malls, made all the more torturous by the hordes of screaming children and No Good Shoes. If we’d walked out of there with a halfway decent bargain, I would have been over the moon. As it was, we only found a single decent pair of shoes to even try and they were way out of her budget.
Recently, my only chance to spend some time with another girlfriend was to join her shoe shopping expedition. Teeth gritted, I agreed, lacing up my comfy new running shoes and lightening my pockets of anything that might weigh down my aching bones. “Haven’t seen her in over a year,” I grumped, “probably won’t get another chance before June next year.”
She picked a rather obscure (to me) shop, a wee little bit of a specialty shop, and didn’t name any other destinations when we set the itinerary. Another shrug from me, and off we went.
To my surprise, she spotted over a dozen pairs of possibilities in our first pass. That’s more than I see in full search of any run-of-the-mill DSW or Nordstrom Rack! (Then again, if I were the buyer, they would all have been eliminated on price alone. The cheapest regularly priced pair was $68!) My only job was to evaluate the look of the shoe, sitting on a comfortable couch, as the sales assistants brought wave after wave of shoeboxes. All told, she must have gone through 30 pairs, and they were unfailingly courteous and reasonably attentive.
After nearly three hours of sitting and chatting, lacing new pairs, and restuffing the unwanted shoes, she picked her favorite pair and paid $75 for them. As we sat and caught up over coffee and lemonade, I had a rather discomfiting sense that as a bargain shopper, I may have reached my emotional limit on the subject of shoes.
Once upon a time, not too long ago, I prided myself on finding a good deal on anything I bought, ever. Now, I might just hate fruitless shoe hunting enough to be willing to pony up full price on a comfortable, high-quality pair of shoes.
Honestly, that’s sort of disappointing. It’s not so much an unwillingness to sacrifice on quality by paying lower prices for a cheaper good. I just can’t stand the process! Seems like a wuss of a cop-out.
August 24, 2009
After years of business travel, you’d think my packing skills would be solid. Guess that only applies if you’re paying attention!
For a week-long trip to a clime easily thirty degrees cooler than home, I packed two pairs of jeans, a long sleeved shirt, a few short sleeved shirts and a couple light cardigans. They can barely even be called sweaters because they’re super lightweight and one is cropped.
Then, it all went into an enormous tote. Great for avoiding baggage fees, terrible for day trips into the metro area or going out for meals. It’s half my size!
I wasn’t planning to shop, so I’m doing my level best to avoid buying warm clothing, a lightweight travel purse that scrunches down easily, and a pair of shiny leggings a la Flashdance. Wait wait, no no, not shiny leggings. Just regular ones so that if I end up going horseback riding … or given the state of my hands, horseback sitting…. my knees won’t be terribly abused by the seams of my jeans.
Actually, I’m skipping the horsey sidetrip entirely because I’d need appropriate pants and boots, neither of which came with me.
Lack of preparedness, folks, it can destroy your budget in a BIG WAY. I’ve made do so far, but feeling deprived (and COLD), I could so easily have bought three different sweaters and extra shoes that I’d ultimately be annoyed about packmuling home.
August 22, 2009
I’ve said it before, I’m against the maxi dress. But according to, uh, FINAL SALE [stamped on the receipt, thanks BCBG!], I’m stuck with this one. Nevertheless, I need to know which of the two above choices should be worn on a night out in Miami – clubbing optional – and if the maxi dress could be appropriate for the actual mid-afternoon wedding.
The orangey dress is very much like something Fiona would wear … so it feels like it’s right for Miami, but it was a bit pricey. And it has pockets!
Ehhh … I dunno. But what do I know? I’m no fashion maven and y’all already know that. Help?
August 21, 2009
What’s better than not spending?
Making up for past stupid spending!
I pled my rheumatically, unemployed case with the hotel, and the woman I spoke with was kind enough to cut me some slack. Some $40 slack! I was polite, acknowledged that the ball had been dropped on my end entirely, but asked for a bit of consideration due to extenuating circumstances, and she obliged.
August 19, 2009
They’re back, now.
As a former FatWallet Grocery Forum frequenter, and a fairly avid couponer for some years, I
know the value of a price point. Knowing the best price you should get for products keeps shopping levelheaded and budget-friendly. Even if the gimmes strike, the impulse buys are tempered by the internal price book. [Or the little black book where the best TP prices (after double coupon and sale) are recorded.]
For example, $3.99 is the usual price for a pound of asparagus: too much. When stores are motivated to move the asparagus, they’ll sell for as little as 99 cents per 1-lb bundle. That’s usually the lowest the supermarkets go around here, so $1.99 is an acceptable off-season price when the pantry is decidedly starch and protein-heavy.
For other products, clothing, accessories and the like: almost-broke student budgety price points. There are slight variations depending on the merchant, ie: Target versus department stores. Still, that doesn’t excuse the Macy’s version of merchandising where a junior’s day dress might be priced anywhere from $60-$100. In my book, page 4 of the Clothing section, that’s a no go since when the sales and coupons roll around? You can get those very same dresses, assuming your sizes are still available, for as low as $12-$16! Dresses are not a necessity, I’m willing to take the risk.
My few purchases before the layoff, though, whew! I upsold myself in Richter scale fashion.
- There was the much beloved bag purchase several months ago for 60% off = still above my price point by a factor of ten.
- There was the dress from Gilt.com [$150], plus the cost of tailoring [?].
- There was the bespoke dress from a dressmaker on Etsy [$192], which also required tailoring [$22].
And there’s the netbook I’ve been yearning after. Priced out at~$400, I’m still safe from that imprudent purchase, but all the travel of late had got me thinking that $200 was a reasonable price. [As my friend said about a shoulder bag, “if you like it.” Um, what?? It’s a purse!]
Granted, the netbook is a piece of technology so it’ll cost more than Payless shoes, but when on earth did my price points migrate to “$200 is an acceptable price” on more than just electronics?
(I can’t even blame it on the Recessionary Sales a la Free Money Finance.)
Well, I’m just glad they’re back now, I can’t afford that luxuriant lifestyle quite yet!
August 18, 2009
Has anyone out there got experience they’d like to share about their printer all-in-one favorites or least favs?
As much as I hate to add to my pile of Stuff here, an all-in-one printer is essential to prevent the stockpile of paper records from taking over my life again.
I started my reduction-of-paper quest some time ago, but there weren’t any good deals to be had at the time so a friend offered up her printer/scanner. I loved it, btw, but it’s more than time to get one of my own so I don’t have to keep bothering her as the inevitable paper mail trickles in.
Perusing the Staples ads, and Fatwallet of course, HP had some pretty good offers but a friend warned me off: his HP AIO, and a number of others according to the help forums, have problems with retaining wireless connectivity. Or working.
I liked the looks of a couple of the Lexmark and Brother models in terms of technical specs, not so much for aesthetic reasons, but the deals were lackluster.
My requirements are not many:
Flatbed scanner with an Auto Document Feeder
Wireless capability
Double sided printing (manual is fine)
Separate ink cartridges preferable
Less than $100
Lightweight: less than 18 lbs?
So far, the only AIO that looks remotely like matching the wish list is the Epson Workforce 310
available from Frys.com or Staples.com for $89.99 after coupon. Black ink carts run about $18, and color packs are $37 for all three colors (CMY), or about $13 per color.
I’d also heard good things about the Brother brand, and this Brother MFC-490CW model doesn’t look half bad, either. The printer is the same price, but the ink carts are a bit pricier. The auto feed capacity is only half that of the Epson at 15 pages, but that shouldn’t be a dealbreaker since the scanning pile is relatively controlled.
And what is this “cable NOT included business,” anyway?
Thoughts?
