Tuesday, May 4

Lesson #103 - Children Can SAVE You Money

That is right, my friends...just remember, you heard it here FIRST!!!

I was always told that having children would cost more money than you could imagine...and I know this is true because I am a married twenty-something and my parents have yet to get that big "BANK" tattoo off their foreheads...I am blessed to have their help every now and then (they buy me the expensive things for holidays...stuff like that).

However, NO ONE ever told me that children can actually SAVE money as well!! Case in point:

The man has allergies...bad allergies...I mean, the poor guy sometimes is up for hours on end at night because he can't breathe. We won't get into who else this affects...that is for another post. Any-sneeze, I felt bad for poor hubs...so a few months ago, I decided to take The Babe to our local bedding store the next day after work and use some of our tax refund on the latest and greatest in hypo-allergenic bedding.

The Babe and I get into the store and it is seriously like an adult wonderland. Everything from $20 body pillows (and the appropriate sized pillow covers) to $500 vacuum cleaners (a girl can dream, can't she?!) to $1,000 home spas...I love going into this store!!


Quickly I pushed my cart, babe in tow, towards the bedding department...I mean, I did have some tax money burning a hole - had to move rapidly before that vacuum found a new home...and came across more hypo-allergenic bedding items that I thought really existed.

After asking for a bit of assistance...if I wouldn't have gone that route, well, they might as well have just closed the store with me still in it because I wasn't leaving without new bedding - and I couldn't figure out which product was for what...The Babe and I finally got the items we needed in our cart. Our list of items included a set of double-stitched pillow covers, a queen-sized heating blanket (because I am always cold...and come on - each side has a temperature control!!), 1,000 thread count sheets, a king-sized down alternative - double-stitched - top of the line comforter and a king-sized duvet cover. In addition, I got a few smaller things like a new nail polish color, some mascara, face soap and a bottle of water (I'm telling you...it is a wonderland!)


I was SO excited to think about our bedroom looking something like a catalog picture! As I looked in the cart, though, I cringed thinking of how much everything was going to cost once we got to the check-out line...especially since the comforter ALONE had a $400 price tag!! I wouldn't have been so concerned except for the fact that hubs didn't know I was out doing this good deed. No, he was at work and I didn't really want to bother him and call. Then I reminded myself it was for the health of hubs...it was necessary - even if he wouldn't bless it before it happened, I knew he would appreciate the thought and not make me go back to return everything!

The Babe and I got the register manned by a poor high school girl who looked like she was about to fall asleep - BONUS!! I put all of the smaller things on the counter and started the small talk routine. Suddenly, though, I realized that he cashier was too busy talking to The Babe to even concern herself with what I was saying. I kept putting items on the counter while the cashier kept talking...she would ring things up and hand the back to me. I didn't find any of this odd as most of the things I got were far too large to just throw into a bag.

I thanked the girl and pushed my cart to the car. The Babe and I were soon home and after putting her to sleep I began the task of transforming our bedroom into an allergy-sufferers DREAM oasis! After I had finished, I pulled out the receipt to look at everything. I didn't even bother to listen to the girl when she told me how much it was - I didn't want to flat line in the store - so I hadn't looked at the final tally until the room was set up! My eyes went right to the bottom "total" of the receipt and I almost (almost!) screamed...$237.39?!?!?! Well, that didn't sounds right!!!

Turns out the cashier was so busy talking to The Babe that she wasn't even paying attention to what she was doing...BONUS!!! So, turns out that having children can actually SAVE you money...and the break-down is as follows:

2 - $30 hypo-allergenic pillow covers
1 - $20 pillow covers (extras to match sheets) - FREE
1 - $2.99 nail polish
1 - $2.99 bottle water
1 - $399 king-sized comforter - FREE
1 - $79 duvet cover
1 - $189 heating blanket - FREE
1 - $99 sheet set

Note to self...always have THIS face with you when shopping...

15 comments:

Vanessa said...

No stinking way. I wonder what the chances are of her still working there if you go back!!

Dee at Pedestrian Palate said...

Wow. I am never hiring a teenager (of course, I want someone to hire mine).

BigSis said...

We ended up with some free batteries this weekend and I thought I'd hit the lottery. Prince is going to have to step it up. I just don't know if a 4th grade boy can do it like a cute baby girl...

Jesslyn said...

I bet they loved reconciling THAT purchase at the end of the day.

Mae Rae said...

Go back and buy the vacuum. Come on, you know you can.

Baby Sweetness said...

wow, holy crap!

our litle monkey has "saved" us money on occasion too, but that's really our fault (and never that much). When she was in the car seat in the cart, I constantly would forget something I put up top and not pay for it at the grocery store. Usually I'd realize this when she was already in the car, so going back felt like a HUGE task! One time I did attempt to go back and almost dropped her (shoplifter and incompetent parent! woo hoo, banner day), making me too horrified to go back.

JennyMac said...

Wow..that girl clearly got in big trouble at the end of the day. But who could resist that precious face? I need to borrow your babe for our next Board Meeting. LOL.

Shandal said...

WOW what a deal! Lucky you!

Jackie said...

Wow! That's crazy!

I have a few awards for you.
http://www.myperfectlittleworldblog.com/2010/05/passing-on-awards.html

Jennifer said...

Wow! Can I borrow her next time I go shopping? hehe. That sort of thing has only happened to me once, years ago. I bought some stuff at a farm store, including a large and awkward fence stretcher. (yea I know it isn't a lovely comforter and it was only about $30 but I didn't have a cute child helping me out either, hehe)

I asked the person at the counter (who was clearly annoyed he had to do his job for 5 minutes) not once, not twice but THREE times if he got it rung up too since I was holding it because it wouldn't fit on the counter. He said he did.

I found out later when I looked at the receipt and we were 25 miles away that he did not. I would have felt more bad about it but he was so rude!

Monkey and Bean said...

We were renovating our last home, and we kept going to the local hardware store for supplies. Almost everytime they forgot to ring up something or rang it up the wrong price. We ended up with a $500 tile saw for $99, tiles that should have been ten dollars a tile were rung up at 10 cents, and they completely forgot to charge us for a paint sprayer all in three seperate trips. I almost felt bad. Almost.

Unknown said...

WOW! You hit the jackpot with that one! Lucky girl---I need to head over there!

MrsBlogAlot said...

Oh you lucky mama you!!!

Don't ya just love it when they overwork the teenagers?

Score!!!

(-;

Jessi said...

I always feel too bad when something like that happens! I always have to go turn it in and get charged.

WOW what a deal you got!!!

Mommy of Many said...

I have six and they have never saved me that much money! Sometimes I think the cashier rings stuff up twice just to get back at me for bringing all six of them in the store......maybe you could do some shopping for me!

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