When a freebie or a deal really isn’t a freebie or a deal…

Feeling a little like the Junk Lady...

I’ve been battling my stock(slash)gift(slash) guest bedroom for ages now…it’s a horrid catch all for ALL kinds of things including holiday decorations and most recently the stuff my daughter no longer wants.

The uphill battle of this dumping ground has got me to thinking…since most of the things in there are “deals” and “freebies” I scored once upon a time ago.



Please don’t take this as a rant or opposition to Extreme Couponing as portrayed on TLC. This is simply my own self learned lessons on my journey through couponing and sale shopping.



That being said…



Deals no matter how good aren’t really deals if you don’t have anything to do with them.


I can’t tell you how many pieces of Claire’s ( a fashion accessory store in the mall) jewelry I got rid of in garage sells because I over bought on the 10 items for $5 sale. Sure, the jewelry worked here and there for when my girls needed a birthday present for one of their friends or if they needed an accent piece for a school dance…but all in all the stuff I bought just sat there…taking up space and in the end a waste of my money.

And this situation can extend to all kinds of situations, not just my mile high pile of gift giving stash.


I’ve also learned to be more careful when buying presents in advance. I now don’t buy as many despite how good a deal may be because between the time I buy said item and the time of said gift giving occasion…

A.) gift recipient may no longer like or have already received said item

or

B.) Better, and or less expensive presents are found

Scenario A doesn’t happen as often when the gift recipient is older, but for kids it’s harder to tell how long they will like certain things.

Scenario B can be a pain because you may have already amassed a great deal of items to give to one person and you keep finding better and or cheaper things to get them.

Prime example of scenario B is by time Black Friday was over I had enough to give my Husband gifts all the way through Father’s Day. As much money as I may have saved I also now have a great box of things to keep hidden from him…which might be slightly easier were there not so many things.



As far as freebies not really being free…

I don’t rush out near as often when I see an offer for a free something or another, aka Bath
and Body Works free preview lotion, I now take into consideration how far a drive to and from the location of the freebie is, how long going and getting said freebie will take…and in cases of online offers what kind of charges (hidden or otherwise) there may be, as well as the possibility of getting hit by spam and other unwanted nuisances.

Just keep in mind what is required to get a freebie and see if it’s in your own personal range of what you’re willing to go through and or pay.

Also, for the sake of your own sanity, in all cases of freebies, keep the mantra of “I get it YAY! I don’t get, no big deal” because with all the freebies that can be had, some of them you’ll miss out on, some of them won’t always be honored, and some of them may flat out be disappointing, but in the end it was supposed to be just a freebie…



P.S. When I Sign up for most freebies I use an email account I specially set up for offers like that, AND depending on the company offering the freebie, I use my nickname as my first name when filling out the forms, so when I start getting junk I know why…