CynthiaWVirginia
Posts: 1915
Joined: 2/28/2010 From: West Virginia, USA Status: offline
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I used to buy fabric as an anti-depressant, lol. Joann Fabrics had a 40% off of one cut of fabric coupon each month, and I used mine every month for years. Over time, the prices of their fabric more than doubled...the fun went away when I noticed that using the coupon was the only way to get a decent (normal) price. The bargain fabrics they used to get in for a dollar to two dollars per yard disappeared and were replaced by...costly stuff. Making my own holiday pillowcases became too costly, it was cheaper just to buy them at Walmart. I really miss the fun I used to have, hunting for a few bargains and choosing which cut of fabric to use my coupon on. Nowadays I am replacing old, often damaged, VHS tapes, and yeah, sometimes I go beyond the $30 per month allowance I give myself to replace tapes with DVDs. If a season I love is on sale down from $40 to $13...it's MINE and budget be damned. Most of the time I stick to my budget. Anyway, sometimes I get my DVDs from Amazon, sometimes from Ebay, and some months I stick to Sams and Walmart (love that $5 bargain bin, especially when it's a multipack and I get 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, or more movies in one $5 case). Replacing old Disney has been the most difficult, requiring a lot of patience to wait it out for when the price drops. I'm not paying $20 to $25 for a DVD of a movie I spent $20 for on VHS long ago and still own. When I am doing my usual grocery shopping I check DVDs for sales...and this month I managed to pick up an old Disney favorite that was on my list for only $12, yay! Two of my rooms, as well as my basement, have had a lot of stuff in storage. The past two years I've been getting floor to ceiling book cases built and have been unpacking, taking inventory of movies that can be saved and ones that need to be trashed, as well as ones that need replacing. My goal is to have everything fit on four book cases. I'm 3/4 into this massive undertaking, lol, and have four inventories (soon to be five, when I make an inventory of seasons of tv shows) to keep track of. I don't buy a new DVD without consulting my inventories. Next, I'll have to go through my books. I don't plan to make an inventory...hm, maybe I should make one of favorite books (a short list) of ones I plan to replace. Getting rid of old homeschool books is so difficult, same goes for thinning out books I bought used and raggedy and read to my son when he was little. (I had hoped for grandkids but that's not likely to ever happen.) In a few years, I plan to start tutoring a few elementary school kids with reading or whatever, because I miss tutoring kids. Maybe someday bo's daughter will crank out a few babies... Mostly I'll be getting rid of raggedy kid's books that are not favorites, old encyclopedia sets and some religious books. Maybe some of the school type literature books. *sighs* They have got to fit on six book cases and everything else that won't fit simply must go. I am tired of having things stored in crates and tubs and want them where I can easily put my hands on them. Oh, and thank God that that consignment bookstore in Princeton closed up a month or two back. I love books...and was incapable of walking into that store without spending $40+ I have to remind myself that I have enough alternative medicine books and recipe books, but but but...I swear if I see another "First, kill the chicken" type recipe book for $6 or less, I'm gonna buy it! (Budget be damned, lol.) Two years ago I got rid of my scores of Star Wars books. Last year I thinned down my Star Trek TNG and Voyager books, keeping only one copy of each (I liked two to three copies of my most favorite), got rid of my Quantum Leap and the original series of Star Trek books. I'm taking over a dozen of my hard back ST;TNG books, along with several Trek actor biographies to a friend of mine this Saturday. My fabric addiction and yarn addiction turned into a book and movie addiction. I want what I want when I want it, lol, and our library SUCKS. (Just the cost of gas and paying the parking meter would make it not worth it. Used books are cheap and are right there on my book case when I need them.) My eyes are too old for those newfangled gadgets (that costs a lot) so that I could read books on it. Curling up to read a book on my bed is much nicer than sitting in this ass buster computer chair that also helps to make my right leg swell up till it almost pops. Just the thought of replacing all my books, cost wise, with downloadable ones makes me cringe. At least I stopped buying Halloween and Christmas decorations on those 70% off sales... (Gawd those were good. The only reason why I quit was lack of temptation; the new stuff is cr*p compared with the treasures I found.)
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