I am passionate about getting good deals, which makes me extremely passionate about going to garage sales and visiting our local thrift stores. There is nothing that thrills me more than to get to spend an hour hunting through all of the “junk” to find that one memorable treasure to bring home with me. I have always been this way, even when we had much more money than we do now.
has always been an outlet for me and now that we are eating at home more, I am able to use our dining out allowance to score some really great thrift store finds, without busting the budget.
It is hard to explain this passion to someone who doesn’t experience it…like my husband, for example. He loves me and patiently nods as I go through each
dea
l I found, but I don’t see the passion for it although he does appreciate the things that I find that are just for him.
This weekend our parents kindly offered to watch the children for New Year’s Eve. They came and picked the kids up at one in the afternoon and we had an entire day to do whatever we wanted. Guess what I begged my husband to go and do with me? Yup, hit the local Goodwill and he wasn’t exactly jumping for joy.
He tried to be a good sport about it, but I could see that this and the craft store were not how he planned to spend the day. I told him how much fun it would be and about the people that work there, how nice it is…basically, anything to convince the poor guy that this was worth doing. 
Imagine my surprise when my husband enjoyed going to Goodwill with me. He hunted through books and browsed the housewares with me. We pointed out things that we had when we were little and laughed at some of the more vintage pieces. We honestly had the best time.
When we walked out of there with two enormous bags full of goodies for only twenty bucks, he looked at me and told me he finally understood why I love to do this type of shopping. It is a cheap thrill that allows me to escape. Sometimes I might find some great deals, some days I leave with nothing. The point is, it is the thrill of the hunt and knowing that I am not blowing our budget in the process.
On this occasion, here are some of the highlights that we managed to leave with.
Two pictures for the walls in our kitchen ($1.50 each).
A vintage set of wooden dominoes (one of my favorite purchases and only $5)
A Liz Claiborne Purse (which my husband shook his head at me and told me he didn’t like it because he said I already have enough purses- $2)
A Pampered Chef apple slicer, peeler, corer with wooden stand (which I had planned on having a party just for this item because it is so pricey- $5)
12 Little Golden Books (which I am saving to give for the countdown to Christmas that I give to my son to countdown the days of December- $6)
I also left with a husband who understands my need to thrift. Now that, my friends, is PRICELESS!