On my Improbability Trough blog, I wrote about the Divine Within and giving. While giving to others is great, there are few thrills to compare with the thrill of the hunt.
My wife and I started Black Friday at 3am. Fifteen minutes later we were in a line at Target. We estimate a minimum of a hundred or two people in front of us. The line went behind us about twice that number. An hour later an employee came down the line. We actually remembered him from last year. He asked us what we were there to buy and we told him. Oh, yes. There were plenty of the item we were there to buy. Only three people in front of us were after the same item. That was our large purchase. We also found all of the lesser expensive gifts we sought to buy.
The rush started. I don't mean the rush of shoppers, though that, too, started. I mean the shopper's rush of getting that goodie you wanted to buy. The only other rush I know to use as a comparison is the rush of winning a prize, something we do often. Whether it's endorphins or adrenaline, I can't answer, but I like the way it feels.
From Target we headed to half a dozen other stores, making repeat visits throughout the day. You have to prioritize. If an item is on a two day sale, you have to leave it for later. You must keep to a meticulous schedule to get the sales that will end at 11am. Some items were very inexpensive, most, actually, on my budget, but you still have to plan your route to get those inexpensive gifts at the inexpensive prices.
I think that at the end of the day we saved about $600. Contrary to what you might think, we did not spend much more than that same amount. We nearly doubled our value in buying. Lest you think we go way overboard for Christmas, my in-laws and grandmother-in-law all send checks to us before Christmas. We do all the shopping for our family for them, wrap the presents and put the labels on from them. They think that is well worth the price to avoid all the shopping and wrapping.
After Black Friday comes Cyber Monday. Once again we found a few more deals we didn't find in Friday's ads. Christmas is almost ready. Decoratins are going up. Purchases are arriving as scheduled in the mail and we still have over three weeks to go.
What a rush!
Twist
