A Very Good Shopping Day

Mark doesn't get why I have a lot of individual store credit cards -- Nordstrom, Dillards, Penney's, Macy's, Talbots etc. He thinks if I'm going to charge something, I should just put it all on one generic card. I have tried to explain to him that there are extra benefits that come to store cardholders. This morning was a great example of that.

We bought a lot of things that required very little cash. Why? Mostly because of the side benefits of the store cards. (Some of the freebies came from other sources but the store card benefits paid off today).

First we went to Nordstroms to find me a pair of Mary Jane Crocs in a neutral color that I can wear with anything (as that's all I'll be wearing for a while with my right foot recovering from surgery, and then upcoming surgery on the left). I used a gift card that I received for my birthday to cover that. Cost to me? Nothing. I still had nearly $20 credit on the gift card. We moved on to Build-a-Bear, where Maya bought a Cinderella outfit for one of her bears. Our cost? Not much -- she had a $10 gift certificate Build-a-Bear had sent her -- probably because we spend way too much money there.

Next stop, Macy's, where I had 20% off coupon -- which Natie used, buying some great markdowns -- plus that extra 20% off. We moved on to Victoria's Secret where I had a $10 gift card and a coupon for a free gift -- so we got lip gloss (one for me and one for Maya!) and the freebie gift, worth around $10 more. Cost to us? Nothing. Next, we stopped in at JC Penney, where I had a $10 coupon for anything . We found a necklace marked way down that Natie loved so she picked that up. Out of pocket? Zip.

Chick-Fil-A was our choice for lunch and were amused by the fact that we paid more there than anywhere else, but I did have a coupon for a free sandwich, which we used. Nothing wrong with that! Finally, we stopped back in at Nordstrom on the way out and fitted Mason for a new pair of Converse, got a Jibbitz for Maya for her Crocs, and used up the rest of my gift card there. I think we had to pay another $6 or something.

Not all the bonuses came from having store cards, but many did. That's why I love the store cards -- deals! A good day shopping is still better than just about anything else.