Stores and Prices

I do not get it. I am talking about stores and their pricing system. Well, maybe I do get it and just do not want to face it. For one thing, if you have your stuff marked down to the bare minimum already, how can you cut 30-75% and expect to make enough sells to get in the black (as in out of the red on the ledger). It makes me wonder if there is complete honesty in the first place or are they using a little mind/brain manipulation. I will give a little hint here that must be a well kept secret. Most people I know get paid throughout the year, a little here, a little there. Another, must be secret, is that most people do not save all year for the so called Black Friday. Who can save these days anyway with banks and governments 'fee-ing-ing-ing-ing' us to death?

My suggestion is that stores stop trying to take people for all they can get during the year, then maybe they would not have to have stampedes to make a profit.

I do appreciate the folks who run the stores. I'd hate to have to go to South America to pick something for supper or flag a ship to China to find a cheap shirt. We got a pretty good system going here. The problem is the greed should be spread out over the entire year and the savings, if you don't mind, so we can keep some semblance of a budget and maybe we won't notice that things are marked up multiple times before we see them.

While I am on the subject, I have a question. Why is it that when the price of gas goes up, businesses tack on increases to their prices to cover the increase in cost due to that, then when the price of gas goes down, the added increases just keep lingering for ions? What did you say?

Coupons, Sales, Extra Bucks

It is almost irresistable, you go to the drug store and they give you extra bucks at the bottom of the register receipt, the grocery store prints them on the back, the website lets you print coupons right to the printer ('course some are trying to ruin that by cheating-but so far it works). It actually does save some money. Not as much as resisting those impluse items though. Anyway if you can't resist, the savings can offset the impluse. I've only recently got on this kick again. Sometimes you can go directly to a company website and find a coupon book or a special offer. They want us to do it. It helps sell their products.

Okay, it is a little aggravating, I'll admit that. People stare sometimes when you are going through the coupons. "Do I want that? I don't know. Let me see if I have a coupon or is it on sale or do you get one free?" Well, they will have to stare. If I can save some money, I can use it for something else. Might even share the savings with someone else. Example, four coupons doubled will get me a quart of oil for the car I can't afford to trade. I buy one, get one free means next week I won't have to buy that item and can look for another bargain. Eventually, the stock builds up and so do savings, i.e. money saved on the items, not necessarily money in the bank. (I wish.)

The other day I noticed that the grocery store was putting coupons for $5 off at the hardware store. Maybe that's a bag of dirt for the rose bush.

I wouldn't go buy coupons on ebay. Anybody can print coupons and ruin the whole thing. I hope that don't happen.

compassion talk.