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How Far Are You Willing To Go To Save Money?

May 24, 2010 · 152 comments

in Personal Finance

This past weekend, Old Navy had their annual ‘One Dollar Flip Flop’ sale.

Personally, I am not a fan of the flip-flop.  My feet have never adjusted to that ‘spike’ between the toes.   However, I know some people that love them, and this sale is a priority to them.

This makes me chuckle.  These one dollar sandals are pretty darn cheap every day of the week.   But I know people that will stand in line for an hour to buy these sandals, several pairs of them at that.  Of course, you better get to Old Navy early or the decent colors may be gone.  It is an insane mess on One Dollar Flip Flop day, and I really think some people thrive on this type of activity.

I do not.  I hate it.  Just like I hate shopping on the day after Thanksgiving.  For many, it may be more about the fun of shopping and getting a deal than actually getting something they really need.

This sale at Old Navy makes me think of trade-offs.  I admit, I do not know the exact price of these flip flops on an ordinary day, but I think it is around $3.50, at full price.  So to save $2.50, people will get up early, stand in line, deal with people reaching, grabbing, pulling, and more.  If you buy 5 pairs of flip flops, you are saving about $12.50.

For me, saving $12.50 is not worth me giving up my Saturday morning, and for something we probably don’t even need.  I do recognize I may be an anomaly though as I hate flip flops, but I could buy them for my daughter if I was so inclined.  On the flip-side, I am an extensive coupons clipper and user, which others may regard as not worth their time for the amount of money they will save.

So that leads me to my question, how far are you willing to go to save money?  Were you at Old Navy this weekend?  What is your ‘savings hang up’?

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{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }

Young Mogul May 24, 2010 at 11:16 am

I loathe shopping, in general, and hate sales because they are like a cattle call. Additionally, I hate flip flops as well because as a High-Heeled Girl all day, everyday, flats–especially THAT flat–cause HORRIBLE pain to the arches of my feet. So, the question, how far would I go to save moeny….

I, honestly, don’t know. What I do know is that, in order for me to save money, it would have to be a way that was meaningful to me. It wouldn’t matter if 99% of the population wouldn’t apply the method as long as it made sense to me. And I am not one who believes in the “spend money to save money” method, which is what this Old Navy Flip Flop sale is to me. Most of those people pouring into Old Navy woudln’t even be buying Flip Flops if it were not for the sale. This, in my opinion, is a waste of money no matter how cheap the item is.

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Kris May 24, 2010 at 8:17 pm

Hi Young Mogul,
I was reading an article about this sale from 2009 and they said there was 1000 people waiting outside Old Navy within an hour of the store opening. That is unbelievable.

I couldn’t agree with you more, it is a colossal waste of money, and an even bigger waste of time.

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Divine and Debt Free May 24, 2010 at 5:08 pm

I think this post is so funny because I was so hype about those 1 dollar flip flops then later on in the day after running so many errands I forgot to stop by n pick em up. Then I said to myself “wait a minute mikki on a normal day they are only $3.50 and you don’t even wear flip flops!” lol

I have stood in line for a black friday sale and hump don’t ask me where the stuff I brought from 3 black fridays ago is, because I have no idea lol

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Kris May 24, 2010 at 8:18 pm

So you almost gave in to the marketing savvy of Old Navy! 🙂 I am sure the only colors that wold have been left by the time you got there was mustard yellow or olive green!

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The Wealth Artisan May 24, 2010 at 6:47 pm

Hey Kris,

I saw this and was floored because I was reading an article today about decorating these types of sandals. I forget where I started but I always seem to end up clicking links and reading the strangest things. Anyways, I’m not a big shopping fan, but I’m always amazed at how many people are willing to wait hours upon hours for those black Friday “sales.”

Anyways, I found the article in my history so I’ll include a link below.

http://hubpages.com/_wear/hub/flip-flops

Thanks,
Timothy
Wealth Artisan Team Member
http://WealthArtisan.com

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Kris May 24, 2010 at 8:21 pm

Hello Wealth Artisan! Maybe you were meant to buy some flip flops in the near future!

My daughter’s soccer team decorated their flip flops while at a tournament and had a great time doing it.

If I was going to wait hours in line for a deal, it would be to get a laptop or something, not flip flops that are probably bad for my feet!

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Rebecca The Greeniac May 24, 2010 at 7:53 pm

I’m with the Mogul on this one… well except for the high heels part! Seriously though, if it’s not something that you NEED, then you’re wasting your money no matter how cheap it is! It’s like, “Hey, we’re giving away free pieces of crap to clutter up your life and make you feel just a little bit more overwhelmed! Come and get ’em ’cause they’re FREE!” Your time is too valuable to waste on shopping for things that you don’t need or even want, and so is the space in your closet!

Yours in Frugal Green-ness,
Rebecca The Greeniac
http://www.GreeniacDigest.com

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Kris May 24, 2010 at 8:26 pm

Hello Greeniac, thanks for stopping by!

I also hate heels! Had enough of that back when I was forced to wear hose and heels every day to work.

You aren’t kidding about just adding more clutter to your existence. We have so many shoes in the house with the 5 of us, we don’t have room for even extra flip flops. Not to mention I would have gone insane being around all those screaming, grabbing people.

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Diane May 24, 2010 at 8:45 pm

I stopped by Old Navy during the $1 flip flop sale last year about 2pm thinking that I would just grab a few pairs for the girls. Silly me! The line wrapped around the inside of the store and the flip flop display was full of brown and hunter green. I was mad all the good colors were gone but by the time I got to my car I was laughing! I couldn’t believe how worked up i got over saving $5!

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Kris May 24, 2010 at 10:01 pm

Diane-
The limit was 5 pairs, so you could have saved 12.50 had you bought the limit! Think of all those nice brown flip flops that could be lying on your laundry room floor right now!!

Of course, what you should have done is properly planned this year and gotten up at the crack of dawn to get some fuschia or sky blue flip flops. 🙂

Thanks for commenting!

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Money Reasons May 24, 2010 at 9:16 pm

We don’t shop the day after Thanksgiving either. (hate the crowds, even if there are great deals. Plus I feel like cattle when I stand in those lines).

As for flip flops, I hate feeling that post between my toes too… But I do like Sandals (at least the ones without anything between my toes).

The funny thing is, some of us probably drive from home, wasting a trip just to buy those flip flops, not calculating the extra money wasted in gas. For some, it might be a game, so maybe there’s a bit of worth in the potential enjoyment in that manner… but not for me 🙂

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Kris May 24, 2010 at 10:02 pm

Money Reasons – I totally think it has to be the game for many of these shoppers. To me, it would be the game from hell though. Plus, those flip flops look so awful so quickly, yuck.

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Budgeting in the Fun Stuff May 25, 2010 at 2:36 pm

I am willing to do online research to save money. I am willing to cut coupons for 20 minutes a week to save money. I’m willing to call a lot to save money. I’m willing to drive a little out of my way to save guaranteed money (I call and make sure whatever I need is still there).

I am not willing to wait in long lines or big crowds to save money. Ever. I have no patience and crowds make me nervous.

I did call the same Game Stop every other day for two months before the Wii was first released that Christmas in 2006. I didn’t want to wait in lines, but I wanted to get hubby a Wii for Christmas. I ended up befriending the Gamestop lady (Christine) who totally hooked me up the day after Christmas. She called and asked if I could get to the store in 10 minutes (I lived 5 minutes away)…I said yes and she said she’d save me one. I think I made it there in 4 minutes and left 3 minutes later with a HUGE grin since she had already sold out and indeed saved me one. Hubby thought I could walk on water, woot! No lines, just friendly begging, lol.

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Kris May 25, 2010 at 8:34 pm

BFS- nice job on the Wii, I am sure that scored you points for a long time!! It is so true, if you build a relationship, you are much more likely to get the help you need. I think so many people treat the service industry workers like garbage that I am sure it was very refreshing for her to have a nice, appreciative customer.

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BW May 26, 2010 at 9:08 am

I mistakingly stopped at ON on Saturday morning, not aware of the $1 flip flop sale. What a mistake! It was 10am and the line was wrapped around the store with women holding many pairs of cheap flip flops in their hands. BTW – none of them looked very happy. Since I was with my 2 year old, there was no way I was waiting in that long line to buy anything I may have found there that morning. So, we promptly left. What a joke!

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Kris May 26, 2010 at 12:12 pm

BW – So glad you weren’t sucked in! So Old Navy, like Disney, is not always the ‘happiest place on earth’. 🙂

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Gamestop coupon club August 3, 2011 at 3:48 am

I think it is more adventurous to share active coupon, so doing that ans saving money. It is really interesting that there are a lot of active coupons for this great store. Thanks

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