I am always on the hunt for deals, I look at the store sale ads, and I use coupons whenever I can. Before making a big purchase I do my research, go store to store to see what all of my options are, take time to contemplate what I like best and maybe even call someone for a second opinion before heading to the register. I like to think that I do all of this because I am a smart shopper who wants to save money and get the best deal that I can, but I will also admit that a lot of it has to do with me being very indecisive in general.
Rob is pretty much the opposite kind of shopper. I don't know if he has ever clipped a coupon, and he is definitely not indecisive. He can make purchasing decisions at lightening speed. No joke, I am almost positive that he decided on and bought his car in less time than it took me to decide which outdoor plant stand I liked best at Home Goods, and this was after I had found and narrowed the decision down to 3 stands. When he sees something he likes, he buys it, it's that simple. No running around town from store to store to see what else might be out there or waiting until something goes on sale to buy it. I've known that Rob shops this way for quite some time now, as we just hit our together 7 years mark, but it didn't matter to me as much when he was using his own money for clothes from J Crew or running shoes. Now it's our money being spent on bigger items, so it matters more.
I have wanted patio furniture for our balcony since we moved into our apartment last August. Patio furniture was not very high on Rob's apartment wish list, which is probably why we still don't have more than 2 outdoor folding chairs out there right now. I was too indecisive to pick something I was willing to spend the money on, and Rob just didn't care. Last November my Mom helped me pick out the plant stand, plants, candles and outdoor rug that are currently on the balcony, and I planted new flowers in the pots this weekend since the cold weather killed most of my November plants. All that is missing is a nice place to sit.This week Target put their patio furniture in the stores, and I found an all-weather wicker love seat, chair and side table that I liked. Of course I was still debating the furniture options today, so I went online to look at the pieces again, only to find that they were on sale online and they qualified for free shipping! That was the kick in the butt I needed. I brought Rob to Target tonight to show him the furniture and he approved. All that was left to do was add it to my cart online and click purchase, right? Well, what would have taken Rob less than a minute to do, literally took me 30 minutes. To get the matching table, or not to get the matching table? Could I find one at Home Goods for less money that still looked OK? (Hello..me + Home Goods = 2 hours to shop for 1 thing) Should we splurge and get the 2 matching chairs, even though we only really need 1, because they are on sale too, or wait and just get 1 at the store? Ah they don't qualify for free shipping, now what? Rob was such a good sport, though I don't know how many more times he could have handled me showing him pictures of accent tables online and asking if he thought it would match the furniture or not.
All in all, I think it's probably best we are different kinds of shoppers, even if we stress each other out when it comes time to make a purchase. We balance each other out. I use my coupons and save us money at the grocery store each week by buying what's on sale, and Rob makes buying big items like our TV or blue ray player pretty easy and painless, which I could never do. Our patio furniture should be arriving in about a week...I hope it was worth the wait!
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