I just returned from visiting my brother’s family in Virginia. I found that a man’s definition of shopping is different from a woman’s!

My brother asked me if I wanted to go shopping, and I said, “Sure”!

He took us to a BassPro shop.

I told my nephew, who was riding with us, that I couldn’t believe my brother was taking me to a “fish” store.

He replied, “There’s hunting stuff there, too!”

Actually, my brother picked up some pretty wonderful fudge there and I am glad we went! Then he took us to a mall.

My husband used to hate to shop with me because I have been Frugalfish my whole life. My goal was to find the best bargain. I wanted to go through each store in the mall and look through all of the clearance racks. It took forever!

After being housebound for the last eight years, my priorities changed. I get to shop a couple of times a year and I keep a running list of items I would like to find. I can order anything online, but the smaller items are not available and you pay three times the price in shipping costs.

This trip I took my list of items that I could not buy in my area.  It may seem odd that there are items I can’t find, but in the county next to the one I live in…

“… There’s not a single stoplight or fast-food restaurant…Nope – just small farms amid rolling hills and picturesque villages nestled along the meandering Des Moines River.” Our Iowa Magazine August/September 2012

When we got to the mall, with my brother’s family, I looked at my list and only went to the stores that would have those items. I actually finished shopping a half an hour before my brother…who was shopping with my niece!

Later, when coming home, we stopped at an outlet mall, and after looking at the available stores, I left!  I was shopping the list, not the mall.

My biggest test came on the final day when I got to the mall in St. Louis with a “Macy’s” store that had three stories. Since I had been in the other stores at other malls, I only shopped at “Macy’s”.  I still shopped my list and finished before my husband and son bought their matching “St. Louis Cardinals” baseball caps. (Buy one, get one half off!)

That does not mean I did not find any bargains on my trip. I did look at clearance racks, when I had time, but only in my selected stores.  I bought a couple of items that were not on my “Need” list. They were on my “Desire” list, but at 70% off, I could not pass them up. They were a large turkey roasting pan and three chafing dishes. I will “need” them this Thanksgiving when I host the extended family dinner.

I spent the last eight years boxing up my bargains, from malls and garage sales, that I really did not need, and donating them to Goodwill.  If you don’t need it; it’s not a bargain. It’s clutter!