Let the Enticing Begin …

Day 18

Let the Enticing Begin …

Today Only Sale! Biggest Sale of the Year! Just Arrived! Final Clearance!

The competition for our fashion dollar is furious and unrelenting. I love it. I love the sale ads in the weekend newspaper, the television ads and even the email blasts. I don’t want to be the poor soul who missed the (pick one) trend, deal or must-have.

Over the past couple years I’ve become particularly fond of the store discount coupon. Often a reward for using a store-sponsored credit card, they arrive in your mailbox like a little secret message. Kohl’s is my favorite. You actually “peel to reveal” your savings. Talk about anticipation! A tiny piece of paper is lifted away to divulge how much I will be saving my family. Before he went to college, my son was the designated peeler. I would wait for him to return from school, dancing around with the coupon. C’mon, peel it. Big discount, big discount! He would make a big show of covering the coupon, seeing the amount of the discount for himself, and then slowly let his expression reveal the discount to me. Was it 15%, 20%, the coveted 30%? When he went away to school last fall I actually mailed a coupon to his college dorm with a self-addressed stamped envelope so he could reveal then mail back to me. The coupon expired by the time I got it back. Sorry Joey, I’ll be peeling the coupons from now on.

Never sure if the coupon received is random or formulated, I assumed they track my buying habits and respond accordingly. Visiting the store often? 15%. Haven’t seen you in a while? 20%. Zero balance on your store credit card? 30%! (Just a theory, I have no idea how it really works) The truth is—those coupons work to get us in the store.

My first Kohl’s coupon of 2012? 30%. Of course. They must know about the challenge.

I expect this will be the beginning of a year of increasing offers. I considered notifying my favorite stores of my challenge so they could reduce stock accordingly. Hey Kohl’s, Parisian, T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and Target! I may be looking but I won’t be buying. Send me your coupons, lovely sale ads and catalogs. You’ll have to get through this year without me.

Anyone need a 30% off Kohl’s coupon?

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