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I have a confession to make. Sometimes I feel a need to shop. The thrill of going out into the world, finding shiny new items and making them mine is just sometimes too much to tame. And I know I’m not alone here. I’m convinced that this Urge to Shop which many woman (and even some men) seem to possess stems from our natural hardwired tendency to hunt and gather. We no longer need to go and track food, or to forage for berries so we fulfill this same internal drive by heading to a strip mall and hunting down the latest and greatest in whatever items catch our fancy.

Fortunately, I’ve found a way to harness this instinct and turn it into something positive. I now celebrate Sunday Deal Day. Sunday Deal Deal is when my CVS week resets (I know some stores reset on Saturday, but I personally like to wait until Sunday so I can start the week of right!). Sunday Deal Day is a day when I have all morning to head out to the stores with enticing ads and to fill the back of my car with tons of amazing bargains. Today, for example, I got a car full of Charmin and Bounty. I stocked up on four boxes of frosted flakes; nutterbutter cookies and Lorna Dunes, Aussie shampoo, and a whole bunch of assorted other stuff.

This Deal Catching game has worked out wonderfully for me. It has satisfied my “shopping” urge- I no longer really feel the need to go to the mall or browse around T.J. max (my old favorite hobbies) because I get that “thrill of the hunt” that comes with tracking down the perfect items and making a purchase. In fact, in many ways it is even more thrilling because there is an added element to the game besides mindlessly placing items in a cart and paying. It is the element of the Bargain, and each week I challenge myself to get even more useful stuff than the last, for even less money.

So now, my primal urge to splurge is satisfied for a lot less money, and we have a lot more useful items. While I did have a slight net loss of Extracare Bucks today (because of the Bounty and Charmin, I lost about $4 per transaction on that but we’ll use it!) I spent virtually no cash and we’re now well stocked on our disposable paper goods. We have about 150 individual rolls of paper towels stored in various locations throughout our house. We’re up to approximately 40 individual rolls of Charmin toilet paper, which should be close to a one year supply.

There are, however, two challenges I face with Sunday deal days (aside from obvious storage and organization issues which will be discussed in a later post).

The first is trying to ensure that I get enough of the deal to last until I am able to get a deal at least equally as good; without buying too much and then being overstocked if a better deal comes along. I am trying to track the cycle that CVS uses to put things on sale or to offer Extracare Buck deals on various products, but CVS doesn’t seem to have a whole lot of rhyme or reason to the system (please, if someone has more insight on this… fill me in). The rule of thumb with grocery stores seems to be that items will hit “rock bottom” prices every 12 weeks.

I try to aim for a 3-4 month supply of everything that we need on a regular basis. I’ve become much more familiar with the amount of product that we go through, so I’m able to account for how long X amount of rolls will last us.

However, the problem, when items are free or cost almost nothing, is to not think of them as “free”. In our society, things are often assigned value based on how much we paid for them. Some frugal people will rewash Ziplocs, or cut open toothpaste tubes, or do any number of other things to ensure there is no waste. It is much harder to find that same incentive to conserve when you know you have a cabinet full of the items.

This pretty much sums up the second challenge I face with “Sunday Deals”. If I purchase a three month supply of an item, but we use twice as much of the item because its easy to say “oh just grab a paper towel, we have a whole garage full” then not only does my stockpile not last long enough, but the amount of money I save is reduced because we now need more product.

I have been trying to curb these wasteful impulses by reminding myself that my consumption doesn’t just impact my pocketbook, but also the planet as well. I got a little reminder of that yesterday when an elderly CVS customer shook her head at my paper towel tower and muttered to me about my lack of care regarding the Environment. Over consumption is still over consumption, even if it is of free items!

So, my advice. Start a “Sunday Deal Day”. It doesn’t have to be on Sunday and you don’t have to “CVS” or go to grocery stores if that doesn’t strike your fancy. The idea is to find a way to satisfy your shopping urge by buying things you NEED for as little money as possible. Perhaps start a list of gifts you’ll need to purchase throughout the year, or clothes you need for work or things you absolutely must have for the house; and send your Sunday’s hunting thrift stores and clearance or garage sales to find these items (sort of like a frugal scavenger hunt). If there is something you want during the week or you feel an irresistible urge to shop, remind yourself of your own Sunday Deal Day and add the item to your list. But, remember to keep a little voice in the back of your head that reminds you that your consumption affects more than your pocket book, and use that little voice to keep your Sunday Deal Day at a fun and manageable level.