Catalog Shopping vs. Hitting The Stores On Black Friday

I'm the one on the right in the brown plaid flannel shirt.

Back in 1965 when we were growing up, my parents were never big on taking us four kids all shopping very often but we always looked forward to when the catalogs from Sears, Penney's and Montgomery Ward arrived in the mail.  We would each be able to go through them and check up to a certain number of things we would like in each one.  I think it was somewhere like five to ten items but I really don't remember the exact number.  I know we had a limit so it was a very serious task, but one we all enjoyed.  I wonder if we grew up in these times with the Internet if my mom would have gone online and requested catalogs so we could mark the things we would like.

Today, I shop by catalog too.  We get them from L.L. Bean, Whales and Friends, Brookstone and a bunch of others but I like to actually get out and go to stores too.  When I was a teenager, I went for the first time on Black Friday.  We went early in the morning and it was so much fun!  As an adult, I always look forward to getting my Christmas shopping mostly done that day and when I married Gerard, we both go now about 7 a.m. and get home around 2:00 or so.  In my younger years, I used to go all day long but then I had more shopping to do and more energy.  I do remember being wiped out though by the end of the day.  We like seeing all the holiday shoppers, hearing the Christmas music in the stores and finding some good bargains.  The only part I don't like is hunting for a seat at the food court to eat lunch.

What about you?  Do you love to shop on Black Friday?  What shopping traditions do you have?  Do you still order from catalogs?

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

We Were The Same Kind Of Shoppers--What Kind Are You?

I take after my dad in many ways so I found this little quiz interesting about shopping. When I answered the questions as my dad would have, his results were identical to mine.

Karen's & Harry's Results: You Are a Reluctant Shoppers

You really don't enjoy shopping. For you, it's just another chore. My did only shopped when he needed something which was only for groceries, gas, or hardware. He never went to the mall for anything. I like to shop for Christmas presents but when it comes to shopping for myself, I don't. My husband usually does the grocery shopping and gets the gas too so I don't even do that. You approach shopping systematically. You research what you're going to buy and come prepared with a list. My dad saved and indexed all of his "Consumer Reports" magazines and whenever he was going to buy something, he would always look it up first in his "Consumer Reports" to see what brand or type was recommended. Even at age 89 a few weeks before he died, he looked up microwaves when he decided to buy a new one and I ordered the one he wanted for from Sears. Since he pretty much bought the same groceries every week, I printed out checklists for him that he could use to just check the items he wanted for that week to save him time. It took him a long time to write once he got arthritis in his fingers. If I mentioned to my dad that we were going to buy something, he would look it up in "Consumer Reports" for me too. I also printed out a checklist for our grocery shopping that we use. Of all the types, you are the most likely to not buy things you don't need. My dad never thought he bought things he didn't need, but that's debatable. My mom didn't think he needed all the tools he kept buying and the locks that he kept for inventory--I agree with her on that one. Also, he often would stock up on things such as thermometers, heaters and air conditioners so he could have one in each room. I have a rule not to buy anything on impulse. If I see something I really like, I will think it over for a few days and then if I still want it, I'll go get it. If it's not there, then I just figure I wasn't meant to have it. My husband has learned from me to do this as well. He was an impulse buyer before we were married. I must admit, we do have DirectTV and a computer which are not really necessities but they are our prime outlets for entertainment. You try to de-emphasize stuff in your life. You find shopping and buying things to be a rather empty experience. My dad never shopped just for the fun it and neither do I. Most of our money is spent on taxes and food. I finally gave in after about 10 years and ordered a new pair of dress shoes but I haven't even opened them yet. I should go buy some new sports bras too, the two I have are worn out but like it says, we are reluctant shoppers.

What Kind of Shopper Are You? Click here to find out and please share your results in the comments with us

Harry's Electric Heater Collection & My New Heater

My dad got mad at the gas company for always charging so much (of course, he'd have his thermostat set at 78 at least). He also got mad about the estimated gas bills and would go down himself to figure out what he actually used and recalculate his bill, then send in just that amount.

Dad's solution to his high gas bills was to buy electric heaters and use those instead. He thought his electric bill was still cheaper than his gas bill would have been--I really don't know if it was or not. Fortunately, he didn't have any problem with them, even though he had many hooked up with extension cords all over the place!














top row: bedroom, living room (actually he had 3 in the living room)
middle row: dining room (2 in the dining room), kitchen,
bottom: and, of course, the cats upstairs got a couple as well
(Not all his heaters are pictured. He also had one on the porch by the Kitty Hotel and one in the basement and in his back "storage" room off of the dining room)

After he died, I collected them all and he had a total of nine. I sold some, donated several to Kitten Krazy and gave one to one of my nephews. They always made me nervous because every now and then I'd hear about a fire in a home that started because of an electric heater being too close to something that caught on fire but now here I am buying one.

Therefore, on September 4, I thought of my dad when I read a full-page article in the CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER telling about a special 48-hour promotion where you can get 2 free heaters--the cost is for the handmade mantle, which I know dad would have made himself and just got the free heaters! It said it rolls anywhere with no chimney, no vents, no wood and no smoke. I purchased one Heat Surge Fireless Flame heater to save money on my gas bills this winter. It looks like a fireplace that comes fully assembled with a handmade Amish mantle in oak or cherry. All I need to do is plug it in.

I only purchased one because I figure we are usually in one room at a time in the winter and we could put it in the bedroom at night with the thermostat turned way down. I couldn't help thinking if my dad saw it, he'd probably order 6! One for every room. I think he'd be proud of me for purchasing this so I'm using some of the money we got from the sale of his house. It works great and we like it! You can check out their website at www.heatsurge.wordpress.com to order or for further information.