Where Are All The Deals?

So you’ve been reading Thrifty Texas Penny for a while now, and you’ve probably noticed that I don’t post a lot of online “deals” like many of the other frugal bloggers.  I get the e-mails from affiliates just like everyone else, but I choose not to post them.  I prefer for my site to have real content (thoughts, ideas, frugal musings) written by me and deals that are applicable to most readers and can be found in brick and mortar stores.  I’m thinking that if you’re interested in Alaska you’ll probably search and find the free travel Alaska package on your own.  I’d rather not waste everyone else’s time posting about such things.  Forgive me if I’m stepping on toes with this post, but I point you to my site motto “Saving You Time and Money” as my reasoning.

• Deals rob us of time.  They take time for me to write & post them and for you to sift through them.  If it’s an “excellent can’t be missed deal” I will usually only post it if it hasn’t already been posted on my favorite “deals” blogs.  For me personally, I don’t want to spend the time to print out a Q for a free drink at the convenience store and haul both kiddos into the store to get it.  Just not worth it for a free drink I didn’t need in the first place.  If it’s deals you’re looking for I recommend Common Sense with Money or Hip 2 Save. Both of these sites, and many more, do a great job at posting lots of deals all day long for you to partake in.
• Deals cost us money– often more than we think.  The more we see “great deals” the more we are tempted.  It may start with a darling outfit for our daughter at just $6.99, but then we add another dress at $18.99 to get the free shipping.  You also see an adorable little sweater vest that would be perfect for your nephew, but can’t leave out his sister.  You get the idea- pretty soon the $6.99 purchase has ballooned to $50- and we still think we’ve gotten a great deal!  Online retailers make it easy to tempt us to buy more because we don’t have to exercise our legs to go look at the items.  We save money two ways- by not spending, and by spending as little as possible on the things that must be bought.  Most online deals are only tempting us to spend money on things we don’t truly need. We want because we have, and we will only want more because we have more.  Eventually we have to realize that what we have is enough.
• Deals tempt us to “keep up with the Jones'” because we think we can afford to as such great prices.  I do believe that it’s great to splurge on some nice things at great prices every once in a while.  I even promote the local deals for restaurants because eating out is a treat that my family enjoys and is more memorable than a new pair of pants that I bought for $4.99 online.  The problem with shopping online deals is that we begin to feel like we always have to have those things- and they may not always be at such great discounts.  We all have to step back and decide if what we have for our families is enough.  Are 7, 14, or 21 outfits for your 6 yr old’s winter wardrobe enough?  Will those clothes mean more to your kids than the time spent doing something with your kids?  What’s best for your family may be different than mine, and that’s ok!
• It’s easy to run out of time for being economical when we are hunting for online deals. When I first started following a few blogs with online deals, I would spend too much time making sure I didn’t miss out on something good.  I can’t count the number of nights I would end up putting in a frozen pizza for dinner because I was reading blogs instead of cooking.  I finally had to take a step back and realize that it wasn’t worth my time to real all these blogs (that had 95% of the same deals BTW) if it cost me time with my family and a higher grocery cost cancelled out any online savings I found.

If you’re still reading this I hope you see what I want this website to be: A place where you can come to learn (or remind yourself) how to save money and save it on the things that you would spend money on in the first place.  Being frugal is a way of life.  It’s not just about getting the best deal.  If it’s a deal on something you didn’t need in the first place- it’s no deal at all.  Being frugal is about saving money, saving time, and saving energy.  This blog is about all three.

Forgive me if I’ve offended anyone that likes to shop the online deals.  I just want to share what this blog is about and why it is that way.  I could post all the deals that advertisers and affiliates send me, but I can’t in good conscience because that would be putting my interests ahead of your own.  I’m not here to turn a huge profit because you click through an affiliate link.   (this is why most affiliates and advertisers are on my sidebar and not in the content portion of the page) The money I receive from affiliates goes directly towards paying for the cost of running this website.  It is a ministry to share with each of you each week and to help you be more efficient in your homes.  That, my friends, is enough for me.

This post was originally published on February 19th, 2011.