Those haggling skills have paid off

All that honing has paid off. We've lashed out and bought a new lounge suite - a brand new lounge suite. We did take a couple of afternoons and shopped around, going to anywhere that was advertising a sale and ending up at the clearance centres. The suite we decided on was at a clearance centre and was already discounted $500 (according to the price tag) because it was the end of that particular design. After a little haggling the price came down another $50 and they threw in the Scotchguard treatment and delivery (another $210). I think they were glad to get us out of the place. So sometime next week a brand, spanking new three piece lounge suite will be delivered. I'm kind of excited simply because we have only bought a couple of things new in the last 20 years - our bed, the lounge suite in the loungeroom and our new fridge. Everything else we own has been a gift, bought second hand, given to us second hand or scrounged from hard rubbish. Now the kids are older I'm seriously hoping that the risk of accidental spills and marks will be almost nil. I may have to instigate some new rules for the family room.

Next job is to list find a home for the sofas we have at the moment. Thinking of donating them to the Year 12 common room at school. They are sturdy and strong, just look untidy with the loose covers. I don't think teenagers are going to worry too much about how they look. I'll ask at school tomorrow and if the answer is yes Wayne can drop them off next week on his day off. I'm handing them on rather than sending them to the tip because I actually feel a little guilty at spending money on new furniture just because I don't like the look of what we have. I know I shouldn't feel guilty at moving something that doesn't make me smile on, it's just that I'm still in Essential Spending mode and struggling to spend any money at the moment. I dare say this moment will pass :)

At lunchtime today I met some Cheapskates Club members for a chat and 3 hours later I left, and the only reason I left then was to pick the kids up from school. Boy can those girls talk! We had an absolute blast getting to know each other and sharing ideas and best of all it didn't cost us anything. We all took our lunch and drinks and happily sat and gossiped and compared sandwich fillings. Thanks so much for your time Sandra and Debbie and for inviting me to have lunch with you both, I love that I can read your tips and forum messages and be able to put a face to them. If there are any members in Melbourne who'd like to get together just let me know, I'm always ready for a coffee and a natter as Keren knows too and I'd really like to meet every single one of you if I could.

Thankfully dinner was organized before I left to meet the ladies. Potatoes were cooked and cooling in the fridge for potato salad, coleslaw just needed the dressing and the slice was made early this morning before the kitchen became too hot to bear so even though we were late home from school, I wasn't even tempted to order pizza or chips much to the kids' disgust.