Adrenaline Junkie

Anyone that knows me is well aware of my various fears and the things that give me anxiety. I am not, what one would call, a typical adrenaline junkie. I loathe roller coasters and fast cars. Heights give me panic attacks. And the mere mention of skydiving makes my stomach turn. Most of my friends love these activities. My fiancé even drives a car meant for high speeds and hard, fast turns. My kind of rush doesn't involve having a clown jump out at me at a haunted trail or wondering if a bird will hit my face on Appollos Chariot. My kind of rush is a good deal. I absolutely love walking away from a purchase knowing I got the best discount possible.

I coupon like a mad woman. Most of my grocery store visits involve me reading the price tags for the best deal possible and then adding a coupon to see just how cheap I can get an item. Half off? That's for the birds. I need things 75% off to get my thrill. I never buy clothes unless there's a red tag and even then I often wait until that tag has an .04 at the end of it so I know that baby is in its final markdown. (Bet a lot of you weren't aware of that little nugget of information.) Thrift shops weren't made famous by Mackelmore, yard sales are my reason for waking up early on Saturdays and I could have a Craigslist store with all the items I've bought. I've never paid full retail for any item in my home. Every couch has a story from some other family (don't worry I clean the stories away thoroughly when I buy them). Every knick knack to include even my candles has once been someone else's treasure. And I'm ok with that. Some call me cheap (Hi Dad!), I call it smart. The only debt I have is a house. And that's only cause I couldn't find a coupon for 200k off. My whole living room (again all thrift shop, yard sale and Craigslist finds) totals under $100 and that price tag includes 2 chairs, a couch, a sofa chair, a lamp, two rugs, a bookcase, a tv stand, curtains, coffee table, console table, picture frames and a ton of various decor. The only thing that ups the price is a tv but the man friend bought that guy (on sale of course lol).

And now I feel like my budget saviness is paying off in new ways I hadn't expected.  Planning a wedding is NOT cheap.  While fun (and a bit stressful), throwing a party for 150 of your closest friends and family takes some money smarts. Unless, of course you win a contest or your parents have generously offered to foot the entire bill.  So, it's important to find ways to save where you can.  For me, there are certain aspects where I can't be too frugal. For example my photographer. Photographers capture memories that can never be repeated and that will last a lifetime. My compromise? Finding a middle of the road price tag.  Afterall, who got better pictures? The couple that paid $1,000 for 300 crappy photos or the ones that paid $1,500 for 300 amazing shots?  

But, in order to feed my addiction to savings I'm on a mission to continue finding bargains anywhere I can. I don't plan to sacrifice beauty in this mission but I do plan to save wherever possible. A prime example is the table settings. Renting linens and glassware is money I will NEVER see again.  Sure, I could pay for convienence: they bring em in and take em out. But, what good is that convenience if I now have holes burned in my pocket? Instead I bought all my linens. Yes, I already bought them; I know I am ahead of the game. But, when I find a too good to pass it up deal, I jump on it. And that's just what happened in this case. I found all my linens for under $100 which any past (or currently searching) bride knows is a complete steal (especially when your guest tables are 72" rounds).  My venue doesn't provide anything in terms of glassware so I turned my hunt to craigslist and found a seller who recently got married and had wine glasses leftover.  I drove to Herndon on a day I was already out that way and scored 150 for under $0.40/glass.  Renting them would have cost me 10-15 cents more each! The best part about these deals is that after my wedding, I can sell these back and get some (if not all) of my money spent back!

I'm not ashamed of my love of savings. In fact, I'm proud of it. I'm not embarrassed to admit I scored my brand new dream wedding gown for over 75% off retail because I bought it from a bride who changed her mind. I'm really just bragging. And I'll never scoff at you if you give me a present and accidentally leave the clearance tag on it (which the man friend once did). I'll love it even more because I know how much work comes with being thrifty.  

By the way here is a great tip for savings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfVsfOSbJY0&sns=em