Shopping 101

Sunday was a rainy, gloomy day, so Fred and I went to town. First we shopped at Menards for basement windows and a rake. (boring) I admit that Menards has improved its appeal for women by adding new items/departments, but it's still basically a "man's store"--not my favorite place to indulge in retail therapy.
After Menards we went to Kohl's, where Fred had his first experience as a Most Valued Customer. It was a Kohl's Cash weekend--you get $10 back in "Kohl's Cash" for every $50 that you spend. I patiently explained to him that we had to spend money to save money. After almost 25 years of being married to me, he still doesn't get that concept. When I was manager of Country Treasures and had a 30% discount, he questioned the value of the numerous bags of stuff I brought home over the years. Men! Now he can be satisfied knowing that I'll never have to buy another thing for the house as long as I live. Was I thinking ahead or what?!
We went to the shoe department to get him a pair of running shoes so we can start training for the Rump Roast Run. $31 on the way to 50. There were some nice Wisconsin Badgers hats 55% off, so we grabbed one of those. I picked out a couple reed diffusers for Mother's Day at $3.99 apiece. Ok, only four more bucks and we get our first $10 in Kohl's Cash. I cruised through the picture frames and found a $4 frame, then had a brainstorm. Since Fred was there with me, it was a good time for him to pick out some jeans and pants for work. He tried on a pair of khakis and took them, along with another pair of a different color, as well as some jeans. $60!! We're over $100 now, but I also have a 15% off coupon and don't want that to put us under 100 and jeopardize my second $10 in Kohl's Cash. I could use some athletic socks, so while Fred investigates the kitchen gadgets, I throw some socks in the cart. Now we're set; I've done the math in my head and it's all good. I check out while he goes out in the rain to get the truck. After my 15% off coupon, my total is $103 and I get $20 "cash" back to use there this week. Woohoo! Fred can't say I bought a bunch of useless stuff for myself because most of it was for him. I think he actually enjoyed shopping there. He kept saying, "Yup, old Herb Kohl saved us so much money, he'll probably have to get a second job now." Hopefully he now understands that we saved more because we spent more. (Just so he doesn't think this concept also applies at Menards.)