I’ve not kept the secret that this December, for whatever reason, DH and I got hit with so many due bills that there was nothing left over to buy each other gifts for our own Christmas. (eye exams and new eyeglasses for both of us $618, topping off propane tank $438, placing first order for a ton of pellets for our new pellet stove $256, a much needed soot vacuum for said pellet stove $155, DMV registration renewal $96, car repair of new brakes and new battery $233, unusually high food bill $$518 are just a few examples of all the bills we had to pay, in cash, all at once this month.
Needless to say, there were no gifts under our tree this year and no! we didn’t wake up Christmas morning to see if Santa came to our house, because he didn’t.
I had looked over what DH would need or could use this year coming up and I noticed he was in dire need of a new jacket or at least a warm fleece or Sherpa lined hoodie. His old faithful L.L. Bean jacket had been torn and ripped to shreds and his trusty indoor sweatshirt had bleach stains on one of the sleeves and in truth, the thing just looked like a rag on him. Neither one of us has to live like this, so why do we?
Try as I might, I just couldn’t squeeze a single penny out of our budget. That’s why. I was very tempted to just whip out my credit card, log onto Amazon or Walmart and buy him a new jacket or hoodie. But I refrained and stuck to our budget. I’d have to wait for a new billing cycle before I could spend another cent. Unfortunately, it fell on a day after Christmas. Nonetheless, I waited.
We’re usually in Florida most winters so DH really wasn’t prepared for our brutally cold northeast winters. I even dropped a hint or two to our daughters but neither one of them took the bait. I started looking at jackets both on Walmart and Amazon. Prices ranged from $49 to $65. Ouch! Going back and buying something from L.L. Bean ($99) is almost near impossible. With inflation and the rising costs of almost everything going up for us, I started a new 2022 campaign (click here) and am now going to go cheap(er) when it comes time to spend our money on anything.
Just some of the jackets, fleece/sherpa lined hoodies I was looking at:
When I got this week’s flyers in the mail, I caroused the Ocean State Job Lot flyer for the first time (because I was now aware that I had to shop smarter and cheaper) and there on one of the pages was an advertisement for sherpa lined hoodies. The jackets were a manufacturer’s close-outs and were priced at only $15. I decided to at least go and look at them to see if they were any good. When I looked at the tag, the jacket originally sold for $49.99 (that’s fifty bucks!).
Without hesitating, I purchased a nice black one for hubby (he loves black!) size Large and voila’: Perfect fit! At a perfect price! And hubby says the jacket is nice and warm. I am so glad that I was forced to wait and follow our new budget plan. Being cheap is going to be a lot of fun! Ocean State Job Lot has just become my new go-to store in 2022. I’m going to add it to my growing list of favorite discount stores (Aldi, Five-Below, Dollar Store and now Job Lot) As far as I am concerned, DH and I are off to a very good start come 2022.
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Ciphers From Cindi 
Great deal! And it looks so nice too!
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Thanks Sharon. Nick loves it!
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Perfect gift and great price! We didn’t gift either due to the heavy debt load and that’s ok!
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Hi Patti. We usually don’t gift each other but I wanted something special for my husband. He’s been a very good boy!! Thankfully it all worked out fine. We’re happy. Thanks.
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Happy Holidays, Cindi, You always seem to find a deal when there is an urgent need. I admire your tenacity. When the budget was tight in December my Mom and Dad would say well there’s a chance there may be a Gift on St Nick Day in January and if so what would you like him to bring? Perhaps you should keep your tree up and celebrate then? Sincerely, Lara
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I am curious if LLBean replaced Nick’s coat? Sincerely, Lara
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Hi Lara. I think I did address this but I’ll do it again. No prob. At first L.L. Bean was going to replace it. We even discussed colors and available sizes. Then I got this email from the supervisor who made it perfectly clear L.L. Bean was going to do everything within it’s powers NOT to replace the jacket. If they did, I had to pay an additional $40 because I bought the jacket in 2006 at $59 and the jacket now retails for $99, so I had to pay the difference. I had to pay for the shipping there and back. Even for the old jacket if they said the damage was normal wear and tear. Which BTW, I could guarantee they would say that and NOT take responsibility for the defective material. I couldn’t take the chance. Hubby uses the jacket to work in the barn. L.L. Bean says they take the old jackets and re-work them and re-sell them. Imagine that???
Anyway, I told the supervisor I was on to his ‘game’ and vowed never to buy another thing from L.L. Bean ever again. I understand in these inflationary times, retailers will do anything now to hold onto their profits. Time to move on.
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