May Sock Done and Extreme Thrift

I finished the second garter rib sock today at our Wednesday Sit 'n Knit at Kniterary.
That fulfills my sock quota for the month of May. I'm now trying to determine what pattern to knit for June and July.

Last night I hauled my big suitcase up from the basement to get ready to pack for our upcoming holiday. When I opened it, I remembered that the plastic zipper teeth on the back corner had pulled away from the zipper tape for a couple of inches. It was still operable but I was worried it might completely disfunction at some inopportune moment on our trip. Rats! I needed to get a new suitcase. What to do. What to do.

I got on the computer and checked Costco, Sears and The Bay. Nothing was on sale and I didn't want to pay $200 for a suitcase. Through the HBC site I looked at what Zellers had and found they had 4 suitcase brands on sale this week. Yippee! Not only were they on sale, they were discounted between 60% and 75% - depending on the brand. I also remembered I have accumulated over 200,000 HBC reward points and discovered I could cash some of them in for a gift card. As today was the second last day of this sale, Skip suggested I go to a less frequented Zellers for better selection.

Once at Zellers, I found the luggage section at the far left corner of the store. The sale items weren't very well marked so I walked all the way back to the entrance at the opposite corner to get the sale flyer. I spent about 3/4 of an hour checking the weights of the various sale items and testing the zippers, etc. I selected one brand that was light weight and had a good, sturdy zipper.
Then I noticed a second aisle full of luggage and took a look at another brand that was on sale. I found the 28" piece that met all of my criteria plus it stood more upright than the one I had previously selected. So again, I checked all the zippers and the exterior for any defects and made my selection. From $200, it was marked down to $70. I then remembered that my 20" suitcase that I use even more than the larger case, was starting to wear out so I found the equivalent one to match my new one. It was marked down to $52.50 from $150 - Woo Hoo!!!

I then went to customer service and cashed in 160,000 of my HBC Reward points for a $20 gift card. When I went to check out, the cashier told me that if I applied for an HBC credit card, I could get an additional 15% off.

So with the sale price, using the gift card and applying for the credit card, instead of paying $395.50 including tax, I only paid $97 including tax. What a rush! Now I understand how those people on that new TLC show "Extreme Couponing" feel like.

And I can use my old suitcases for yarn storage!