THE NEW MATH…$AVE BY $PENDING!

THE NEW MATH…$AVE BY $PENDING!

Jacques Weisel

            Yes, it’s on the top-right hand corner of my Sunday paper, front page no less. The message is simple: SAVE MONEY…$1821 IN COUPONS INSIDE. Wow, I can’t wait to open this treasure trove of goodies. I can start a new bank account using the $1,821 which I have saved by…Uh Oh, by spending $18,210 (at 10% off)…or  only $7,284 if the discount is a full 25% off. Such a bargain! I can’t wait to go out and spend so that I can save. Talk about the new New Math.

            Coupon, from the French ‘couper’ mean to cut, as out of a newspaper or magazine. My wife Carole and her best friends have been avid ‘savers’ for many decades. The monies earned by spending enabled one of her friends to go on trips with her husband, where they could start spending again in order to save.

            Actually math is needed to figure out whether restaurant coupons, when half-off are better than ‘buy one, get one free’, OR is a full 10% off the entire bill better? And to think I almost received the Math medal in high school. The guy who beat me had an Eiffel Tower built from ice-cream pop sticks, and who could beat that? I really lost the medal because of my propensity for speaking out of turn, making jokes, since math was such a dull subject. I also lost the French Medal for the same reason, “La Comedie”.

            Anyway, Sunday morning are ‘quiet’ times, while the little woman sifts through the ads, looking for the illusive $1,821. When I hear an Ah Ha I know she’s closing in on the deal of the New Year. She does know we must be ready to spend 90, 50 or 25% in order to qualify for this week’s ‘largesse’, i.e. the offerings of the stores and restaurants.

            Sometimes we go out with friends who have matching discounts, and really put it over the eating establishments. I may be old-fashioned (no, not me) but I prefer to be able to afford full prices. What an antique idea, coming from an antique me. But I still smile watching them work the convoluted discounts into tangible, palpable savings.

            Stores are notorious for having sales all year round. They inflate their prices, then ‘cut’ them down during the 24/7 year-round sales. Since most of the goods come from China, chains of clothing and dollar stores would go out of business overnight, if China decided to trade elsewhere only. So, get your savings while you can, and enjoy!

Jacques Weisel website through NYC Agent Michael Resnik