Lucky day

Ever have a day where you run errands and it works out better than you expected? That happened this morning.

My first stop was Home Depot, where I returned a can of paint and some molding. I got a store credit for what I'd paid--but it still felt like a profit because I was suddenly $40 richer. On the way back to the car, I found a five dollar bill in the parking lot. No one around, so I pocketed it and drove to Staples, my next stop.

As I shopped for some paper, I found 100% recycled for less than the price I usually pay for 30% recycled. It's a lower-grade finish, but works fine for my purposes, and I can now add "Printed on 100% recycled paper" to my correspondence. I had a coupon, but it turned out I needed to spend $25 to save $5. I found a couple of folders I needed, a drawing template I'd forgotten I needed, and some hanging folders that will help me improve my filing system. I also answered an in-store survey about a new shredder they're thinking of carrying (which, by the way, was very nice: it'll take 100 sheets at a time, and will even shred paper clips and staples) and received a $10 coupon. So I left the store with $28 worth of stuff that I needed anyway, and only paid thirteen and change for it! With the fiver I found, I was almost twenty bucks ahead.

Sometimes small, unexpected victories are the sweetest.