Every year I venture out, in search of the ideal gift and return home with more items for myself than my recipients. I am admittedly a shopaholic. And although I have been doing so well the last few months, the receipt of an unexpected bonus sent me over the edge, apparently a result of pent up frustration from lack of purchasing.

So last week I found myself at one of my favorite bargain stores. And actually I was stopping in to look for dresses, which are a steal at this store, but you have to check back often. As I’m sure my fellow shoppers out there are aware, bargain stores are hit or miss so if you have no patience you should avoid these retail establishments.

I have a methodical routine for this type of store. With my mini-cart, I walk through the new arrivals section in the front to see if anything catches my eye, slowly making as I my way to the dresses. This is where I spend the majority of my time before heading to the dressing room. I skip the numerous racks of tops, pants, skirts, jackets, etc. as these provide little reward in return for the hours spent digging through them. Once out of the dressing room, I browse the bags for designer bargains, and maybe a quick walk through the home section before heading out. It’s quite efficient actually and it keeps me from getting overwhelmed.

This particular day proved to be extremely productive, not to mention eventful. After browsing the racks of dresses and filling my cart, I made a beeline for the dressing room and happily emerged with six successes. I proceeded to the bags where I expected to find little as I had been in the store several times recently with no luck in purses. So you can imagine my surprise when I immediately found two Michael Kors bags in the first row! Adrenaline took over and I became completely focused on my search, grabbing each new bag and flinging it into my cart.

My concentration was suddenly broken by a fellow shopper asking if the bag she was trying on was too big. ‘No it’s so cute…is that BCBG?’ And an instant shopping bond was born. We spent the next 30 minutes zeroing in on high-end bags and trying to select our favorites as not to break the bank, which contrary to popular belief is possible even at discount stores. Thank goodness my newly acquired shopping buddy knocked some sense into me and talked me down from six bags to two. Her wise proclamation are a shoppers words to live by: Only get the ones that you will die without. So that’s what I did, escaping with a final total somewhere around $500, thankful that I put back 4 of the 6 bags. Merry Christmas to me!

Tags: bargains, deals, designer bags, shopping