The Sincerest Form of Flattery: Part Seven

It's been a while since I've done a Copycat Project post. You can find the "official" (yeah, those are air quotes) explanation here, but the long and short of it is this: I haven't updated my blogroll in forever and a day, and rather than update it now I find it much more fun to tell you incrementally about blogs I read (that, uh, you might want to read too, if that wasn't already obvious). Each blog gets its own post, written in the style of, or about the topic of, the recommended blog. Hence the fun little "Copycat Project" name.

I don't think I'm ever going to do one of these with an intro paragraph under 100 words. Oh well.

So, today I'm suggesting that you go visit Kasey at Thrifty Little Blog. She's a girl after my own heart, living within her means, balancing needs and wants, and generally being mindful of her spending.

Now, I'm pretty frugal in general (movies from the library for the win!), but my patience along with a generous helping of luck and generosity landed me a thrifty score last week that impressed even me. I'd been wanting to buy some downhill skis, having really enjoyed the two days of skiing I did about a year ago. (Skiing beats snowboarding by a MILE, by the way. I was actually able to move down the mountain instead of, say, clomping along on the bunny slope and throwing in the towel mid-way through a four-hour lesson. Ahem.)

Anyway, I thought about scouting out Craigslist for used skis. There was one pair for about $200 that I was afraid to bite the bullet on, not having much knowledge as to what signifies a good pair of used skis and what to steer clear of. I got a gift card to a local ski shop for Christmas, and I figured I could use it during an end-of-season sale: still spendy, but I'd be getting reliable skis from a reputable source. The gift card hung out under a magnet on the fridge for a few months as I put off what I expected would be a sizeable purchase.

Here's where the luck comes in: my fantastic mother-in-law, who hits the slopes often and is planning to upgrade from "intermediate" to "experienced" skis for next season, is giving me her old skis. And when I say "her old skis," I really mean "the skis she's been using up until now, which have been meticulously cared for and are no doubt in excellent condition." My mother-in-law is a lovely woman who doesn't foist her opinions on me or The Awesome Husband, AND she's giving me her skis? How lucky am I!?

With gift card in hand, The Awesome Husband and I did actually hit an end-of-season sale, but we made a bee-line for the ski boots. I started glancing at some of the price tags on the display models while the sales guy went to get the right size for me to try on: $300... $400... even with a benjamin to work with, those figures would still mean a dent in the bank account. It did, however, put into perspective how much I really would have had to spend for a complete skis-and-boots outfit.

But guess what? End-of-season sales are apparently no joke. I walked out of there having spent $89 out of pocket. Thanks to good timing (who am I kidding: procrastination) and a whole lot of luck and generosity, I'll be set with boots and skis next season for a cost to me of $89.

I still don't want it to snow again for a long, long time, though.