Today I went into little town (as opposed to the larger town further away) to the Ace Hardware store to take advantage of their coupons. They sure have a lot of employees at that small store. Mr. YouKnow says that's the reason their prices are so high. Well, I am trying to support the local economy more, spread it around a bit.

This past year or so instead of having a sale on selected items, every savings off Ace's retail price involves mailing in a rebate request. That just doesn't do it for me, sorry, so I avoid those opportunities to save.

This past week they sent out their coupon book, rebates not required. I'd been waiting for it because I wanted one of their plastic watering cans and a 25 cent fly swatter. I also bought some impulse items not covered by coupons. Needless to say, Mr. Troutbend had stayed at home, because he always gets very haughty and disapproving when I browse and shop at hardware stores, "you don't need that" written all over his face. Since I never shop for clothes or knick knacks, I figure letting loose once a year in the hardware store is okay. Besides, I like wandering around just seeing what they've got on offer in case I ever need something in a big hurry.

This will do me for another year or two.