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It's Good to be Queen

While I do love the Thrill of the Hunt when it comes to finding a good deal-or doing anything to save money on a purchase, there is a reality of my privilege that I should mention to initially level-set what I am able to do:  I have the luxury of time, and I have the luxury of money.  Let me explain-as it's worth the reality check to understand my perspective and provide a level of transparency on who I am and what I do from the beginning.

Time

I retired a year ago.  I'm young by most standards, but between not having children (the biggest money saving tip I can ever give-and I say this with no judgement), and doing the very thing this blog is about (saving money on as much as possible-or said another way, spending as little money as possible whenever I do spend money), I now have the luxury of time on my side to spend my days looking for the best price, the best deal, the best coupon...or finding new ways to save on the purchases I make. ..and for this, I'm incredibly lucky.

In transparency, I don't mean that I spend 10 hours each day doing this, but I do have regularly scheduled (quite literally-I regularly schedule spending reviews...more on this in a later post) time each week to review purchases to find better deals, seek out new coupons, and play the games I play to save what I save.  Not everyone has this luxury-sometimes, the purchase has to happen quickly.  That happens in my life too-but, when I can take the time to do what I do, that is when the magic happens.

Money

I'm not rich.  Not even close. Not close to the 1%-or the 2%.  Maybe the 5%, but probably only when the wind blows a certain way!  But, I do have enough money that allows me to play some of the games I play without it impacting my ability to otherwise spend how and when I want (all within reason, of course!).  

Said another way, some of the games I play may mean that I have the same purchase (usually for hotel rooms) made multiple times on multiple websites and I'm waiting it out to see where the better/future discount may surface.  As a result, I may have a double or triple charge for the same thing on my credit card for several months that I've paid for-only eventually to cancel down to just the one charge that I end up using (and that ends up being the best deal).   Not everyone has the luxury of allowing an additional $300, $1000, etc...of expenses to hit a credit card (and be paid off) without causing pain, so having some extra money to play the games that I do, is certainly a benefit that I recognize not everyone has.  Most (truly, 90%) of my tricks don't involve multiple charges on a credit card-but, some of my largest savings plays do come from doing this.



Whenever I eventually dig further into the hotel charge play a bit more or really, any of the tips or tricks I share, please know that your own optics and limits (credit, income, time, etc...) are for you to decide-and for you to establish your own limits and boundaries.  My experience of what works for me are just those that relate to my situation.  But, I'm always game to work with anyone to find the bespoke game that works for *you*.

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