I love sales. It is a sale time of the year. We wait with anticipation for the day after Thanksgiving so we can snag the best prices for those Christmas gifts. We wait with anticipation for the day after Christmas so we can find the best prices of the year.

We have Black Friday. We have Cyber Monday. We have Valentines Day sales, Presidents Day sales, Mother’s Day Sales, New Year’s Day sales. We have white sales, going-out-of-business sales, inventory-reduction sales, end-of-the-year sales, beginning-of-the-year sales. There is always a sale.

Sometimes we wait in line for hours or even overnight in a parking lot to get the deal that is not going to be there if we are late. Only somewhere there is always another hot deal.

What is it about us that make us frantic to snag something on sale? Do we buy things we don’t need just because it is on sale and a good deal? What is it that makes us feel if we miss this sale it is never going to be on sale again?

What about the enticing coupons we receive in the mail? Recently I had to shop because I had a $10 coupon from J.C. Penney, a $10 coupon from Victoria’s Secret and a coupon for a free Bath & Body Works product up to $13 if I made a purchase. I couldn’t waste those coupons, could I? I didn’t need anything from J.C. Penney. I didn’t need anything from Victoria’s Secret, and my closet is filled with lotions from Bath & Body Works.

The male influence in my life long ago has given up pointing out the fact to me that I do not need to use those coupons because inevitably I will end up spending more money if I go into the stores to use those coupons. Of course, that is the stores’ strategy, and we fall for it every time. Isn’t it lovely and fun? I gripped my coupons and hurried into the stores because the expiration dates were near, and I didn’t want the stores to run out of the product I was destined to own. Even if I didn’t know what that was I was sure I would know once I entered the stores.

Coupons in hand, I entered J.C. Penney. I have been working on paring down my life and living within my means and the guilt set in as I was gazing longingly at all the bargains. The only thing I needed was a pair of gloves. There was a sale! I got an Isotoner pair of gloves for $4.99 with my $10 coupon. Normal price had been $36. What a deal. I was so proud of myself. I had only spent $4.99.

I scurried onward to Victoria’s Secret. I wandered among the sexy, gorgeous lingerie. The guilt about paring down was still there. My drawer is full of nightwear and other undergarments. I love the lotions that Victoria’s Secret offers, but my closet is still full from the last sale. I settled on a hot pink nightshirt on sale for $12.99. I only spent $2.99. I smiled as I walked out of that store, smug that I could prove to the male of my household that I could walk into a store and hold my limit on spending even with the coupons.

My next stop was Bath & Body Works. I actually had more then one coupon. I had a $10 coupon if I bought a product that was $30 or it might have been $40. I did need some face cream that I use. Well, I didn’t quite need it yet, but why waste a good $10 coupon? They also had a deal that if you bought $30 worth, at least I think that is what it was, and you could get a free box with seven small lotions. I also had this coupon for a free $13 product if I made a purchase. The catch was that I could not use them together.

I bought my face cream and used the $10 coupon. I also received the free box of lotions. Then I made a purchase of $1 makeup bag and received the free $13 bubble bath. I only spent around $30. My bag was full and I only spent $30. The details of the cost might be a little different as I don’t have my receipt in front of me but the names remain the same.

My little free coupon-shopping trip cost me close to $40. I saved so much money and spent $40 that I would not have spent had I not used my coupons. But I had to use those coupons, as there might never be another coupon ever!

I clip grocery coupons. I used to be the coupon queen in my family. I bought nothing without a coupon. They would have to call the manager to the register because I had used so many coupons they had to punch a code in. Grocery coupons can save you money but they also cause me to buy products I might not otherwise buy. I don’t want to waste the coupon.

Prices get slashed 35 percent, 60 percent and sometimes 70 percent in sales. Would it not be easier to set the prices lower where the merchandise might sell? I would think it would save the retailers time and money because we could afford to buy the product sooner and it would save employee time.

I guess that is not good marketing. But then we would not wait in line and camp out in front of Best Buy for the deals we might miss. We would miss the excitement of sales. We would miss saving $10 so we can spend $30. We would miss the rush that a good sale gives us. So sing the sale song below as you rush into the battle and the fray of other consumers. It is to the tune of “Onward Christian Soldiers.” Onward to the sales!

Onward American Shoppers

Marching off to a sale

Armed with cash and credit cards

Shouting sales, more sales

Marching into battle

Shoving crowds aside

Into the fray of people

Sale item will be mine!

Wells resident Julie Seedorf’s column appears every Monday. Send e-mail to her at thecolumn@bevcomm.net.