My mom put it perfectly when she said I had a recession birthday. Before class on Friday, which was my actual birthday, my husband and I went to Furniture Factory Outlet, and unless you have lived in a hole for the past few years, you know that they sell cheaply-made furniture at low prices. So my husband decided that he was going to get me a new recliner for my birthday. Luckily, I found one very quickly and we bought it for a fraction of the retail price and saved over $150.
After class, we drove back home to pick up my children from school. The simple little town of Lockwood is half-way to Joplin and half-way to Springfield. I love the town of Joplin, but it doesn’t have my new favorite restaurant, Hu Hot, which is a wonderful Mongolian barbeque. Now, when I hear the word "barbeque," I always think of warm summer days spent with the family surrounding the grill, and the wonderful aroma of steak wafting in the air, but Hu Hot is not that kind of place. This is a buffet-style Chinese restaurant where you pick your own meats, vegetables, and sauces, and several young men behind a circular grill cooks your meat right in front of you. Sometimes they do tricks with eggs by throwing them as high into the air as they can and then crack them with their spatulas as the eggs come down. They also juggle those same spatulas, tossing them to the worker on either side of him or the person across from him. It’s not just dinner, but also a show. To make this fantastic dinner even better, I had a birthday coupon and I got my meal for free.
After Hu Hot, we waddled with full bellies into the mall. As we lazily sauntered through the promenade, I found a shoe store that was having a sale. I am a typical girl and love shoes, and when they are on sale, I love them even more. I was able to buy two incredibly lovely pairs of shoes for under $20.
Alas, all good things must come to an end, and this exhausting birthday was no exception. But before we left Springfield, we needed to get gas for our vehicle. I pulled into the station and was amazed when I saw the price, which was twenty cents cheaper per gallon than in my town. Such a deal I could not refuse! And the blessings did not stop there, because on Saturday, my son shot his first deer (free meat!) and my mother invited me and my family over to her house for a nice tuna casserole, peas, salad and homemade cheesecake, the whole of which cost less to make than one piece of cheesecake at a restaurant. It may have been a recession birthday but it was also a really great one, and being able to spend quality time with my family was the best part.
I enjoyed your post. It's not always about how much you spend to have a good time, but what yo do and who you do it with. It's funny that your mother referred to it as a "recession birthday", but these really are tough times. We have all got to find ways to stretch our money, not only during these down times, but even long after, to help getting ourselves in economic conditions like these in the future. I think you did a great job of doing this on your birthday while still getting to have a great time!
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