You’re inexplicably thrilled beyond measure with the bargain deal you got on four huge bags stuffed with clothes at Kmart.

I never thought about this much, despite the many bargains I’ve discovered as a parent, until about a month ago when I arrived at the check-out stand with my overflowing cart.

The check-out girl was young, maybe in high school even. She scanned all my items while I looked on in barely concealed joy as each piece of clothing was rung up, thinking to myself thoughts such as, “Those pants were only $4! I am Awe. Some!”

“Wow, you got a great deal,” the clerk commented as I, filled with ridiculous elation, wrote out my check.

“I know,” I said smugly.

“Four bags of clothes for that price! Geez, I’m lucky to get one piece of clothing for that,” she said.

Oh yeah. I had forgotten all about the days when shopping at Kmart or other discount stores for clothes was a huge social faux paus (obviously this was when I could afford to buy my own).

I nodded. “I know, when I was your age I didn’t shop for clothes here either,” I told her. “It’s amazing how having kids changes your perspective. Especially when you have four of them to clothe.”

I left the store feeling weirdly old and a teeny bit flustered. What happened to the days when I paid full-price for a piece of clothing without thinking about it? When I saw a pair of sandals I wanted and didn’t wait until they were on sale, or better yet, clearance, before I bought them? I can’t even remember the last time this has happened. Probably before I had kids.

These days I have become quite the bargain shopper. It has turned almost into an addiction to see what I can find for how little. This is really embarrassing to admit because it makes me look really cheap, but I get quite testy if I have to pay over $10 for a pair of shoes. I guess it’s because I know I CAN get them for that price (or less) if I look hard enough. Our closets are filled with the fruit of my purchases, many of which are $5 or less.

It doesn’t make sense either. I’ll happily plop down $50 on a meal with my hubby at Red Lobster (3-1/2 hours away), but I’ll quibble internally with myself as to whether I should spend an extra $2 to get the shoes that don’t lace up. Yes, I know how crazy that sounds, but we all have our idiosyncracies, right? There are just some items we’re willing to spend more on than others.

Bargain shopping is practically a sport where I live, at least among my friends and me. We regale each other with tales of how much we saved on X item, point to our kids and say things like, “I only paid $4 for this dress!” and marvel over each other’s bargain hunting abilities. We trade secrets — “JCPenney has an extra 20% off their clearance clothing!” — and covet the great deals our friends found that we missed out on.

I don’t remember doing this as a teenager or young adult. In fact, it was the opposite. The more a person spent on something, the cooler she was.

So, one way you officially know you’re a parent is when bargain shopping becomes a hobby. Because, after all, you’re saving that extra money to put towards your kids’ braces/school/toys/college tuition, right? Of course you can probably get a bargain on those as well if you try hard enough . . .

Are you a bargain shopper? If so, what’s your weakness? Clothing? Shoes? Toys? Everything (like me)?

Tags: bargain shopping, cheap, child, children, family, kids, mom, parent, parenting, shop