After much searching and a bit of patience, we found these 2 leather recliner rocker chairs on sale for only $300 each! A local furniture store was having a 50% off sale!

We just had these chairs delivered yesterday. They're so soft and comfy. As I sat reading a book in mine, I felt like I had scored the best chair in Barnes and Noble or Starbucks, only better because I was in my jammies and was enjoying the warmth of our fireplace! In fact, I must admit I feel asleep in my chair last night as I was reading my book.

Want to hear the best part? We purchased these the right way...by saving our money (Christmas gift money, a bit of money from Oronzo's contract jobs, etc) and paying cash, rather than charging it.

We visited several furniture stores, testing out chairs and watching for sales, as we built our chair fund up to $700. It took us several months, but we were patient.

That patience and discipline paid off! It felt so good to walk into the furniture store, find the chairs we liked and tell the salesman we'd take 2, and no thank you we didn't need the financing option, we were paying cash! And we have a bit of money left over to purchase a nice end table to put between the 2 chairs, if we can find one we like.

Oronzo and I haven't always been so disciplined. We bought our fancy refrigerator by taking advantage of a 12 months interest free offer. So, we got the refrigerator before we paid for it, then spent the next 12 months paying it off. We've also used our credit card to purchase things when we didn't have the money needed at the time. Then we stressed about paying off those items with interest.

It felt so very satisfying and rewarding to pay cash for our chairs. And the wait and anticipation has made us appreciate these chairs all the more. We're proud of ourselves for our financial responsibility!

Oronzo and I are making a determined effort to change our spending habits from buying before we can afford it to saving up until we can buy it. Instant gratification isn't always what it's cracked up to be. Waiting and saving is so much sweeter!

Now, we begin saving for a new dishwasher. We're going this weekend to shop around and get an idea of what we like and how much we'll need to save up for one.

When's the last time you were able to pay cash for a somewhat major purchase? What was your purchase?

Labels: family, financial responsibility, my toys, Oronzo