99 ALT 0162

What is it that is so compelling to me about the magical price of 99 cents? Or to be more precise - "99¢" as it is more commonly written. I guess it is because it seems so much cheaper than a whole dollar. I am no math wizard and I know 99¢ is only very slightly less than a dollar but somehow it seems like it is a whole dollar less than a dollar. And when you look at it that way - it seems almost free.

You would think my favorite place to shop would be the Dollar Store, but no - they lie. Hardly anything there costs a dollar anymore. I even heard of a chain of stores called the 99 Cent Store but I checked out their website and they lie too. Sure the unit price is 99¢ for a lot of items (like school glue for example) - but the catch is you have to buy a case of 24. Hey, who are they kidding?  If I am gonna spend 99¢ for school glue - I want to buy only one and I want change back from a dollar!

No - my favorite place for 99¢ deals is the Victory Meat Market.  They always have something on sale for 99¢. A package of plastic spoons - 99¢. Four little individual restaurant portions of peanut butter shrink wrapped on a tray - 99¢. Who can resist? Certainly not me. Sometimes they even have unidentified meat products and yes I have bought those too. Shrink wrap it - slap a 99¢ sticker on it and chances are I will buy it. I will buy almost anything for 99¢.

Once I bought a pair of socks for 99¢ using my Visa card. And I keep seeing these incredibly tiny 4 packs of toilet paper for only 99¢. I haven't bought any yet because deep down I know it is not a good deal and Julie is usually with me to point that out. But I will not be able to resist much longer, even though I am sure one tiny roll would not even last through one trip to the bathroom - still, man - 99¢

I once a bought an incredibly tiny Hagen Das ice cream at the Superstore for 99¢ - about three very small mouthfuls. But it was only 99¢ and it even included the tiny spoon. I was satisfied but would I have been as tempted if it was a whole dollar? I am not sure.  Julie always says that I would buy a bag of dog shit for 99¢ but even I have my limits.  A bag of fake dog shit maybe...

I just can't resist that little yellow 99¢ sticker - those two digits and that alluring little ¢ sign call to me. Now that they have discontinued the penny the days of the two digit deals are numbered. I guess we won't be seeing that little ¢ sign anymore and I for one will miss it. But I sure won't miss typing it and that is why I draw your attention to the title of this blog post.

You will notice I have used the "cent" symbol many times in this post - but do you have any idea how hard that is to do? The dollar sign is easy - just use the shift key and press 4. Like this - $. Easy. Now try to make a cent symbol. Go ahead - I will wait.... (Theme song from Jeopardy). Give up? I am sure you clever ones have already googled it and by now you know that all you have to do is hold down the ALT key and press 0162 on your numeric keypad and then release the ALT key and voila - you have a ¢. Try doing that twenty times while writing a blog - I just did.

Anyway - I will continue to seek out those 99 cent deals as long as they are still out there but I guess I will have to start looking for the $1.00 sale tickets. I went shopping last night and brought home a whole bag of dollar deals - but somehow it just isn't the same. The thrill is gone.