$57 for shoes for a kid? Well, ok!

Today I took the kiddos to the Arbor Lakes Mall in Maple Grove. I was looking for a nice compost container for our kitchen at William Sonoma, plus I thought an outdoor mall would be a great way to spend a sunny summer afternoon as I bided my time until Lisa got off of work. I must say that although the kids resisted the idea (especially Carter, who really wanted to watch the Twins game on TV), the outing was actually pretty enjoyable and I think the kids had fun too. The Pop Rocks I bought them at the Good Things Store helped.

Carter just last night apparently had a growth spurt and suddenly his tennis shoes are too small. So while at the mall, we stopped by a shoe store. Upon entering, we were immediately greeted by 4 young men, employees of the store. The 16-year-old who helped us was really nice and eager, since it didn't appear there was much else going on in the store. Carter picked out a pair of sweet Reebok shoes with a bright green zig zag sole. They were pretty cool, I admit. He tried them on and ran around the store a few times, you know, to make sure they were fast shoes. So the decision was made to buy this pair and I then thought to look at the price tag. $56.99!!! Holy cow!

You know I am as cheap/frugal as they come. I know that with a coupon and some Kohl's Cash I could get this same pair for about half the amount elsewhere. But, the kid was so friendly, and we were right there...

Actually, the decision wasn't even that hard. Carter is such an inexpensive kid to have around. All he eats is peanut butter. He only needs a couple of T-shirts and he's happy. He actually wears his twin brothers old hand-me-down shoes because his feet are a size smaller. So I didn't feel bad splurging on shoes for him. And we even shelled out another $5.99 for some waterproofing spray that the 16-year-old salesman demonstrated for us.

You see, sometimes it's better to spend the extra money to make a kid happy. Both Carter and the shoe salesman. And now I don't have to drive around town later to find the same shoes at a better price. And I'm helping the local economy by spending a few extra dollars.

You kow what? I actually feel good about buying the shoes! And I'm not sure I would have felt that way a few months ago.