refunds

I'm saving so much money these days I'm not sure what to do with it all! (Well, I don't actually have problems like that, but it sounds good.)

It started in mid November with a trip to the Lego store for two kids with begging piggy banks.  I couldn't convince them to wait until after Christmas, and since it was their own money, I drove them to the outlet.  Remembering that the Stride Rite outlet is next to it, I decided that Bug deserved new shoes.  The ones we'd bought for back to school had stretched out so that he kept kicking them off accidentally. When his teacher mentioned it to me I decided to replace them instead of just telling him to grow.  Amazingly I located the receipt and took it along, with little hope that an August purchase would help in November.  It not only helped, but since he was in the same size still, they gave me a refund for the whole price of the original shoes.  Whoo hoo! (#1)

During the same trip, I stopped in the Carter's outlet and Bug chose two more pairs of school pants.  He tried on four and chose two, which I handed to the cashier.  Upon returning home, we realized she'd given us the wrong two pairs.  Several days later, and after much pleading to wear them anyway, I took the receipt to the local (and much closer) Carter's store to see if they'd accept them.  They did, but had only one of the correct pairs available in his size, so I kept the second.  I spent three more weeks trying to get the kid to wear what seemed to me to be a perfectly normal pair of pants- with no luck.  Then, while my mom was in town this weekend, she and I made a holiday trek to the same mall, again to the Lego store.  This time I returned the second pair of pants while I was there.  Not finding the same khakis he'd liked, I located a pair of cords in his size.  Unfortunately, they said $26 which is significantly more than I'm willing to pay for pants for a child who is growing so fast.  There were discount signs all over the store, so I took them to the register to check on the price.  Upon showing her the receipt, her only comment was, "What would you like me to do with the $8 refund?".  Whoo hoo! (#2)
 
We received a reminder from GE last week that our one year warranty on our new fridge was about to run out and it was suggested that we buy the extended warranty.  No thanks. But, the broken seals on both of the produce drawers, and the chipped edge of one drawer, those I might like to replace.  And, sure enough, with a quick phone call, the replacement parts were on their way.  I'm skeptical that the seals/gaskets will last any longer this time, but free is good.   Whoo hoo! (#3)

On a roll at this point, and convinced that I should keep receipts in a more organized fashion than in a shoe box, I decided to see if Lowe's would take back the dead camellia I'd purchased last spring.  I'd noticed its pathetic sticks while raking leaves and had looked at the tag still on it.  "Guaranteed one year".  Good words.  I located yet another receipt and dug the poor stick out of the ground.  A trip to Lowe's later, no money spent, I have a beautiful, huge, blooming and in bud "Yuletide Camellia".  Whoo hoo! (#4)

Passing some of my good luck onto CD, when a letter came from VW about a recall on my car, he decided to call them.  We'd had a repair of a similar nature while in TN last year.  He and the dealership did some sleuthing and sure enough, the repair was covered by the recall.  Whoo hoo! (#5)

I'm looking around my house now for things to return.  What else will give me money back?