shopaholic

i don't shop in the dominican republic. i mean, groceries... yes. clothes?no. shoes? sometimes. homegoods? nope.

it might sound bizarre. a lot of people assume that the cost of living is low because it's a third-world country. and sure, there are some things that are so inexpensive it'd blow your mind. you can rent a 5 bedroom, 5 bath MANSION in a fantastic area of the city for less than a thousand bucks a month, add a swimming pool and it doesn't go much higher than that. our electric bill has never reached $20 and our water neither.

but. the good things in life. they're expensive.

a pair of old navy jeans could run you $60. and i just bought a pair yesterday for $21. and bras and underwear? forget about it. one pair of walmart quality underwears could run up to $6 and the cheap stuff they make on the island falls apart the first time you wash.

so what's a girl to do?

i save my pennies all year. put them in a special bank account for when i travel. then. i don't bring ANYTHING home with me. that way i have two full suitcases to carry back.

now i'm in the zone. i've got three weeks to stock up on everything we need. the tricky part, though, is that i never know what we're getting as gifts and that the really good sales are after christmas. but alas, ido what i can. everything from undershirts for amalio to deoderant for me (to clarify, the deoderant in the DR is regular priced but i've yet to find the brand i like).

by the time i'm ready to pack my bedroom looks like a storage locker for target.

on today's itinerary. ikea. hopefully it'll be the last real trip to ikea because a store is being built in santo domingo. we'll see what their prices look like when it's finally finished!

happy shopping!