<p>Congrats Toledo. I 've never seen Wicked but would love to. I absolutely loved the book.</p>
<p>My thrift store good buys today were a couple of RL Polo shirts for S2. Got one at Goodwill for $4 and another at Salvation Army for $1.61. They are conveniently located across the street from each other. I’ve washed/dryed and packed them up to mail off to S2 at college tomorrow. It’ll be a little pre-exam surprise. He’ll be thrilled.</p>
<p>Well, just bought all the tourbooks & a phrasebook for our upcoming trip. I had two different gift certificates, so paid a total of under $40 (including postage) for about 7 books that I really wanted for our trip, most of them listed at $25+ and all in new or nearly new condition.</p>
<p>Wow, prime Wicked seats for only $25, amazing! I have yet to see it and maybe we’ll try our luck when we’re traveling this summer. S has seen it but said he’d be willing to do a repeat. None of the rest of us have seen it but all but he have read the book & D has the music.</p>
<p>I wanted my son to have one large rolling duffle that he could check for flying. I wanted it to be as light as possible, sturdy enough, and something that could be crushed to minimize size in a dorm room. Also, it had to be the right price point. Well, I found the perfect duffle yesterday at TJMAXX. They reduced some luggage and I found an Eagle Creek duffle that meets all of my criteria. It nearly killed me to part with $99 for a piece of luggage, but I knew that for a duffle to meet my list of criteria in the size I wanted, this was going to be the best I could do. After shopping this brand online I see that this was truly a bargain. The original TJMaxx price was $149 btw.</p>
<p>NEM-
Before you take the tags off the duffel you bought, take a look at this one [Duffel</a> Bags](<a href=“http://www.luggage.com/asp/superbrowse.asp?clid=734&caid=&sku=EW1178&PiID=3504159&refid=DT52-EW1178_3504159]Duffel”>http://www.luggage.com/asp/superbrowse.asp?clid=734&caid=&sku=EW1178&PiID=3504159&refid=DT52-EW1178_3504159) It is called the travelers club rolling duffel, and comes in several sizes (I bought the 32" so it would fit airline regulations and wouldnt be considered oversized) it comes with a case that can be used to pack clothes when the bag is in use but it stores the bag when not in use and you can stick it in a drawer). It folds down to the size of a small pouch has handles, wheels, expands (bottom zipper) and is made of that parachute fabric and is very sturdy. I bought 2 for our ski trip and DS is travelling around Australia and New Zealand with one right now. I got mine at bagsbuy.com and with an online coupon I found, I paid $21 and there was no s&h!</p>
<p>Wow, jym, did they really stand up well? </p>
<p>The one I bought is 30 inches and that is plenty of room for what my son needs.</p>
<p>Thanks. I will look at this a bit later! I thought that I had such bargain, since the duffle I purchased is currently selling online for $260!</p>
<p>Yes, it was fine! I haven’t heard from my s that he’s had any problem at all with his, but I will get back to you on that when he returns in a week. Hes been all over the place with it these past several weeks, so hopefully its been sturdy. One of the things I liked about it is that it weighs only 2 lbs so he coud stuff it and not worry about the travel weight limits. What did you buy?</p>
<p>jym, I’ll send a PM to you.</p>
<p>TJ has very good buys on luggage IMO. Especially when you want to be able to SEE in hand, what you are buying. </p>
<p>Even if you shop at Kohl’s, their sales can’t match TJ’s and the quality/brands at TJ are often much better.</p>
<p>Thanks for the TJs idea for luggage. My DS needs a large suitcase for his summer abroad program and it will probably never be used again.</p>
<p>My Good Buy is not literally from today. I just had a runner picked up for cleaning. I told my guy that it was from Overstock and didn’t need the fancy schmancy treatment he gives the orientals. He asked what I paid for it and when I told him he said I’d gotten a great deal as it was all hand-knotted and beautifully made! I picked it out because I liked the pattern and it was dark enough to hide everything the dog (and I) track in.</p>
<p>My best buy of the week: a pair of Me Too flats at Famous Footwear for $25 ($80 retail). Soooo comfortable! They also had those Born thong sandals with flowers in a variety of colors for $44/pair, but alas, I do not like thongs.</p>
<p>My best buy was travel insurance–when I used the credit card I found it that the tickets I purchased came with trip cancellation/interruption insurance at NO extra charge.<br>
Hopefully, I won’t have to find out how well/poorly the insurance works. I was urge to file a claim (which I did). I also contacted Orbitz, where I booked the tickets; have had much better response from Orbitz than the travel insurance :(, but only after I read on Fodors.com whom to contact at Orbitz!</p>
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<p>We don’t have a TJMaxx, but I have read good things about them. Have had experiences with Marshalls and Ross. The Macy’s here said that when they stop carrying any luggage, it ends up at Ross for clearance (which I hadn’t known).</p>
<p>abasket I agree with you. BTW, I am keeping the luggage. As much as it cost, it was still a great deal!</p>
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<p>HImom, I surely wish you had posted this one week earlier! I’ve just taken a look at my credit card literature and see that I’ve most likely wasted my money on the trip insurance I purchased last Saturday. My card also comes with this insurance as well as for lost luggage and travel accidents. Big sigh.</p>
<p>For Earth Day yesterday, I stopped in at the Origins store at the mall and got a full size Origins “Checks and Balances” frothy face wash for free.
[Origins</a> | Checks and Balances™](<a href=“http://www.origins.com/templates/products/sp_nonshaded.tmpl?CATEGORY_ID=CATEGORY5809&PRODUCT_ID=PROD101]Origins”>http://www.origins.com/templates/products/sp_nonshaded.tmpl?CATEGORY_ID=CATEGORY5809&PRODUCT_ID=PROD101)
I felt like I had won a contest or something. 
Tried it last night. It smells good (because of the “aromatic Bergamot, Spearmint and Lavender”).</p>
<p>Credit cards w/ trip insurance? That’s worth it!!! Can you post what company – or send a PM?</p>
<p>kjofkw, USAA Mastercard.</p>
<p>Mine is CitiCard PremierPass MasterCard. Unfortunately, I do have to pay an annual fee for the card but it gives me points which I use for airline travel. To date, I’ve gotten many, many free flights, so the flights have more than made up for the $75-85 annual fee. When the program started it was much better but it has become increasingly less generous so we’re contemplating cancelling.</p>
<p>Thanks for the tip about USAA. Am still trying to understand which USAA things are available to the public & which are only for military families.</p>
<p>HImom- USAA recently expanded membership to include any vet so we signed my Dad up last fall, which allowed my mother to become a member and also all my siblings and their kids. Part of me wonders if this is the end of a good thing and they are no longer special and will not remain competitive or if they are merely expanding.</p>
<p>Anyway, if you have a Dad who served in WWII or Korea or any armed forces, have him join and name you</p>
<p>Speaking of USAA, I used their buying services to purchase a new car yesterday. They were $700 less than Costco’s buying service. Costco’s deal is $250 over invoice, whereas
USAA’s deal is $450 under invoice.</p>
<p>Thanks, yes, dad did serve and got his education on the GI bill. Hubby tried to enlist but was rejected due to flat feet! Will see whether dad is willing to become a USAA member. I appreciate your insights & hope it stays as good a company as I understand it historically has been.</p>