Blogging Away Debt Blogging Away Debt follows real people on their journey to debt freedom — with tips on the debt snowball, budgeting, cutting expenses, and staying motivated.

by Beks

My husband was helping my mom move some large furniture and accidentally jackknifed the trailer while pulling it up over some uneven ground. Fortunately the trailer didn’t do any damage to the truck body…unfortunately, it shattered the back taillight.

He went to the discount auto parts store down the street to buy a replacement but came home empty handed.

‘Didn’t they have it in stock?’ I asked.

‘Yeah. But I’m not paying $125 for a piece of plastic and a couple screws. I’m going to shop around and see if I can get a better deal’ he said.

I blinked… then stared.

My husband is a no-nonsense kind of guy. He walks into a store, finds what he wants, and buys it. From grills to socks, the man doesn’t waste time with comparisons – which may explain how I was lucky enough to marry the guy.

So I don’t know who that man was in my kitchen – but he certainly wasn’t my husband.

He spent the next hour researching different suppliers until finally settling on a company who was willing to provide the part for a little less than $60 with free shipping.

Meanwhile, I was still standing in the kitchen, staring off into nowhere, completely confused.

This morning, as my husband was driving to work at 3:30am, he was pulled over by a police officer. My husband explained what happened and then shared his experience with the ‘rip off auto parts store’ and his attempt to save money by ordering the part online. The cop laughed, agreed with him about the ‘rip off auto parts store’, told him to have a nice day, and let him go.

He now brags to everyone that he saved 50% by shopping around and bonded with a cop over the experience.

I don’t know how it happened. I don’t know when it happened. But somehow, somewhere, my husband embraced frugality.

We’re getting there.