Spent much of the day yesterday shopping for a new suit.  Thought I had found a good choice at the first store my wife and I visited, but we bailed out at the cashier when we realized that the brand was excluded from a 40% off sale that was advertised (with the exceptions in smaller print).  She suggested that we visit an outlet mall that was about an hour’s drive away.  Since it was already late in the afternoon, I said no, reasoning that stores would certainly not be open later than 6 PM or 7 PM on Sunday, which wouldn’t give us enough time to shop.  She suggested calling anyway to find out.  Result – stores were open to 9 PM.  Moral – your assumptions may not always be correct.

After arriving at the outlet, we searched for a store featuring the brand of the suit that I had picked out at the other store.  Perhaps we’d be able to find the suit at a more attractive price.  On the way there, we found another store that my wife suggested would be worthwhile visiting as well.  So we went there first and found two possibilities.  I settled on one, and also was able to use a 25% coupon that I had from a savings book that I’d fortunately received at the mall’s information desk.  It didn’t quite get the reaction from my wife when I tried it on that I had received at the earlier store, but it was still a good choice.

A while later, shortly before the mall’s closing time, we finally found the address of the store we’d tried to find earlier.  Result – it was out of business, having been taken over by another men’s clothing store.  Moral – don’t be too invested in Plan A.  Plan B may turn out to be the better (or only) choice.