A few weeks ago Josh talked about the web and social discounts available and I thought I’d expend on it with my own personal experience. Yesterday I realized that I had six deals that I had purchased through Groupon, Living Social and Travel Zoo that I had not yet used. I was determined to utilize these deals which I had purchased over the last several months.

So yesterday I:
• ordered $40 of personalized stationary which I purchased for $20,
• ordered five bottles of wine which I had purchased a $75 certificate for $25, but I ended up paying an additional $20 because of shipping and the cost of the wine, and
• Went out to a 4 course meal with wine which I had paid $50 for. I left a $20 tip.

I still have yet to use:
• 3 sessions of kickboxing which I purchased for $15,
• 20 fitness sessions at a women’s gym, and
• $60 of ceramic painting which I paid $30 for

There have been numerous other deals which I have purchased over the last several months like lodging, golf, yoga accessories, tea, hot yoga, and the list goes on and on. But now I’m wondering was it worth it? It has been great trying out new businesses and experiences, but am I really getting a good deal? Many times yes, but many times no.

For example with the work out sessions, many times they only give a short period of time to use the sessions. Over Christmas I purchased 20 sessions of Bikram yoga for $25, the only caveat to that was that they had to be used within 60 days which meant that I would have had to go 2-3 times per week. Do you know how hot it is in there? It took me a good week just to get up the nerve to go again so I ended up only going about 4 times. Still, a reasonable deal averaging just over $6 per session, but still I may have stuck with it had I more time to get use to the excruciating experience.

I’ve also been burned by some of the online retailers because of the shipping. I purchased $25 worth of yoga accessories for $12. I figured this was good because I could purchase a new yoga mat which I was in need of. Well, what I did not know was that the shipping was going to be over $10 so I likely ended up paying the same price as I would have if I had just gone to a shop here locally.

The thing that is important to pay attention to with these deals is that we are still spending money out of our budget. Most of the deals I have purchased are extras in my budget. Some do give me good deals on things that I would have purchased anyway like the wine, or golfing. But many just sound fun and like a good deal so I purchase them, like the ceramic painting.

So now the questions is do I purchase the $20 certificate for $10 to Old Navy which is on Groupon today?