Saturday, September 10, 2011

Why "free" isn't always free

Interesting fact about me: I could eat Chick-fil-A every day for the rest of my life and die happy. True story.

Being a "fan" of them on Facebook has its perks, namely, the few times a year when they give out free food (score!). So, of course, last week when they had posted a free breakfast entree deal, I was ON that. I selected my location, date, and time to drop in to get my free chicken biscuit.



Adam came with me and I offered to buy his breakfast as well. $1.25 for a coffee, $1.99 for fruit, and $3-something for a meal for him later, my free chicken biscuit amounted to $7 for breakfast.

Right, I understand that's still cheap. After all, one of my favorite activities is weekend brunch at Wild Eggs, and THAT can run you a good $20 for a meal.

But the point is, I felt like I had won the lottery by getting that free chicken biscuit deal (it's the little things...), yet I fell for the classic restaurant tactic of roping you in with an offer, just so you can spend more money and give them more business. And I didn't even make it out of there spending nothing! I could have made a half-decent breakfast with what I already had on hand, and that would've saved me $7.

Keeping your eyes peeled for coupons, sales, and the like is a smart way to save money. But when those deals wind up costing you MORE money than you would have spent otherwise (I'm looking at you, Groupon deal for a $30 massage that I didn't REALLY need), then you're really not getting a good deal after all.


But, who am I kidding? It was worth it for that made-from-crack biscuit.

2 comments:

Beth K. and Nitya M. said...

I just stumbled upon your blog from a link on Emily's Bites, and I just have to say I share your love of Chick Fil A. They have made-from-crack everything. I now live in DC where there isn't one super close without owning a car, so my Chick Fil A intake has slowed from 3-4 times a week to 1-2 times a month. OUCH. Just glad I'm not the only one in love.

Emily said...

They should probably just call it Crack Fila, amiright?

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