I hope the Craig's List lady doesn't read my blog.

I'd like to say that my husband and I are frugal people. We spend our money wisely, by making researched decisions when it comes to big ticket items, getting the best deals, using coupons and the like. But, that's really just a glorified way of saying we are cheapskates.

Okay. I'm fine with that. We are CHEAPSKATES.

So when it came to buying a big ticket item for our son, of course, I shopped around. I searched for coupons; I searched online (trying to avoid the dreaded trip to Toy-R-Us [shudder]); and ultimately, I hit up Craig's List.

I found what we were looking for, at a decent price, but I was hesitant at thinking that I might as well just buy new or try to find a cheaper price at used - the seller lady would NOT BUDGE on her price.

A couple days go by, and I can't find a better deal than the used item on Craig's List, so I caved.

I tried to give it one last attempt to barter with the lady on the price, but dang, if she wasn't more stubborn than me!

So, after work one day, hubby and I loaded up the kids and we head over to this lady's house to look at the item.

But first we stop at the bank. As a little background, I was offering the lady to come down $10 on her price, to $140 from her asking price of $150. I guess that extra ten bucks was going to put her in the poor house, so I finally gave up. We withdraw the $150 from the ATM and head to this lady's house.

We follow Francesca (our Garmin lady) into a newer area of the city. The houses start getting really nice. Francesca takes us through another neighborhood and the houses start to get really, really nice. Francesca announces, "You have reached your destination on right," in front of, you guessed it, a really, really, REALLY nice house!

"What the crap!" I scream to my husband who is drooling at the expanse of this house. "This lady wouldn't come down TEN FREAKING DOLLARS on the price, but she lives in this mansion!?"

"Well, it was probably her butler that was trying to sell it for her." He replies.

He is no help.

We are walking up to the door, and I'm huffing and puffing under my breath about the price, because it's TEN DOLLARS! Ten Dollars. You know how much stuff I can get for ten dollars? I mean, come on!

Hubby looks at me and says, "Don't worry, I'll get your $10, honey."

We ring the doorbell.

The lady comes to the door, dressed in a really cute matching pink jogging outfit and a very fluffy white dog. A la Paris Hilton (gag me). "Hmpf!" I said under my breath. "Figures. Stupid bee-yotch."

"Excuse me?" Apparently she heard me. Her reply was like a 1,000 butterflies floating around in the air with angel halos and money dripping from their wings.

And then it happened. I saw a side of my husband that I have never seen before. Picture Larry the Cable Guy, dressed in a tie and slacks. So, not really Larry the Cable guy at all, mostly just the voice.

He says, "Sorry, ma'am. What my wiiife here was sayin' is that this here house is much niiicer than we got at our traaailer."

What the....?

I was at a complete loss for words. So I just let him continue.

She showed us around to the garage, where she had the item - of course it was in the space next to her pearly white Jaguar convertible.

She brings it out and we are talking -- well, it was mostly my husband twanging and me just standing there with my jaw on the floor.

"Okay, so $150 is the price," Princess Barbie says.

"Oh. Well... uh... Let's see here..." My husband starts digging into his coat pockets and starts pulling out one and five dollar bills and handing them to her, counting as he goes.

I watch her and she stands with her hands cupped, catching crumpled dollars into it, batting her eyelashes like she's in a pageant.

"...thirty-eight, thirty-niiiiine, aaaaand faarty." He says. "Thaaaat's all I gots, ma'am."

"Oh, well, I was asking $150 and I told your wife that --" She started.

"Way-ell, I thinks I got more money in the truck." [Truck = SUV, who knew?!] So he starts walking back to the car, and I'm standing there, nervous and shaking like a leaf while he digs around and searches for more money.

At this point, I was so embarrassed, I just wanted to get the heck out of there. Forget about the ten dollars! I knew we had the money because we stopped at the ATM, so I start walking towards Mike when I see Brandon hopping out of the car.

He's digging in his pockets, and he says, "I have two dollars, ma'am, will that work?" And comes up with two, very wrinkled, dollars for the lady.

"Oh, well, thanks, sweetie! Yes, that will work. I'll take $142 for it." She says, the words floating out of her mouth like silky chocolate.

And then I have an epiphany.

I realized that we've just managed - well, my husband has just managed to save us eight dollars and leave with what little is left of our dignity, and the slightly used item we came to purchase.

And we even taught our son that no one - not even classy folks like us - are above a little money swindling.