The Ultimate Achievement in Thrifty Living

You guys all know how cheap we are, and how much we pride ourselves on our deals. But we recently reached a new high, a crowning achievement that should secure our place as King and Queen of Cheapdom for years to come.

With a lot of patience, a little scheming, a bit of happy coincidence and a great willingness to move large furniture, we've managed to acquire two matching couches for our home theater. Total cost = FREE.

I know, I know. You're wondering how this impossible mission was accomplished. I understand. I am a little amazed myself, and I am fully aware of how good we are at getting great deals. Let me retrace the steps to Free Twin Couch Euphoria.

1) About two subdivisions and three years ago, Andy met a new homeowner with a strong desire to rid herself of one couch. But not just any couch. A very nice and modern purple couch. Well, having just moved into a house about 2.5 times our previous one, and not one to let a homebuyer down, Andy was quick to take this problem off her hands. Enter purple couch #1.

2) Realizing two couches in the home theater would be ideal, we went shopping for a similar model. You can imagine our glee when we found that the EXACT model was still available in stores such as Sofa Express in Cool Springs. Approximate retail value $995. Do Andy and Kathy pay a cool G for a couch, especially for a room other than the den? Silly question. So on with the passage of time.

3) Our marvelous and cool friends Chad and Kathi come visit. Lo and behold, they, like Sofa Express, have the exact same model of purple couch. But alas, they aren't ready to sell their couch to us. So again, on with the passage of time.

4) Andy's company has some furniture in storage in one of their model homes, including one very cool orange plaid couch. Management orders the community employees to rid themselves of all furniture in the garage, so that the garage will look like a garage instead of a self-storage unit. So this very cool orange plaid couch seems dumpster-bound. Ah, no - not with Andy Flanigan around. The very cool orange plaid couch comes to live at our house.

5) Our marvelous and cool friends Chad and Kathi come to visit. We show off our new marvelous and cool orange plaid couch to them. A match made in heaven! Chad and Kathi are eager for a couch trade. And we have been lying in wait for just such an urge. Ka-chow! Thanks to one 4WD Ford truck, Couch Swap 2007 is on!

And that's how history is made, my friends. No, really - there's no need for applause. We just want all you other cheapskates out there to use our story as an inspiration in your own lives. There's no limit to what you can achieve with a little patience, creativity, and energy. Cash is completely unnecessary.