State Fair Strategy Keeps You From Breaking the Bank

Tackling the State Fair of Texas is all about strategy. 

For instance, I am responsible for holding the food tickets so my husband does not spend them all at the first two booths we come across. I make a point to leave my wallet at home, so I do not get lured into buying 500 chip clips for $29.99 or spending $1,000 on six knives. Strategy people, strategy.

So, this year when we went to the fair I thought I would take a new approach. Instead of getting all glassy-eyed over every kitchen gadget or home decor item, I decided to:

• get information on a future home improvement project
• find something fun for the house, and
• find something practical that we could use.

First on The List, The Bathroom Remodel

The project my husband and I are considering is removing our bathtub and installing a walk-in shower. My husband has a neuromuscular condition called Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), and while he is still able to step over the lip of the tub with the help of grab bars, it would be easier if he could just walk into the shower.

We have been kicking this project around for about a year and trying to talk ourselves into moving forward. Our home only has one bathroom, so timing is just as important as the cost of this project.

Surprisingly, after logging more than 17K steps at the fair, we only came across one vendor that does that type of job. The pricing was not available, so we made an appointment for one of their people to come to our house and give an estimate. This is definitely a job where we will do our due diligence, but at least we have taken that first step.

Now For Something Fun For Your Home

As a child of the ‘80s, this next vendor stopped me in my tracks. If you go to the fair, you have to stop by the Own Your Own Arcade Game booth. It is an absolute blast from the past.

In business since 1985, they have been refurbishing and selling upright, pedestal, and cocktail arcade games for homes and businesses. These are the games that we played at Pizza Hut or in the student lounge at high school or college.

Frogger, anyone? Or was Pac-Man more your speed? After playing on the demos, I texted my husband and told him I had found something we needed.

When he arrived he looked at my glassy-eyed self and asked where in our 1,000-square-foot home would we put a commercial-grade arcade game. My response was just to shrug my shoulders and keep walking. 

Strategy Pays Off

Because I do not have woodland creatures who live at my house and love to clean, I am always on the lookout for items that will make that task easier. I was mesmerized by the product being displayed. It appealed to my most basic need: getting all the dog hair off our hardwoods.

You see, we have a dog that sheds more than our previous two dogs put together. We could build a second dog with the amount of hair this dog sheds.

So, when I saw the vendor sweeping up dog hair, dust, rocks, nuts, bolts, and more and not leaving the little line left by a dustpan I put the call into my husband. He handed over the credit card. Success! For a mere $25 I was able to get something I wanted and would use. 

So while the sun sets on the State of Fair of Texas this week, feel free to use my strategy when you go or if you have a better one, let me hear it.