Unpurchases I've Regretted

You know that coral trench coat that Target carried a few years ago?  It was about forty bucks, and really cute?  Yeah, that one.  I thought about buying it.  It wouldn't have been a completely ridiculous purchase.  I live in Minnesota after all, and one-third of my wardrobe is outerwear.  Instead of buying it when I saw it (and tried it on - it fit perfectly), I decided to think about it.  Growing up, my mom taught me if something catches my eye to wait before I buy it.  If I really want it, I'll still want it in a week or so.  If not, it's an unnecessary impulse buy.  I'm here to tell you that piece of advice is a bunch of phooey, and should be completely disregarded.  It's the voice of experience speaking here...I went back to Target, money in hand (Figuratively speaking, of course.  Who carries cash anymore?), marched back to the women's department, and......Sold out.  Gone.  None.  Left.  Ok, I thought.  I can look it up online and find one.  Surely there's a Target store somewhere in the metro area that still has one in stock.  I had no luck.  Nobody even had them on eBay!  The coat was completely sold out.  Here I am three years later, lamenting my decision to "think about it".  Thanks, Mom.

I was chatting with a friend last night, and somehow the conversation turned to my missed opportunity with the trench coat.  Would you believe she knew exactly which coat I was talking about?  It got me thinking...there are probably lots of these little missed opportunities, and that it must happen to other people.  It can't be possible that I would be the only person out there that noodles on a $40 Target buy.  Right?  Right??

For me, it's not just things I didn't buy, but also things I didn't buy enough of.  Take my favorite pair of gold ballet flats.  I bought them at Macy's about four years ago from the clearance rack for $16 (regularly $59).  I only bought one pair.  I had no idea they would quickly become my go-to shoes.  For I had never owned a pair of gold shoes.  I did not know of their mystical matching power: they matched EVERYTHING!  I lived in these shoes.  Then, by the time I realized how much I loved them and that they would not last forever, they were no longer in production.  The shoe style is still in production, but the ever-versatile gold was a color of seasons past.  Boo-hoo.  No longer wanting to wear  frayed, scuffed, loose-insoled shoes, I began my hunt for new gold ballet flats.  Finally I found a new pair, after endless hours of hunting.  And, luckily, I do like them almost as much as my first pair.  Of course, I only bought one pair.  Hmm.  I should probably get on that.

What missed shopping opportunities do you regret?