Tonight, I made a stop at Target to buy some new sweatpants since I found a large hole in my old ones (actually I'd tripped and fallen but that's another tale of klutziness for later). Grabbed a pair on sale for $17, went to purchase and the durn things rang up at $29.99. Whoops, I'd already run the credit card through. So I got sent to the Happy Returns line.

They should call it the Anything BUT Happy Line. There were only two cashiers facing a phalanx of customers. I overheard one ask the other, "Did you call for backup?" and the reply was, "You think someone's gonna come help us???" True, I think working the returns registers, especially the week after Christmas, is one of the least desirable places to be on Earth.

But to be honest, the line moved slowly, but people were patient and seemed to be getting their returns. I noticed everyone was clutching a receipt in their hot little hands- VERY important, as we shall see. Now, the lady in front of me was exchanging a purse, did NOT have a receipt, not even a gift receipt. From what I overheard, they tried to process her return using her drivers license. Uh uh. Nope. The lady turned red. The cashier asked if the license had expired. The lady turned a darker shade of red as she showed them it was still valid. The cashier then asked if she'd made other returns using her license. Yup, turns out she'd made two prior returns (at Target, I think).

Warning bell! Target has some sort of policy against allowing people to make returns without a receipt, something like only two returns per year. Sort of a big slam in the face for not keeping your receipts. The policy sounded a bit harsh to me, but who knows, stores need to protect themselves against shoplifters. But boy oh boy, would I hate to be in that poor lady's shoes right now. She was upset, but she also made a rather funny comment about her addiction to buying ugly purses.

Moral of story: Treat your receipts like Gold and hold on to them.

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$20 challenge update: Ran 5 miles (tripped and fell, resulting in hole in sweatpants and truncated run) in the morning and walked 2 miles during lunch. So 7 x .09 = .63 added to the pot. I did drink three thermosfuls of water but bought a soda at Target, so that doesn't count.
Total: $50.66