How Ikea makes money off their 99¢ breakfast...

I ordered a pair of Converse All Stars last week from jcpenney.com. I was surprised that some of them were half the price of other ones. When I got them, I figured out why - they were children's size. I didn't want to pay postage on returning a pair of $20 shoes, so I figured I'd drive up to the JC Penney in White Marsh and return them. I figured I'd leave early and snag breakfast at the Ikea.

Ikea has an early morning breakfast special - eggs, potatos (your choice of baked or fried) and meat (choice of bacon, turkey bacon, or sausage) for 99¢. Coffee is 75¢, with free refills, but the cups are really tiny. So for less than $2, you get a decent breakfast, and the chance to eat it on the deck overlooking the White Marsh mall.

So I eat my breakfast, and still have about 20 minutes to kill. So I wander around Ikea. Now, I don't really need anything. In fact, I'm trying to reduce the amount of "stuff" I have around.

I ended up buying $22 worth of stuff - a pillow, a stool, and a bag of bag clips. The stool will go with the baker's rack that I'm planning on using as a computer workbench.

And despite what captialist critiques like Morgan Spurlock will say about consumerist stuff not making people happy, I think I'm better off with it than without it - I'll sleep better, have a place to sit, and my pretzels will keep fresh.