Im a stay at home step dad and don't get much chance to get new stuff.
That's what the internet is for! Most of the stuff in B&M's is WAYYYYYY overpriced because of retail markup -- you'll save a ton of money just ordering online, even WITH shipping costs. What I do is keep a list of different stuff I want/need, and I look at the diff sites to see if I can group an order -- that way I save on shipping. Just ordering one thing at a time online is very wasteful of shipping costs, but if you can get 3-5 things you need from one place, you pay just one shipping price and it saves money.
I'm a hermit, so thank god for the internet!
Andria