Man Saves So Much Money During Prime Big Deal Days He Can No Longer Afford Rent

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Columbus man who saved a personal-record $1,412 in the first six hours of Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days on Tuesday has now saved so much money that he can no longer afford rent, according to his landlord and a spreadsheet he built to celebrate.

“I’m basically making money at this point,” said Derek Cartwell, 34, an insurance claims adjuster who had bought a portable power station, two air fryers, a 40-pack of charging cables and an espresso machine by 9 a.m. “Every time I check out, the little red number tells me I saved. If I stop now, I’m just leaving savings on the table.”

Cartwell’s spreadsheet, titled “Wealth,” tracks only the amount saved on each item, not the amount spent. By noon it showed $1,412 in savings and, in a hidden column his girlfriend later found, $2,960 in charges.

“He bought a second air fryer because the first one was 31% off and the second one was 38% off,” said girlfriend Tamsin Okafor, 33. “Now he calls the first one ‘a bad investment.’”

Dr. Lowell Markdown, a behavioral economist at the Institute for Checkout Studies, said the condition is common during two-day sales. “The brain cannot tell the difference between saving $80 and receiving $80,” Markdown said. “By hour four, many shoppers sincerely believe they are being paid to own a label maker.”

Cartwell said he plans to cover rent by returning everything next week, which he described as “basically a second payday.”

As of this report, Cartwell had asked his landlord whether October’s rent could be added to his cart, explaining that he would rather wait and see if it went on sale.