Keeping a Thrift List

When I talk about buying stuff used, somebody always says "I can never find what I want when I go to thrift stores and/or look at yard sales!"

I sympathize. I rarely decide I want something, head out to the thrift store, and get it right away. If I absolutely must have something right away, I will go and buy it brand spankin' new. However, I find that I rarely need something so immediately that I have to go buy it full retail. Thrift shopping is a lesson in patience and creativity.

To be successful as a thrift shopper, one must learn to control the "need it now" mentality. It can be difficult! We live in an "instant" society. However, learning to control the want/buy right away cycle can save you a ton of money. It also gives you time to consider whether you really need or even want that item at all!

My strategy is to put things on a "watch for" list. I then keep an eye out for a sweet deal, be it free on Craigslist, secondhand, dumpster dived, from a yard sale...who knows where it will turn up? My list reminds me that I'm looking for it so I can keep my eyes open for a deal!

For example, here's a few things that have on my current "watch for" list:

1. Scented candles to fill the candle holder on our TV cabinet.
2. Black work slacks
3. A small bookcase for my niece.

I could go buy scented candles, black work pants, and a small bookcase today if I wanted. However, I don't really *need* the candles- they'll just help me decorate. I have had luck finding them for next to nothing at thrift stores, yard sales, and in clearance bins. The right candles will find me in time.

I *want* black pants to wear to work, but I don't really *need* them. I have plenty of clothes. If I should find a pair that fits at a rock bottom price, I'll get them. Until then, this is an expense that can wait.

The small bookcase is something that my sister in law has asked me to keep an eye out for since she knows I thrift a lot. Hopefully a free or inexpensive one will find us soon!

Looking for items this way may seem strange to some people, but I find that it works for me. One of my friends asked if I ever managed to find anything. I usually do- in time. Here's some things that I've recently found from my wants list:

1. New pillows for the guest bed. I've been watching for a sale. Kohl's put the pillows I wanted on sale for half off, plus I had a 15% off coupon. Time to buy!
   
2. A long black skirt. Like the pants, not something that I strictly needed to live, but it does make my work wardrobe go further. I got it for $2 (marked down from $4- watch those colored tags!) at the thrift store. It's lovely, a good brand name, fits like a dream, and has gotten lots of compliments!
   
3. A TV cabinet with doors (like this one, except ours is white!). I've looked for this forever and was thrilled to find it for $28 at a thrift store this month! We did have to fix it up a bit, but a coat of paint was all it took to make it look brand new. It was worth the wait.
   
4. A particular textbook for a class I'm talking. This is one I would have bought at full price if needed, because the class won't wait for me to find the text at a yard sale. However, I did a quick search online and got it for $70 less than the school's bookstore was selling it for. A quick search, a bit of patience, a small amount of waiting...and I saved big. (Go here for tips on getting textbook deals.)
   

Had I purchased all of those items full price, I would have spent around $340. Waiting and searching gave me the same things for a mere $58. It took time, but since those things were not things that I *had* to have, I was willing to wait for a deal.

What's on your thrift list?

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Wordless Wednesday: $20 at the Thrift Store

Have you noticed thrift store prices lately?

This post had me nodding right along with her! My mother and I had this very discussion about six months ago. The chains- Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc seem to be getting a *bit* pricey for a store with the word "thrift" in it. There's one "chain" store I won't even go to anymore in my town, because all the clothes are priced the same per item, regardless of condition. Plus they're not usually even separated by size- just a rack of jeans. I don't have time to dig through three racks of jeans to find something in my size only to find a huge stain and a $15 price tag.

I've started going to consignment shops for clothes as my first stop, not my backup. They used to be more expensive than thrift stores, and I usually reserved them for work clothes. Now I find myself buying my jeans there too. They're organized and do not accept anything worn out or torn. There is also one church run thrift store in town that still has thrifty prices, so I hang out there a lot.

Have you noticed this? Are we crazy? Or did the big names just figure out that the middle class shops there too and adjusted their prices accordingly?

It's Worth a Look

We bought out guest bed on Saturday- a lovely, comfortable queen size bed from Denver Mattress.

However, we did not have a bed frame for it. Denver Mattress wanted 50 dollars for one, which was more than we wanted to pay. Suddenly, I remembered a place that I had seen tons of bed frames- the thrift store!

We zipped by my favorite thrift store and walked out five minute later with a queen sized bed frame- for 20 dollars.

If we had planned a little bit better, I bet that we could have gotten a bed frame on Freecycle, but we cut it a little too close- our guest is coming in today and we wanted everything ready for him. Another example of how planning could have saved us even more money, but I still think that saving 30 dollars is awesome too!

Birthday Makeover

Well, not exactly cheap, but cheaper. My husband does not like my long hair. Actually, he does. He thinks it is really pretty, but he hates it at night. He says my long hair gets in his face and it makes him grumpy. Braiding it does not help his plight of The Hair. So for a birthday surprise, I've decided to cut my hair. And just to make it extra special, I'm having highlights put in as well.

But wait, Frugal Homemaker! Highlights and a hair cut can cost a small fortune! Maintaining them can cost another fortune! Have you gone completly insane? Have you left the frugal way to head off to some high end salon where a guy named Raoul will charge you 300 dollars for each inch of hair cut and one streak of blonde?

Worry not, gentle readers. I did originally contact some salons to find out their prices, and knew that having both these services done was out of my range. I also called Cost Cutters, and while they did do it for a reasonable price, it was still more than I wanted to pay.

Then I remembered something- when I went to prom, I had my hair professionally done for about 15 dollars at a beauty college. I vaguely recalled seeing some beauty colleges around my area, so I decided to make a few phone calls. Today I have an appointment to have my hair cut and highlighted for less than a salon or Cost Cutters. A friend gasped in horror when she found out what I was doing, but I trust it will come out okay. Students are supervised and are trying to learn, so they will likely pay close attention to what they are doing! And if it all goes wrong, my hair grows very fast. I'll report the results this afternoon.

Edited: No, having my hair done is not my husband's only birthday gift. I found a version of Trivial Pursuit (his favorite game) that he had been wanting at a thrift store. It was not a half off color tag that day, but I still consider 2.95 an incredible bargain for something I know he'll love.

Ebay Experiment: Success!

The boppy sold, and I made 1.64 more than I paid for it. My goal was to make at least 1.50, so I
barely made it. Still, I am encouraged to try this again. I can now enjoy my 1.50 linen lined J. Jill
linen pants that much more, knowing that it was paid for by selling something else. WOO-HOO!

Simple Party Ideas

I often find that the most simple parties end up being the most fun. We went to a housewarming party yesterday, and it was so much fun. The hosts had a homemade pizza party. The provided the dough and the sauce, and each couple brought whatever toppings they wanted to use (including the cheese) and a snack to share during the second portion of the evening. It was very fun, and everybody was very generous about sharing toppings, which led to us having a peperoni (which we brought) and jalapenos (which another couple brought and my husband loves) pizza.

After dinner, we had a great time playing games. The hosts asked everybody to bring their favorite board game that everybody could play. (Fun Frugal Fact: Kirk and I get our games from thrift stores. We got Scatagories several years ago for .99 cents- new in its shrink wrap. The box was crushed in on one side, but everything else was great. If it is not in it's original wrapping, be sure that all the pieces are there, or that it is something that could easily be replaced, like dice.) It was one of the best parties I've been to in ages, and when we added up the cost of the things we brought (mostly out of the freezer and pantry) it was about five dollars for both of us. That beats meeting at Starbucks for for dinner, and it was way more fun.