Aug

26

Lead Me Not Into Shopping Temptation

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shopping frenzyGreetings from New York City, the next (and next to last) stop on our sisters’ road trip.  I spent today wandering the city and was consistently  bombarded with buying messages until my head ached.  Make it stop!  I don’t want to spend money!

It occurred to me that there should be a list of tips, or questions to ask yourself, to nip that urge to buy impulsively right in the bud.  So I asked a bunch of my frugalista friends how they cope with the desire to shop when they really should not.  Here are some of their answers.  Write them down on on an index card and, whenever you’re faced with the urge to splurge, take it out and ask yourself the following:

Why would I want to buy this thing when I am actively trying to save money?

What benefit would I get from buying this particular thing at this particular time?

Is this something that I need, that will go with other things in my home or closet, and that I will actually use?

Is this something that I cannot ever obtain anywhere else?

Is it a good buy?

Why do I want to deplete my cash (or run up my credit card bill) anyway? (This is the insightful, psychological question.)

By the time you get through these few thoughts, two things will happen:

1) You will have determined if you really want and need the item, and

2) You will have passed the crucial impulse-buying moment and you’ll be thinking more clearly.

At this point, you can choose — either you walk away, or you make your purchase, love it, and be clear of all guilt.

Either way, you will walk away happy with your choice.

Tomorrow, we head to upstate New York, the capital of fun, kitschy yard sale finds.  I’ll be armed with cash, and searching for bargains that rival my best one ever, a vintage Louis Vuitton overnight bag I bought up there for $2.50!

Spending update — Having shelled out maybe another $50 for food and drink on Fire Island, (definitely easier if you’re not a drinker), and including a generous (if we do say so ourselves!) gift to our hostess, and gas and tolls to get to the city, we’re now up to about $800 for both of us, after more than two weeks.  It’s good to have friends in high places.

For more how-to tips for drinking on a budget, click here.

Be back in few days from yard sale Heaven!

Aug

20

Diving for Discounts

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the art and science of dumpster divingLast week, the Miami Herald published what I find to be a troubling article, entitled Freegans, referring to people who live by salvaging other people’s discards.  As the “anti-consumers”, these people both eschew capitalism and loathe waste.  Also referred to as Dumpster Diving and many other terms, it includes searching for anything, including food, with health warnings galore.  There’s even a book about it!

Personally, used food is where I draw the line.  But for furniture and other treasures, it can really be a good way to go.  Last week, before leaving on our trip, my sister went through the (dry, all paper) garbage in her mail room to retrieve about 50 Dunkin Donuts free-coupon books that we’ve been using along the way.  I have furnished a few houses almost exclusively with found objects.  My friend Ralph found a stereo component in perfect working order, and sold it on eBay for several hundred dollars. And that’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.  We’ve barely scratched the surface of stuff you can buy second-hand to save you unbelievable amounts of money.

Most things can be used and re-used before they reach the end of their natural lives.  Some continue in their original uses, maybe in a different place.  Some things are transformed into other items or to objects of art. (I call this Art Wrecko.)

How do you find the best things without getting your hands dirty?  Beyond rubber gloves, start by “shopping” in the finest areas — find out which nights are garbage nights in the high-rent districts in your area, and bone up on your Antique Roadshow skills.  One friend of mine found two old chairs, took them home to strip and refinish and discovered that they were actually valuable antiques!

Beyond Craigslist, Ebay and local yard and estate sales, there are lots of places to shop, some without even having to leave home.  For a starting list of free and bartering sites, click here.

Finally, a Road Trip update:  We’ve been on Fire Island for 6 days so far, and have spent an additional $7 to buy ice cream for our housemates. That’s all, folks!