"Renting" furniture?

I move - a lot.  This will be my ninth move in the past 17 years of being married.  One thing I've learned is not to get too attached to things.  The comfy sectional sofa that is perfect in one home, just doesn't fit in the next.  So out it goes.  This is one reason why I love Craigslist.  I can buy and sell until everything fits.

It occurred to me this week that in a sense we rent our furniture.  Well, we sometimes borrow furniture for free!  Here are two recent examples.  When we moved into our current home, I wanted a shelving system that would look built-in.  I found the perfect thing on Craigslist and paid $250 for it.  Three years later, I want to keep part of it but not the whole thing.  So, I sold part of it for $50.  I probably could have sold the whole thing for the same $250 I paid for it.  Around the same time, I bought a wardrobe for our bonus room that we use as a bedroom.  Our new home has tons of closets, so out it goes.  We paid $95 for it three years ago and this week we sold it for $115.  So, we made $20 for "renting" our wardrobe the past few years.

The wardrobe that made me money.

A few tips for shopping on Craigslist:

Do your homework and know what it would cost new.

Always offer less than the listed price.

Consider the resale value.  Think - "Can I sell it for the same amount later?"

Remember that classic pieces and colors sell faster.

Habitat for Humanity's ReStore

We recently sold our house and are fixing a few things for the buyer.  We had a few broken pieces of vinyl siding thanks to having kids (kids that like to practice baseball in the backyard).  Who knew it would be impossible to find matching siding for the repair!  My husband spoke to manufacturers, installers, warehouse stores, and more, only to find that it was not to be.  So, on a whim he went to Habitat for Humanity's ReStore.  There he found a similar enough piece for only $1.  He was able to take a piece off of an inconspicuous place to repair the bad spots.  Then he painted the ReStore piece to match the house and placed it on the now-empty inconspicuous place.  Viola!  The siding repair man said he would charge $100 just to come look at it; my husband repaired it for a total of $30 including the siding, paint, and tool.

Can you even tell this is not a exact match?

Well after that amazing find, I decided to go look around the ReStore for ideas for the new house.  What I found was a box of glass mosaic tiles to put a backsplash in my kitchen.  I had priced these before and knew that the mosaic tiles cost $9 for a 12x12 sheet.  The ReStore had a box of 20 sheets for $25.  That is a savings of $155.  It should be just enough for my new kitchen.


Habitat's ReStore is great place to find new and used items for your home.  From furniture and rugs to cabinets and flooring, it is full of great deals.

It pays to be patient

We are buying a new house.  House shopping can be fun.  It can also be frustrating.  This is supposed to be a buyer's market, so I anticipated getting a good deal.  However, a lot of people paid too much for their home and now they just won't be reasonable about the current value of their home. 

My plan was to look at a few homes and then buy one.  That was not how it worked out.  We saw so many homes that had major problems but were priced as if they were move-in ready.  We put in offers on several homes.  One was a foreclosure and, even though we put in the highest offer, we were beat out by a cash offer.  It just didn't seem to be coming together.

The last offer we put in on a house was also rejected and I was beginning to think I would have to pay more than I was willing to pay.  Our realtor told us to stick to our plan and I'm glad we did.  The owners called back a few days later and accepted our offer.  It really does pay to be patient.

It never hurts to ask

I got an amazing deal today.  All I had to do was ask.  Well, and be a little persistent.

I saw a chair (in a box, not assembled) that would go perfectly in my living room.  It had been ordered online and returned to the store.  Originally it was $140, but was marked down to $100 because they don't carry them in the store.  I was excited already.

I took it out of the box and noticed some damage.  It was on the back and I thought I could live with it - for the right price. 

I took it to the front and asked to speak to a manager.  I showed her the damage and asked if they could give an extra discount.  She said she couldn't.  Not that it couldn't be done, but that she couldn't.  So I asked to speak to a higher manager.  Another woman came out and quickly agreed to discount it further.  I was hoping for another $20 or $25 off.  Surprisingly, she marked it down to $50!!  What an awesome deal!  Plus, I got another 5% off with my Target card.  That's a total of $47.50 plus tax for my new chair.

 

 

Free is the best price of all...

I have been wanting to buy a dresser for my daughter, but like always, I didn't want to spend much.  I searched my usual places: Craigslist, thrift stores, etc.  Everything seemed over priced.  $50 for a used dresser?  I just couldn't do it.

Then, as I was driving out of my neighborhood one day, I saw it.  A free dresser sitting on the curb.  Not only that, it had a matching night stand.  Did I say it was free??  I was so excited.  It needed a little paint and we splurged on some new hardware.  In the end, I spent less than $25 in supplies.

This is what I got...

 

Plan ahead

I have found this to be true - kids are always hungry when they are away from home.  Planning ahead for this can save a lot of money.  We take food and water any time we are leaving home for more than a very brief time.  Keeping a stash in the family van can help, too. 

We recently drove to Florida for Thanksgiving.  I planned ahead for the long trip by packing sandwiches, snacks, and bottles of water (non-disposable of course).  This not only saved us time by not having to stop so often, but it also saved us from spending money at convenience stores and fast food restaurants.  On the way back home however, I did not plan ahead.  We ended up spending almost $60 on food that day.  Now, you may say that's not bad for six people, but honestly I was just as happy with my sandwich from home.

Many people don't know that you can take your own food and drinks into a lot of places.  We have always brought food and reusable water bottles to Disney World.  This year we took our own food and water to the State Fair.  I know some may think that takes some of the fun out of it.  So, we usually plan for one meal or special snack to be bought there but the real hunger gets satisfied by reasonably priced food from home.  A little planning can be a budget saver.

Bread for less dough

I remember my mom taking me to the "day-old bread store" as we used to call it.  Mostly I remember begging for the sweet goodies they sold there for next-to-nothing.  Some family traditions should definitely be passed on.  The price of bread these days is enough to give me a heart attack.  The bakery outlet is just what the doctor ordered.

I like to go to the Flowers store.  They have a large variety of bread products priced from 99 cents to about two dollars.  I never have problems finding whole wheat bread for 99 cents, even the double-fiber variety.  When they get a large shipment in, they run "buy one, get one free" specials.  They even sell bagels, English muffins, and tortillas at 99 cents.  Of course, my kids like to go in and beg for the sweet stuff - some things never change.

The best deal at Flowers is if you spend $5, you get another loaf free.  Our family goes through a lot of bread, so spending five bucks has never been a problem.  They also have a punch card system.  They punch one star for every dollar you spend and after 50 punches you get $5 off your next order.  It does take a while to fill a punch card, because after all, the bread is cheap!