Cheap Chick's Corner

 

I have been told many times that i could make $20 stretch pretty far. Now that I'm doing the Dave Ramsey's 7 baby steps, I try to find deals whenever I can. Baby step #2 can be extremely challenging at times. Anybody who has been on the Dave Ramsey plan can contest this. Every penny I have, I try to put it towards the debt the hubby and I plan to pay off. But now and then, which Dave Ramsey agrees, it's okay to have a little spending money. You can't penny pinch forever without having a little bit of fun too. If you don't, you dread baby step #2 and that won't help you pay off all your debt. But you can't go crazy either because they are are baby stepping backwards.

 

So after been given the compliment (that's how I'm taking it anyways) of being a penny pincher, bean counter, tight wad, thrifty, etc, I thought maybe I should share this with my fellow friends. Maybe this being "cheap" -- maybe it's my talent. I am not the best at drawing, visioning things, building stuff, singing, cooking, dancing, but maybe my bargaining hunting skills is a talent I possess.

 

After some thought while hunting for great buys, of course, I have decided to share my finds and tips with you. =oD

 

Today:

I had to run a quick errand on my lunch. For the life of us, the hubby and I couldn't find Cloie's birth certificate. =o( Kinda needed it if we wanted to try to register her for Kindergarten. I headed down to the county building to pick up a copy. After spending 10 minutes top there, I cruised across the street to fill up my gas tank (paying cash of course from my gas bi-weekly budget). 5 minutes later, I wasn't ready to head back to work and had plenty of time to bum around. I didn't want to spend a lot because 1) there wasn't a lot of free (non-ear-marked for bills) money and 2) I am slowly trying to downsize - live a simple-er lifestyle.

 

Then I got the idea to hit the local Goodwill. Haven't been there in a while. =oD

 

TIP: When it comes to Goodwill, Salvation Army & any other thrift shops, it takes lots of patience and time to score some good finds. (Most often it pays to take your time in these stores.) I may go every other week and many times walk out empty handed and other times have a garbage bag full of deals. You have to take the time, sort the junk (yes junk) for the steals.

 

Also if you make a habit of peaking into these places now and then, you get use to pricing, etc. So when I'm in a "normal" store and see the sticker price on an item, I can tell what it's really worth to me.

 

For example: I know I can get planner at a "normal" retail store ranging from $10-$20 - on up, but I can score one at Goodwill for $3, then I buy the Goodwill one.

 

Yeah the selection may not be the biggest, but if you want save some money, you might not be able to be a picky. It's a give and take. What's more important to you? Spending more money to exactly what you want or spending way less to get 80% of what you want? More times than not, I rather save the money for something else.

 

Back to today:

I made my rounds in Goodwill and came across a tote FULL of greeting cards - unused greeting cards that I thought were cute. Normally a greeting card can cost $1.50 - $5 depending and at times at the dollar store you can get 2 for $1. I looked at the sign on the tote - all greeting cards 10 cents!

 

Let me repeat that again, a little louder......

 

ALL GREETING CARDS - 10 CENTS (10 little tiny pennies)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Let me tell you, I spent probably 20 minutes going through all the cards and had to stop at 19 in my hand when I walked away. I picked out TONS of birthday cards (can't have too many of those), 3 baby shower cards (something is in the water around here.....lol), an anniversary card for this coming fall, wedding cards, some thank yous, some random just because cards.

 

I was the most happiest girl in that store. I finished my rounds with a smile on my face, cards cradled with pride in my hands.

 

So fellow friends who live in my area, if your greeting cards box is getting low, you may want to hit the Goodwill store stat before they get picked over or worse - GONE!

 

So I walked out of the store with 19 greeting cards, 3 paperback books to read (each retailed price at $15) for a WHOPPING $3!!!  Where did I get the $3? Well I had $60 for gas but only could put in $54 into the tank so I had change left over. ;o)

 

Cheap chick here, signing off for now. Happy bargaining! Let me know if any of you peeps scored on the greeting cards. I would really like to know that I helped someone save some money!