Prep your "sources"

[jdp]

I avoid my local paper. Many reasons I won't go into.

But this time of year there are many great bargains to be had and in my lowtech corner of PA, USA people still put everything you might want to know In The Paper.

Bugs me to no end.

My freecycle is sad.

But there are still ways to find the deals.

Our local wireless internet provider has free classified listings people are starting to use more and more, there are a few trusty places you can go and see postings people put up, places like the grocery store window, the library bulletin board, etc.

I've also spent time talking to people here who will never give up their local paper and make sure they know what I'm looking for, just in general conversation.

In the last two weeks this has paid off big.

I've gotten organically grown potatoes of 2 types in bulk for less than $0.50/lb. I've gotten apples the same way. Then I got mums, a trunk full of mums, for free.

And in doing this, I in turn learn to know what other people are looking for and turn into a 'source' myself. It was a great way to get closer to people when I first moved here.

I've found I've gotten a lot more than I've passed along and I was reflecting on how to even out the scales this weekend and realized it might make a good post here.

Its almost like job networking except "frugal deal networking". In this day and age of e-social networking and such its easy to forget the benefits of getting to know more people locally and sharing simple things.

Anyway, its something not to forget while you're googling "deals".

[purplefdu]

I'm jealous we could use some mums, lol. We've always done this as I sometimes spend quite a bit of time on Craigslist and have a photographic memory. So when my mom's neighbor mentions she needs a new dog crate I can tell her about the one I saw for $20 in the next town over.

The downside is I am much better at this then the people we talk to usually so I feel like the losing end alot. I can't handle Freecycle (it makes my head spin) and although my sister-in-law lives on it she never bothers to try and help us find stuff we need.

[lucille]

I have kind of an all of the above approach to finding things. I check the bulletin boards at the grocery stores. I keep an eye on our local online classifieds, freecycle, craigslist and the local papers. It increases the odds of actually finding what your looking for.