I love thrift shopping, but I especially love thrift shopping in NYC. Once I found the most AMAZING hat - brown velvet with a satin bow. I love imagining all the places that hat has been.
One other thing I like to look for is costume jewelry. You can find some great deals on fun, funky, vintage-y stuff.
Hand-knit sweaters that can be disassembled to re-use the yarn. Beautiful and classic animal fibers like cashmere can be found this way at a fraction of the retail price. (Some commercially made sweaters can be taken apart and re-used as well - you must check the side seams to see if the construction of the garment involved cutting out the pieces and sewing them together with an overlock machine, in which case you will get a bazillion strands of yarn - each only as long as the sweater is wide.)
I completely agree with the "quiet example" statement. Bragging about your frugality can be just as obnoxious as bragging about some super expensive new toy you just bought.
Accessories are a great thing to look for at thrift stores- especially if you like really flashy or out there scarves, hats, belts and things like that. There are always a lot of these items around, and they can transform an entire outfit with just one- a great investment. I'm not sure how much I would trust furniture or dish ware however. You Never know if someone had a pet with fleas, or where that dish wear has been. I'm comfortable buying clothes from thrift stores, but I'm not sure about things for my house that I would want to know exactly who had used them before me.
For me, its going to the gym. If I don't do this right away in the morning, I will think of excuses throughout the day of why not to go and then feel guilty the next day, or I will be so aggravated later on when I just want to relax but force myself, that the workout is absolute torture. I think this is the best tip in motivation- if you get into the routine of getting your worst chore out of the way in the very beginning of the day- you'll see how good it feels and it will make you want to do it regularly.
We are also fans of Dominion, but our favorite is Agricola. We play a lot of those sort of strategy/resource management games, and I haven't encountered one that has as much replay value--partly because there is no "one way" to win. There's a bit of a learning curve in the first game, but we're always eager to introduce new players to it. We like to keep a mix of games around--some complex, like Agricola, but also a handful of funny beer-and-pretzel games, like those made by Steve Jackson or Cheap Ass Games (Captain Park's Imaginary Polar Expedition is a fave). I'm not familiar with the last three games, but will check them out.
yes i go to concerts. i play in a community band and we perform 4-5 concerts per year, i usually go to one or two symphonic/orchestral type of concerts per year. and 1-2 rock-type concerts. my sister and i usually go for the cheap seats to the bigger shows, but we are splurging for floor seats next month for Aerosmith.
I owe 16K on student loans to State of NJ they want me to pay 181/month but I can't afford that. I told them I can afford 50/month but they refused. This debt is set to expire from my report in 2017 and even if I paid 181/month for the next 6 years I won't have this paid off. Also I believed they garnished my last tax return if this trend continued then it may never expire from my credit report because the information will keep updating every time they take a payment. What do you suggest I do? I can't afford what they're asking for. What will happen if I choose to just not pay? Can I get them to stop garnishing my tax return?
Cindy -- I agree; your approach is perfect. Leading quietly by example communicates everything and the people who are supposed to notice, definitely do. :)
Cindy, I love your statement to "...lead by quiet example...". What an inspirational way to live and more powerful than a condemnation of others. We are all going through life, finding our way one day at a time and one person's choices are just that. But leading through example of what is possible is a great lesson for us all.
Everyone needs money. money never enough,if closest friend borrow money from me. I rather go to pay her medication from phamacy. never give money just to go squander someone money in an unnecessarly life. Everyone needs everything but everyone has to have limit of doing things or spending money in their life.If you are sick and there is no doctor What should you do? l should wait for a doctor to get a treament. so you should learn to wait when you earn your own money to go,and spend it or pay your loan back. family is different , when a family member is in danger is affect the same blood. Is up to family how to enforced him or her to overcome money problem to her self to become independed with her own money. if someone learn habit of owing people money one day they owe your whole life back. means complete lose your life for that..
This is great advice. I have to admit, I'm all about the proverbial cake. I guess it's about time I had a nice portion of frog. I've got a lot of horrible jobs that have been piling up and they're just cluttering my mind.
That's excellent advice, Van... If we all did one thing that we found "scary" every day, we'd accomplish some amazing things. Thanks for the comment :)
one last thing to keep an eye out for, signs of bedbugs. you don't want to bring any ride alongs home with you, you won't enjoy the clean up.
I love thrift shopping, but I especially love thrift shopping in NYC. Once I found the most AMAZING hat - brown velvet with a satin bow. I love imagining all the places that hat has been.
One other thing I like to look for is costume jewelry. You can find some great deals on fun, funky, vintage-y stuff.
Happy Shopping!!
Good tips! I really like the tip about buying pants to re-make as shorts. VERY creative! I might need to use this one sometime soon...
I feel stupid for even asking this, but how do you determine what is stainless and what is the genuine stuff?
My favorite find recently was a once-worn J Crew bridesmaid dress -- $15.
Hand-knit sweaters that can be disassembled to re-use the yarn. Beautiful and classic animal fibers like cashmere can be found this way at a fraction of the retail price. (Some commercially made sweaters can be taken apart and re-used as well - you must check the side seams to see if the construction of the garment involved cutting out the pieces and sewing them together with an overlock machine, in which case you will get a bazillion strands of yarn - each only as long as the sweater is wide.)
Hmmm.... Unless one is going to commit suicide, one can't plan one's own death.
I completely agree with the "quiet example" statement. Bragging about your frugality can be just as obnoxious as bragging about some super expensive new toy you just bought.
Accessories are a great thing to look for at thrift stores- especially if you like really flashy or out there scarves, hats, belts and things like that. There are always a lot of these items around, and they can transform an entire outfit with just one- a great investment. I'm not sure how much I would trust furniture or dish ware however. You Never know if someone had a pet with fleas, or where that dish wear has been. I'm comfortable buying clothes from thrift stores, but I'm not sure about things for my house that I would want to know exactly who had used them before me.
For me, its going to the gym. If I don't do this right away in the morning, I will think of excuses throughout the day of why not to go and then feel guilty the next day, or I will be so aggravated later on when I just want to relax but force myself, that the workout is absolute torture. I think this is the best tip in motivation- if you get into the routine of getting your worst chore out of the way in the very beginning of the day- you'll see how good it feels and it will make you want to do it regularly.
Love your list! I just shared my own list of thrift store must-haves! http://www.makermama.com/2012/06/five-things-you-should-always-buy-from....
We are also fans of Dominion, but our favorite is Agricola. We play a lot of those sort of strategy/resource management games, and I haven't encountered one that has as much replay value--partly because there is no "one way" to win. There's a bit of a learning curve in the first game, but we're always eager to introduce new players to it. We like to keep a mix of games around--some complex, like Agricola, but also a handful of funny beer-and-pretzel games, like those made by Steve Jackson or Cheap Ass Games (Captain Park's Imaginary Polar Expedition is a fave). I'm not familiar with the last three games, but will check them out.
yes i go to concerts. i play in a community band and we perform 4-5 concerts per year, i usually go to one or two symphonic/orchestral type of concerts per year. and 1-2 rock-type concerts. my sister and i usually go for the cheap seats to the bigger shows, but we are splurging for floor seats next month for Aerosmith.
I owe 16K on student loans to State of NJ they want me to pay 181/month but I can't afford that. I told them I can afford 50/month but they refused. This debt is set to expire from my report in 2017 and even if I paid 181/month for the next 6 years I won't have this paid off. Also I believed they garnished my last tax return if this trend continued then it may never expire from my credit report because the information will keep updating every time they take a payment. What do you suggest I do? I can't afford what they're asking for. What will happen if I choose to just not pay? Can I get them to stop garnishing my tax return?
My mom is going to love these recipes. She loves salads. Thanks for sharing. :)
I follow you on Facebook
I haven't been to a concert in close to 20 years. I prefer to listen to music at home.
Yes but I get free tickets from a friend who is the GM of a local venue.
Oops! Thanks for catching that, Marci!
The phrase is "make do" not "make due."
Cindy -- I agree; your approach is perfect. Leading quietly by example communicates everything and the people who are supposed to notice, definitely do. :)
Cindy, I love your statement to "...lead by quiet example...". What an inspirational way to live and more powerful than a condemnation of others. We are all going through life, finding our way one day at a time and one person's choices are just that. But leading through example of what is possible is a great lesson for us all.
Thank you for sharing.
Everyone needs money. money never enough,if closest friend borrow money from me. I rather go to pay her medication from phamacy. never give money just to go squander someone money in an unnecessarly life. Everyone needs everything but everyone has to have limit of doing things or spending money in their life.If you are sick and there is no doctor What should you do? l should wait for a doctor to get a treament. so you should learn to wait when you earn your own money to go,and spend it or pay your loan back. family is different , when a family member is in danger is affect the same blood. Is up to family how to enforced him or her to overcome money problem to her self to become independed with her own money. if someone learn habit of owing people money one day they owe your whole life back. means complete lose your life for that..
This is great advice. I have to admit, I'm all about the proverbial cake. I guess it's about time I had a nice portion of frog. I've got a lot of horrible jobs that have been piling up and they're just cluttering my mind.
That's excellent advice, Van... If we all did one thing that we found "scary" every day, we'd accomplish some amazing things. Thanks for the comment :)