RE safety:
"(If the seller can’t bring the item out to me in my car, the deal is off.)"
Often doesn't really work for large bulky items like furniture but you have to have a least two people to handle anyhow so one waits in the truck/van with the money/cell phone while the other scopes the item for sale. It helps to google map and then view on google Street's prior to going if there is a question of the area and you live in a region already covered by those services.
This also doesn't work for buyers who want you to deliver the item. Depending on how desperate or where you are located, you are for money, you may need to do a delivery but always try to upcharge on delivery to an actual address (versus meeting somewhere to sell items).
Any major cash transaction can be performed in a bank lobby, supermarket, big book store, or similar place with alot of people around and security cameras. I have used photocopy shops for selling vehicles as you have copiers readily available to make copies of the bill of sale etc and these often have security cameras too.
I was surprised to see you specifically mention that those who live on a sailboat are an exception. I live on a sailboat and find our 8x10 unit invaluable. We actually use it as our 'warehouse' for our small business, so we're in it nearly every day. We consider it an excellent investment because of this.
The commercials for self-storage that portray it as a "got too much stuff? Save money by storing them!" solution sicken me. People here are right... if you're not using it as temporary storage while you're moving, you've got too much stuff... use it or sell it if you need the money.
In September 2008, I began renting a storage unit because I needed a place to stash my stuff while I fulfilled a life long dream of backpacking across Europe.
Roughly, six months later, in April 2009, I got a job clear across the continent and moved from Atlanta to Seattle. I kept my belongings in storage in case the move didn't work out and I needed to come back.
In September 2009, I visited home and cleared everything out of storage. I gave away most things, and have a few boxes that couldn't be sorted stored in my parents' garage.
I kept my storage unit for exactly one year, and I used it for exactly what it should be used for...a place to keep your belongings while you're in transition. Once I settled down, the storage unit had to go.
My sister uses self-storage because she is staying with friends to save money and does not plan on her current living situation to be long term. So she will need her stuff once she is living in her own place again. I understand her reasons, but also long for the days when I could move everything I owned in my volkswagon!
Also Re: RSS, -- I find that the feeds are about an hour behind the website, so if you're looking for a hot item (like something in the Free section), it'll be too slow.
I love Craigslist though. I got a free laser printer from it this weekend (even had some toner left!) and several small computer gigs from it recently.
I use THE BEST DEAL app when shopping for groceries to compare products that are packaged in different quantities and sizes. Stores like Costco already display the prices/unit for prodcuts but nowhere else does so this app makes life a lot easier and I know for sure I picked the product giving me the best deal. The interface is very simple and it looks nice as well.
I started on blogger and moved to wordpress... And it's been great! I haven't jumped into paying for hosting, but I did buy my own domain name through WP. (It helps a lot in my niche for search engine results, so I've noticed.) I did this early on in the blog, mostly because I had been writing about cars for a while already and wanted a new blog to start clean after I figured out what direction I wanted to go in. (That's where I made the jump from blogger to wordpress.)
I think an important part is to have a set schedule for posts. For my blog, a post goes up every three days. This lets me write good content without churning out crappy, sub-par articles just to meet a deadline. If you set up a schedule, you can let readers know and they can either check back every once in a while to read your blog or else sign up for RSS feed and not have to worry about missing it. Just because you don't post content everyday doesn't mean you should skip writing everyday if that's important to you. (I just write when I feel inspired, which isn't too hard when you have a forgiving posting schedule like mine.)
Then again, I'm just working on my writing and all before I try to monetize anything. I'd rather join another blog as a staff writer or publish articles in magazines than monetize my blog. I like blogging for blogging's sake. :)
Generally I think most people should not be paying for storage. Most of the stuff is junk they could / should do without. So they're likley paying more in storage than the stuff is really worth.
However, some temporary use of self storage could be OK. If you're moving or in transition then storage is a reasonable solution.
I just came across this post and thought I'd throw my 2cents:) in!! I joined Refundcents several months ago - site and magazine and couldn't be happier for doing so. My savings have already paid for my inital 3 month sub (thought I'd try 3 months at first to see if I liked it). I really do suggest getting both the mag and site as there are many things in each you can't get in the other. I've responded to several ads to get coupons for a miniaml handleing fee of $1 and have got TONS of really good coupons and high dollar ones too - lots of them. The people I've dealt with are fair, honest, and kind at least that's been my experience so far. This is most definently the best deal I've come across for a long time. I've got IP coupons on the site that I've not seen anywhere else as well as other posted deals not found elsewhere and believe me I'm all over. My reccomendation to you is is give the combo (site & mag) a 3 month trial and see what you think. It cost me $9.50 for that 3 months and now I'm a lifer!!! Not to mention that in that first 3 months my savings far exceed my inital $9.50!!!
The Bank of Mom and Dad doesn't always work. When I turned 22, my parents received a nice letter from the insurance company saying that they did not allow anyone over 21 to remain on their parents' policy. So, I had to get my own policy. It worked out okay for me, since I'm actually paying less for my own policy, but I just wanted to point out that it's not always possible to remain on your parents' plan indefinitely.
If her parents are both responsible financially then I wonder how the daughter ended up the way she is? Don't people really learn their financial habits primarily from their parents?
That's interesting about the RSS feed. When I click it, I get a new page that asks which feed reader I want to use (select from a drop-down box.) Does anyone else know what could be doing this?
In the past, we saved a lot on cat litter and diapers. I think coffee is one of the best deals -- great-quality, fair trade or organic coffee beans at Costco (Kirkland brand) are under $5 per pound.
I also purchase flour in bulk (25-pound bags) to bake my own bread -- and the yeast at Costco costs 93 percent less than buying it in the little jars at my grocery store!
We buy clothes there, too -- not only for the low prices, but for the fewer choices which automatically limit what we buy.
Does the amount of gas saved that you quote include the driving done by the shipping companies and airplanes to get the package to your door? Just curious.
Oh my goodness, i had just scratched my precious NCIS dvd! I was real upset. Then i read the tip about pledge. I had cobra furniture polish, and out of sheer desperation used it. And IT WORKED! I honestly didn't think it would work, but it did! Thank you for that tip Theresa!
I am relatively new blogger at http://www.mewothoutdebt.com and have been using Blogger. I feel Wordpress is more customizable (and hence elegant) but somewhat is more expensive than Blogger and also more complicated for a new bloggers. I believe maybe Blogger is a good for starting bloggers until they are ready to spend some more time and money and move on to Wordpress.
Our non-profit group recently started storing our event materials in a self-storage unit. Previous to this, people were storing things in their own garages or closets which made it difficult to keep an inventory of all items. And made it almost impossible to track down items once people left or moved from the city. We found a local self-storage that gave us a discount for being a non-profit.
I like this article. I would like to use RSS for Craig's List, but if I search for something, and then click on the RSS button, I get a pop-up page with a bunch of HTML garbage. I have no idea how to use that and incorporate it into my RSS reader. Any suggestions?
I think people are very rational. If you have parents who will take care of you, you won't be incentivized to take care of yourself. You will take advantage up to a breaking point.
When I was bidding on property, I always encountered kids with their parents. We're talking $1-2 million properties here. I'm competing against not just the kid/child adult, but his/her parents balance sheets.
It is what it is.
Keigu,
Financial Samurai
"Slicing Through Money's Mysteries"
The best use I've ever seen of Self Storage is as a set for the X-files. Some of my favourite episodes involved the unspeakable goings-on within locked storage facilities!
Seriously though. Renting a self-storage place to resolve a clutter problem is like curing obesity by buying bigger pants.
I briefly considered self-storage before deciding that it would be better to use the monthly cost of self-storage to make a case for getting rid of junk. That was harder than you might think. My wife seemed to have unusually strong attachments to battered Ikea bookshelves that you wouldn't cross the road to spit on if I left them by a dumpster.
My wife and I would no longer buy any of the items you listed unless we considered it a nice monthly extravagance (eg. we were splurging for a dinner party or something). Saving money from the expensive grocery store no-longer makes it "worth buying" in our book.
We do have a membership at a Sam's Club. We buy kitty litter, cat food, flour, rice, pasta, and toilet paper in massive bulk quantities and weekly cheese and soy milk (non-organic) and occasionally some spices, but thats about it. We know many of the other items cost less than other stores, but we just stick to the staples now. It seems like our membership is worth it when we run the numbers.
We did buy topenade a couple of years ago, made nice little hors d'oeuvres on french bread with goats' cheese. But brother, that was then and this is now.
We shop at Costco nearly exclusively, but one of my faves is their men's jeans. $13 for a VERY simple pair of jeans (5-pocket), no fancy designer add-ons. This is the kind of jean I actually prefer, and it's hard to find for anywhere near that price.
RE safety:
"(If the seller can’t bring the item out to me in my car, the deal is off.)"
Often doesn't really work for large bulky items like furniture but you have to have a least two people to handle anyhow so one waits in the truck/van with the money/cell phone while the other scopes the item for sale. It helps to google map and then view on google Street's prior to going if there is a question of the area and you live in a region already covered by those services.
This also doesn't work for buyers who want you to deliver the item. Depending on how desperate or where you are located, you are for money, you may need to do a delivery but always try to upcharge on delivery to an actual address (versus meeting somewhere to sell items).
Any major cash transaction can be performed in a bank lobby, supermarket, big book store, or similar place with alot of people around and security cameras. I have used photocopy shops for selling vehicles as you have copiers readily available to make copies of the bill of sale etc and these often have security cameras too.
Here's another blog with a good listing of what people like to buy, either for savings, value, flavor, etc., The really interesting thing is looking through the comments to see what you might be missing out on. I found a number of things that I hadn't even thought of looking for at Costco.
The blog author has also done a price study comparing Costco to three of her local supermarkets in regards to basic food products like bread, milk, butter, eggs, etc.
I was surprised to see you specifically mention that those who live on a sailboat are an exception. I live on a sailboat and find our 8x10 unit invaluable. We actually use it as our 'warehouse' for our small business, so we're in it nearly every day. We consider it an excellent investment because of this.
The commercials for self-storage that portray it as a "got too much stuff? Save money by storing them!" solution sicken me. People here are right... if you're not using it as temporary storage while you're moving, you've got too much stuff... use it or sell it if you need the money.
In September 2008, I began renting a storage unit because I needed a place to stash my stuff while I fulfilled a life long dream of backpacking across Europe.
Roughly, six months later, in April 2009, I got a job clear across the continent and moved from Atlanta to Seattle. I kept my belongings in storage in case the move didn't work out and I needed to come back.
In September 2009, I visited home and cleared everything out of storage. I gave away most things, and have a few boxes that couldn't be sorted stored in my parents' garage.
I kept my storage unit for exactly one year, and I used it for exactly what it should be used for...a place to keep your belongings while you're in transition. Once I settled down, the storage unit had to go.
My sister uses self-storage because she is staying with friends to save money and does not plan on her current living situation to be long term. So she will need her stuff once she is living in her own place again. I understand her reasons, but also long for the days when I could move everything I owned in my volkswagon!
Re: RSS -- could depend on your browser
Also Re: RSS, -- I find that the feeds are about an hour behind the website, so if you're looking for a hot item (like something in the Free section), it'll be too slow.
I love Craigslist though. I got a free laser printer from it this weekend (even had some toner left!) and several small computer gigs from it recently.
I use THE BEST DEAL app when shopping for groceries to compare products that are packaged in different quantities and sizes. Stores like Costco already display the prices/unit for prodcuts but nowhere else does so this app makes life a lot easier and I know for sure I picked the product giving me the best deal. The interface is very simple and it looks nice as well.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=333189...
http://www.thebestdeal.me
I started on blogger and moved to wordpress... And it's been great! I haven't jumped into paying for hosting, but I did buy my own domain name through WP. (It helps a lot in my niche for search engine results, so I've noticed.) I did this early on in the blog, mostly because I had been writing about cars for a while already and wanted a new blog to start clean after I figured out what direction I wanted to go in. (That's where I made the jump from blogger to wordpress.)
I think an important part is to have a set schedule for posts. For my blog, a post goes up every three days. This lets me write good content without churning out crappy, sub-par articles just to meet a deadline. If you set up a schedule, you can let readers know and they can either check back every once in a while to read your blog or else sign up for RSS feed and not have to worry about missing it. Just because you don't post content everyday doesn't mean you should skip writing everyday if that's important to you. (I just write when I feel inspired, which isn't too hard when you have a forgiving posting schedule like mine.)
Then again, I'm just working on my writing and all before I try to monetize anything. I'd rather join another blog as a staff writer or publish articles in magazines than monetize my blog. I like blogging for blogging's sake. :)
Generally I think most people should not be paying for storage. Most of the stuff is junk they could / should do without. So they're likley paying more in storage than the stuff is really worth.
However, some temporary use of self storage could be OK. If you're moving or in transition then storage is a reasonable solution.
I just came across this post and thought I'd throw my 2cents:) in!! I joined Refundcents several months ago - site and magazine and couldn't be happier for doing so. My savings have already paid for my inital 3 month sub (thought I'd try 3 months at first to see if I liked it). I really do suggest getting both the mag and site as there are many things in each you can't get in the other. I've responded to several ads to get coupons for a miniaml handleing fee of $1 and have got TONS of really good coupons and high dollar ones too - lots of them. The people I've dealt with are fair, honest, and kind at least that's been my experience so far. This is most definently the best deal I've come across for a long time. I've got IP coupons on the site that I've not seen anywhere else as well as other posted deals not found elsewhere and believe me I'm all over. My reccomendation to you is is give the combo (site & mag) a 3 month trial and see what you think. It cost me $9.50 for that 3 months and now I'm a lifer!!! Not to mention that in that first 3 months my savings far exceed my inital $9.50!!!
The Bank of Mom and Dad doesn't always work. When I turned 22, my parents received a nice letter from the insurance company saying that they did not allow anyone over 21 to remain on their parents' policy. So, I had to get my own policy. It worked out okay for me, since I'm actually paying less for my own policy, but I just wanted to point out that it's not always possible to remain on your parents' plan indefinitely.
If her parents are both responsible financially then I wonder how the daughter ended up the way she is? Don't people really learn their financial habits primarily from their parents?
That's interesting about the RSS feed. When I click it, I get a new page that asks which feed reader I want to use (select from a drop-down box.) Does anyone else know what could be doing this?
Linsey Knerl
I love all the ideas about saving at Costco. In May, I added up my annual savings at Costco and figured I save about $500 per year there.
In the past, we saved a lot on cat litter and diapers. I think coffee is one of the best deals -- great-quality, fair trade or organic coffee beans at Costco (Kirkland brand) are under $5 per pound.
I also purchase flour in bulk (25-pound bags) to bake my own bread -- and the yeast at Costco costs 93 percent less than buying it in the little jars at my grocery store!
We buy clothes there, too -- not only for the low prices, but for the fewer choices which automatically limit what we buy.
Does the amount of gas saved that you quote include the driving done by the shipping companies and airplanes to get the package to your door? Just curious.
Oh my goodness, i had just scratched my precious NCIS dvd! I was real upset. Then i read the tip about pledge. I had cobra furniture polish, and out of sheer desperation used it. And IT WORKED! I honestly didn't think it would work, but it did! Thank you for that tip Theresa!
I am relatively new blogger at http://www.mewothoutdebt.com and have been using Blogger. I feel Wordpress is more customizable (and hence elegant) but somewhat is more expensive than Blogger and also more complicated for a new bloggers. I believe maybe Blogger is a good for starting bloggers until they are ready to spend some more time and money and move on to Wordpress.
Our non-profit group recently started storing our event materials in a self-storage unit. Previous to this, people were storing things in their own garages or closets which made it difficult to keep an inventory of all items. And made it almost impossible to track down items once people left or moved from the city. We found a local self-storage that gave us a discount for being a non-profit.
I like this article. I would like to use RSS for Craig's List, but if I search for something, and then click on the RSS button, I get a pop-up page with a bunch of HTML garbage. I have no idea how to use that and incorporate it into my RSS reader. Any suggestions?
Thanks
I think people are very rational. If you have parents who will take care of you, you won't be incentivized to take care of yourself. You will take advantage up to a breaking point.
When I was bidding on property, I always encountered kids with their parents. We're talking $1-2 million properties here. I'm competing against not just the kid/child adult, but his/her parents balance sheets.
It is what it is.
Keigu,
Financial Samurai
"Slicing Through Money's Mysteries"
The best use I've ever seen of Self Storage is as a set for the X-files. Some of my favourite episodes involved the unspeakable goings-on within locked storage facilities!
Seriously though. Renting a self-storage place to resolve a clutter problem is like curing obesity by buying bigger pants.
I briefly considered self-storage before deciding that it would be better to use the monthly cost of self-storage to make a case for getting rid of junk. That was harder than you might think. My wife seemed to have unusually strong attachments to battered Ikea bookshelves that you wouldn't cross the road to spit on if I left them by a dumpster.
My wife and I would no longer buy any of the items you listed unless we considered it a nice monthly extravagance (eg. we were splurging for a dinner party or something). Saving money from the expensive grocery store no-longer makes it "worth buying" in our book.
We do have a membership at a Sam's Club. We buy kitty litter, cat food, flour, rice, pasta, and toilet paper in massive bulk quantities and weekly cheese and soy milk (non-organic) and occasionally some spices, but thats about it. We know many of the other items cost less than other stores, but we just stick to the staples now. It seems like our membership is worth it when we run the numbers.
We did buy topenade a couple of years ago, made nice little hors d'oeuvres on french bread with goats' cheese. But brother, that was then and this is now.
Fantastic outlet for anybody to practice their first amendment right.
Keigu,
Financial Samurai
"Slicing Through Money's Mysteries"
We shop at Costco nearly exclusively, but one of my faves is their men's jeans. $13 for a VERY simple pair of jeans (5-pocket), no fancy designer add-ons. This is the kind of jean I actually prefer, and it's hard to find for anywhere near that price.