Too Cold for a Garage Sale? Think Again

In my part of the country, when summer ends so do most of the garage sales. Notice that I said most. Because while you might not see any yard sale signs while driving around the town, there are plenty of garage sales out there, on weekends and on weekdays, if you know where to look. When the weather turns colder, the garage sales start to move indoors. They may be called by other names, such as barn sales, estate sales, outgrown sales, church sales or even moving sales. Instead of shopping from the lawn, you may do your shopping indoors, … Continue reading

Summer Cash for Kids

What’s that saying: Kids and their money are soon parted? Okay, maybe it’s a fool and his cash, but you get the idea. My second grader would rather have her eyelashes yanked out than willingly take on extra chores around the house. However, the kid has expensive taste and just recently discovered that money does not grow on trees, or in Mommy’s wallet. Enter the summer job discussion. While my 7-year-old won’t be restocking shelves at Piggly Wiggly this summer, there are a slew of other money-making opportunities for her to take advantage of right here at home. If you … Continue reading

The Toy Purge

It’s the time of year when the inflow becomes more than the outflow, and that worries me. Yes, we like getting Christmas gifts. However, the sheer number of Christmas gifts can be staggering if we don’t control the flow. We’re lucky. Between doting grandparents, doting parents and doting everyone else, our daughter has a lot. At Christmas time, this translates into a lot of stuff. I am guilty of much of the household inflow as well. You see, in the summer time we go to garage sales. The rest of the year we go to thrift stores when we need … Continue reading

How to Hold an Extreme Garage Sale

Desperate times can call for desperate measures. If you find yourself in a critical financial situation, it might be helpful to hold the mother of all yard sales. This can often raise a good chunk of money and help you get back on your feet. A friend of mine was recently confronted with a short term layoff that left him behind on his mortgage payment by two months. With no other way to raise enough money, he decided to take a look at his assets and see off whatever he could to raise the money he needed. In this case, … Continue reading

How to Price Garage Sale Items

If you want to have a successful yard sale and make a good profit, you’ll need to know how to price items to sell. Here are some helpful tips. And be sure to look for a second post in this series that serves as a guide for common yard sale items and what they should priced. Know Your Region Yard sale prices can vary according to the part of the country that you are in, and what people are looking to buy. The best way to figure out how to price your items is to go around to other yard … Continue reading

Getting Fit Frugally

Now is a great time to make a commitment to fitness. While some people spend hundreds on gym memberships and thousands on equipment, you don’t have to do so. Here are my favorite ways to get fit for free or for very little cost. You can find all sort of exercise videos available at the library. Most libraries offer them free for up to three weeks with the ability to renew. Try different workouts all for nothing in the comfort of your home. Speaking of home, explore your own backyard or neighborhood. Go walking, running, hiking or hill climbing, depending … Continue reading

How the Economy Can Affect Your Marriage

An economy in recession can put a lot of stress on a marriage, and not just from increased worry about paying the bills, although of course money worries can always create some tension. In tough times, personality differences, even differences in gender may make the situation ripe for conflict. Let’s talk about this issue and how we can recognize when the economy is affecting our marriages. In a tough economy there may be stress over where the money is spent. If you have one spouse who is a saver and the other who likes to spend, the difference between the … Continue reading

Dealing with Unexpected Expenses

Dealing with unexpected expenses isn’t often an easy thing to do, but with rising prices on everything these day, unexpected expenses can really put you in a crisis mode. How can you come up with more money when you are already stretched tightly? Here are some ideas. When an unexpected cost comes up, see if it is possible to delay the expense of it until you can save for it or be caught up. Sometimes certain expenses aren’t the crisis that we think they are, only very inconvenient. Let’s say that garage door opener dies. A new one might cost … Continue reading

What You Can Find At Goodwill Series – Shoes, Toys and Electronics

We’ve been discussing the various departments that can be found in Goodwill stores across the United States. So many people have a negative connection with the purchasing of items at a Goodwill store, and I am off to prove that it is worth shopping there. Here are a few more departments and what we found. Shoes It wasn’t a large section, but there were definitely shoes to be found. Yes many were used, but there were more that were new. From summer sandals and flip flops to winter boots and slippers, and everything else in between, was right there sitting … Continue reading

Scrapbooking Supply Finds at Garage Sales

Ever the princess of frugal, I am always on the look out for good bargains and deals at garage sales, that I can actually use. I avoid purchasing anything if I don’t have an immediate use for it, or I cannot see the long term benefit of buying it. Recently I have attended many garage sales with scrapbooking supplies, and have been very fortunate to pick up some awesome deals on things I will most definitely use. That seems not only frugal to me, but a fun find as well. I got pretty lucky on the first weekend we attempted … Continue reading