By Vikki Anderson
I belong to Netflix and regularly get movies from them. As many of you know, I am a movie nut so watch movies each night before bed. I recently discovered through a friend that you can get a library card for your county and can go on line to order movies even if they are not in your own library. They will be shipped there (at no charge to you) and you have 7 days to watch them. I picked up a few yesterday. This is a wonderful way of watching movies for free. You can also pick up interesting audio books on CD that you can borrow to learn another language or actually hear a book in the car or on your computer when you are reading email or doing something that does not take up your brain power! I will be giving up Netflix shortly.
Also, another freebie thing I have discovered is Craigslist.com. I go to the FREE section and see what’s available near my town. I had gotten many landscaping rocks for my front lawn and cleaned off a woman’s patio in the meantime (she didn’t do a thing!). Imagine having to pay for rocks? I also gave away many things that I didn’t want to store any longer in my basement or attic and the people came or called almost immediately. Things were going like hotcakes. I also listed free day lilies and yucca plants and the people came and dug them up from my property and were very happy to get free plants. Think of what you can get rid of from your home or property – and let someone else do the clean-up for you! How can you lose?
There is also a section on Craigslist.com to put up things for sale, barter, put up your event or classes that you teach, etc. It’s a good resource that I have been taking advantage of – you may wish to try it.
With the great weather upon us, why not have a garage sale for some of those “treasures” you really don’t need, like or want anymore and make some money in the meantime. You can spend that money on what you do need, want or like! You can even list your garage sale on Craigslist for free.
Charities are a good way of getting rid of clutter or anything else you have too much of that you don’t need any more. I got rid of tons of acrylic paints and donated them to my local high school. I also gave old cookbooks that I never use any longer to the high school and they were so happy to get them for the home economics teacher. I had given pens, (God, where do they all come from) and pencils to the grammar school and I donated art supplies and stuffed animals to a local day care center. When the director told me some children were so poor that they did not have their own stuffed toy, I told her to let them choose first and then let the other animals be for anyone to play with. They were delighted with the donation. You can also donate to Lupus Foundation, Salvation Army, Veterans, etc. and receive a tax deductible form for your income taxes.
Rite Aid has been having an awesome sale for the past few months. Each Sunday, they would have 3-4 items that had a total rebate on them and then you sign up to their website and put in your receipt number and once a month, you can collect a check. I have tons of hair products, toothbrushes, creams, hair color and just lots of stuff that I actually bought and was totally reimbursed for. They have stopped this program now, as it was only running for two months, but keep an eye out for this type of special. FREE is good. It’s also a risk free way of trying something that you may not have tried if you had to pay for it.
Of course, BJ’s or any warehouse club is a big savings, but not if you don’t use the items! If you live alone or the sizes of their jars/boxes are too large, why not share with a friend. I am always amazed at how expensive products are in a grocery store and totally rely on buying discounted quality items at BJ’s. BJ’s members also have access to discounted cruises, car rental and many other vacation specials.
Swap books with friends. If you’ve read your books, you might as well get new ones so ask your friends if they have any books that they are willing to lend you or swap for yours. If you don’t want your books any longer, donate them to your local library. They usually have a book sale once or twice a year and use the money to buy new books for the library. They also take old VHS tapes and DVDs.
If you receive monthly magazines, here is another way of saving money. Ask your friends or family which magazines they receive and if they are duplicated, just cancel your subscription and ask that your friends/family save it for you. You in turn can give them the magazine(s) you get. I had an old collection of Star Trek Magazines which were taking up a lot of space in my bookcase. I gave many of them away on Craigslist and the people were coming out of the woodwork to get them. When I saw they were selling for $5 each on eBay, I quickly changed my strategy and put them up for $4 each and they went quickly! You never know what people will pay for, do you?
You must all know about Cartridge World. They are all over, but I use the one in Riverdale. Fast and friendly service and all printer cartridges are half price. Half price is better than full price in my book. The quality is identical to new. I’ve been using these items for over 2 years now and would not consider paying full price ever again.
Sell unwanted items on eBay. It’s like a small home business once you get into it. I watch DVDs and if it’s not a DVD I think I will watch again, I put it up on eBay and I usually get a pretty good price for it. Many people want newer DVDs but don’t want to pay full price.
Old jewelry that you are no longer wear – try eBay or Craigslist. Also, old 14 ct. gold jewelry is getting a good price these days. I brought some old (and never used) gold jewelry to a local merchant who purchased gold for scrap and got $505.00 cash. Even though it went right out the door to pay a bill, it was very nice seeing the money in my hands for a few minutes!
Borrow dishes, bowls, serving pieces from friends or family for a party. You don’t have to buy everything you need. Borrowing is a great way of saving money plus you don’t have to store it long term. Be courteous and return things clean and promptly.
The Entertainment book is a great way of saving on buy one, get one free meals. It also has cruise, car rental, theme park attractions, airline, hotel, etc. discounts. Also, early bird specials usually means before 6 PM saves you money on a meal. Keep mailer coupons for new restaurants handy in case you want to go out, not only will you save money but you will try a new restaurant to boot.
If you print a lot of things, you know that one of your greatest expenses is paper. If you do not need a perfectly printed item, just save your paper and use the back side of it. You are saving a tree and don’t have the expense of buying good paper for your recipes, printed items from the web, etc. In these times, you should do what you can to save the environment and save a few cents in the process.
Well, that’s it for now. I have to finish my June Children’s Horoscopes, so until next time….
