The Thrift World

Get a free Subway breakfast! Plus, win a gift card!

2013-05-16T19:46:00.000-04:00

I try not to make freebie posts a main part of The Thrift World because many of them require you to jump through hoops, such as registering for unwanted deals or services, or pay a hidden fee. Not so with Subway's free breakfast promotion.

This is how it works, customers can register to pick up their breakfast now through May 18th and then pick up their free breakfast until May 19th. You do need to provide an email address, but otherwise there are no hidden fees.

To get the deal, go to their website www.getyourfreebreakfast.com, choose a conveniently located store, pick when you want to go get it, and choose your sandwich. Boom, you're registered! I was pleased to see you also get a free small coffee...I mean, you can't argue with this stuff. I am registered to get my breakfast tomorrow morning, and I will do a short follow-up post about the experience.

To all my readers, today I am offering your chance to win a $10 gift card to Subway! Here's how to enter:

1) Like The Thrift World on Facebook (1 entry)

2) Share my blog with your friends via any type of social media (1 additional entry)

3) Post a comment telling me what you did.

I will choose a winner at random using a random number generator. The winner will be announced Sunday, May 19th so be sure to check back! Good luck & thanks for playing!

Don't yard sale that! Sell used items for more

2013-05-13T10:03:00.000-04:00

It's yard sale season again, arguably the best season there is. But don't put dollar price tags on all your stuff just yet. Your stuff has value, and if you're willing to do a little leg work, you could reap some cash from your unwanted goods.

What to Sell:

Electronics

I sold this beat up glide chair
quickly in a Facebook group

Your 2-year old cell phone that is slightly beat up, your brand spankin' new phone you just cracked on the sidewalk, your netbook you've since replaced with something a bit snazzier, your 20 gb old school iPod: my advice is, don't take these items to the recycling center just yet. I urge you to spend 5 minutes on Craigslist, Amazon or Ebay looking up your device's value. Most people would never guess that people still pay for older electronics. I recently sold my 3-year old netbook (for which I paid $200) for $100 solid on a yard sale Facebook site. My boyfriend bought an iPhone 5 and dropped it, cracking the screen in every which direction. We sold it on Ebay for more than he paid for it. It might not make sense to you, but people want your old electronics because they have value.

Home Goods
No, I'm not talking about my favorite retail store, I'm talking about your extra coffee maker, microwave, toaster, home decor, old wheel barrel, grill, or other household items. Believe it or not, there IS a market for this stuff. Again, the first thing you need to do is check online before you take it to Goodwill. With home goods I've had a lot of success selling my items on Facebook group sites and Craigslist.

Clothes
I must admit I don't sell my clothes, but I still believe they have value. My friends and I have quarterly clothing swaps (no, I'm not joking). We gather at someone's house and everyone brings clothes they want to get rid of and we spread them out throughout the house by category: tops, pants, skirts, dresses. Then we eat some food, and go back to our piles and root through everyone's stuff. I've never left a clothing swap empty handed, and I always leave with stuff I like much more than the stuff I brought. Another option for folks who have name brand clothes in good condition: take it to your local consignment shop. Every consignment shop has different rules, so call ahead and ask before you stop in with all of you stuff. Sometimes they only take clothes during certain hours when specific staff are available.

Textbooks
If you are still in college or fresh out, your textbooks may have value. I've even had some success selling old editions for high prices. Amazon is your baby on this one. It's very simple to list a textbook on Amazon because you only have to list the condition and name your price. Sell it quick, and list it for less than other people's asking prices. Look to sell it in August or January for the best turnaround. Here are some other tips on textbooks: How to Save Major Cash on Textbooks

Where to Sell it:

Craigslist
What to sell: Household goods, lower-priced electronics
How to Use it: I LOVE craigslist, but it's important to stay safe. Never allow anyone into your home. Always meet in a public place. I'd also recommend reading my previous blog post: Craigslist: How to not get scammed

Ebay
What to sell: Nearly anything small in size (you don't want to ship a bookshelf), or things of high value. If you have electronics worth over $150, stick with Ebay for secure payments.
How to Use it: The most valuable feature on Ebay is to see what items have sold for in the past. On the main page search bar click "advanced settings" then check the "completed listings" box and search again. Now you know what people will and have paid for your items. If you want to sell your item, price it lower than that price.

Amazon
What to sell: textbooks, electronics in good condition, smaller items in size.
How to use it: Always do a quick search to see if your item is listed, and if it is, click the "sell on Amazon" icon on that product's page. If your item isn't selling on Amazon, try Ebay. Amazon is the easiest site to use but the fees are the highest.

Facebook groups
What to sell: household items, electronics
How to use it: Log in to Facebook and then in the search bar type in your town or nearby city name + yard sale. In my town you can search "Berks County Yard Sales" and a couple groups come up. Read the site rules posted at the top, and then take photos of your items and post them on the site. Simple, easy, local.

Have you had luck reselling items? Please leave a comment & share your story with our thrifting community!

Shopping homemade doesn't break the bank

2013-04-26T10:28:00.003-04:00

It's a common misunderstanding that if its homemade, its expensive. That's just not the case anymore.

Ever since the era of the great recession & Pinterest, miniature craft shops have been popping up in the homes of mothers everywhere. And they know as well as we do, price matters... so if you look in the right places, you can find these amazing items for slammin' prices. One of the reasons I love shopping local/handmade is that your product is unique and sometimes you can even personalize it.

Take this sign decor. I asked Kristin of Lil' Red Brick House to make a sign for my boyfriend. It lists all the quirky names he has for his house in this subway style piece of art. Kristin asked me what style I'd like it in as well as what colors she should use. Oh, and what size do I want? Hey, when is the last time Walmart asked you those questions?

My sign looks authentic because it is authentic. Forget the machine made reproductions. Handmade art is the real thing and its done by people who would say they are wired to do it.

"I've always been a diy (do it yourself) girl," Kristin said. "Even when i was 5, I remember constructing barbie houses from leftover cardboard scraps. So, I would say it's just nature to me. "

We don't even think about it sometimes but another benefit to being thrifty is it is (oftentimes) environmentally conscious. Like Kristin using scraps of wood for her projects, reusing an item cuts down on waste - the waste of creating a product that eventually ends up in a landfill and the waste the manufacturer creates to produce it. It's the same thing when you go to the thrift stop or buy something second hand. You are helping reduce waste.

"I really love the idea of being able to take wood that has been thrown out and able to recycle it into something great. Recycling, composting, reusing, re-purposing (if you can put them all together) is something I am becoming passionate about" Kristin said.

The unique quality, the personalization, and the respect you're giving the environment are just a few benefits to shopping local, handmade. And if you haven't done it before, today is your lucky day.

Lil' Red Brick House is giving The Thrift World readers a special offer to shop in her store. Kristin lives in Lancaster, so if you live in the area, you can skip on shipping and pick it up out her way. Want something personalized? Click the "contact" button on the left hand side & she'll make something special just for you. Support local art today!

Lil' Red Brick House etsy store
20% off Promo code: ttw20off

Credit Card Disconnection: Get in tune with your purchases

2013-04-10T22:15:00.001-04:00

I've told people I pay my credit card bills in full every month, but recently I realized I was telling a lie. Sure, I pay the balance that's due each month, but I noticed I still have a remaining balance on my card. When I pay my monthly balance, I am not paying for all the money I spent in the past month...I'm paying for stuff from last month.

On one hand this is nice because it gives a buffer of time before I need to pay for those purchases. If I pay the balance off in time, essentially, those purchases are interest free for an additional month. But this convenience has another implication: being 1 month behind, I am becoming more disconnected to my purchases.

Studies often claim people who use credit cards will spend more money than they would have with cash. One reason that's often stated is that people have access to more funds than they do with cash. They feel more powerful and capable than they do with cash, and I think it's because people become disconnected with their spending.

When you pick up your credit card, you may see a beautiful landscape scene, your initials or even a picture of your dog, (all made possible with personalized credit card designs...). But what you don't see is your balance. Compare that to looking in to your wallet, where you see exactly how much money you have on hand. You are connected to your money because you can see it and you can feel it. Looking at a credit card doesn't tell you a thing related to your budget. The fact is, you could have absolutely no money and still have a credit card in your hands. It's quite deceiving, really.

When I saw that paying my credit card meant paying last months bill, I realized it's another effort by the credit card companies for consumers to become even more disconnected with their purchases. I don't feel as accountable for my purchases because I'm not immediately paying them off. By next month, I won't remember what I bought anyway, I'm just paying a balance.

Auto-pay is even worse. If you have your credit cards all set on auto-pay, you might completely forget what you spent your money on, and you don't even have to look and face your purchase history.

Here are some tips on how to avoid this credit card disconnection.

1. Cancel auto-pay.

2. Every month LOOK at your purchases on your credit card bill.

3. Pay your current month's balance.

Get connected with your finances, otherwise you'll lose a grasp on where your money is going. And trust me, that's not a good path to go down.

Gym membership alternatives

2013-03-24T15:18:00.001-04:00

I've heard lots of friends say, "if I pay for a gym membership, then I'll work out". I've also heard many of those same friends say later "I went for a few weeks, but now not really. I'm gonna try to go again soon" or even other says "yes, I belong to a gym, but (they chuckle) I don't really go".

I read an article once that will probably stick in my brain for a long time. It was explaining how we can all work out regularly without joining a gym. The author talked about parking in the back of the mall parking lot to gain some extra steps, or intentionally taking the stairs instead of the elevator, basically integrating small forms of exercise in our everyday life. And while its a very nice idea, we all know that parking in the back of the grocery story parking lot will not transform our bodies and put us in shape, in fact, we'll probably just get frustrated when we realize how many groceries we now have to lug to our car. But, the concept of working out without a gym is a notable one.

Workout materials are actually integrated in many of the services we already have and use. For instance, there are workout programs on Netflix, On Demand, Hulu, and all over the internet. Not to mention the numerous app for your phone, tablet or desktop with all kinds of workouts.

I just started using the free Andriod App called c25k free. The app is based on the Couch to 5k website where a person who isn't at all in shape can do their walk/run program that will help them run a 5k in 8-weeks time. I like it because 1) It's free 2)It's not that challenging but challenging enough 3) It's a 30-minute workout. If I just go for a run, my workout is going be very short because I have no endurance. But this program has you walking for a period, running for a period, alternating back and forth, and slowly increasing the time spent running, so the time I spend working out is longer.

This app isn't a good fir for everyone, but there are plenty of options out there, and not just for running. There are apps for biking, yoga, kickboxing, you name it-there's an app for it. Here's one list of some highly rated workout apps to try. Didn't find what you're looking for? Simply Google "workout apps" or "free yoga apps", there is a lot of information out there.

Besides saving money on the gym membership, working out at home or near your home helps out in other ways. It saves you the time and gas it takes to go to the gym everyday. I really appreciate being able to start my workout the second I step out the door - it's a real time saver. I also enjoy being outdoors and breathing in the fresh air while I work out.

Now some of you may be chuckling at this point, and saying "hey, I don't need an app to run, I can just run" (my boyfriend included). Please, by all means, go for a run. I, like many others, do not have a passionate love for exercising and working out. I would love to be that person who can't wait to get up and run in the morning. Maybe I'll get there, but I'm certainly not there today. In the meantime, I will use my free app which will spoon feed me exercise. Sadly this is what I need to get in shape. But I think plenty of others are in a similar place.

Do you have a workout app that's worked for you? Please post it below in the comment section!

This post is linked to The Thrifty Home Penny Pinching Party.

Can I really do my taxes online for free? Is Taxact.com really free?

2013-02-27T20:58:00.000-05:00

I can happily say I've completed my taxes for 2012. My favorite part is it didn't cost me a penny to do them. Okay, not technically true, I paper mailed my state and local, so it was the cost of 2 stamps. Overall though: free.

How? Taxact.com. You've seen the commercials and I'm sure you were skeptical, because I sure was. Dozens of companies claim to do your taxes for free, only to get you in the door or on their website, to then charge you a bunch of miscellaneous fees. But, good news, Taxact.com is actually free.

When you sign on the site, you answer a quick few questions, and depending on your income level, you are eligible to use various free tax programs from across the web. The lower your income bracket, the more choices you have. I chose Turbotax because I was already familiar with the program.

Once I started the program, I typed in all my information and finally hit send. They had a fair amount of options, double checks, and other perks that were included in the program for free. I'm finally finished, I'm feeling good, and I hit send. Oh, but wait? For $19.99 I can just hit send again and they will submit my local taxes. Tempting, but it's not free, and this is how their money is made.

Here's the thing. After you've completed your federal taxes from their website, just print a copy for yourself, and do your state taxes yourself. Yes, it's very easy to just click "send" and forget about your state taxes for $20, but the fact is, state taxes are super easy to do, so don't pay someone else to do it. Besides, you still have to pull out your paperwork to do your local taxes, so there's no instant gratification in being BOOM done, cause you're not anyway.

Taxact.com is great for people who have more simplified taxes and fall into lower income brackets. If you are in an upper level income bracket and have various stocks, accounts, retail properties, etc, the website is probably not your best bet to ensure you get the proper tax return. But, for someone like me, in a lower income bracket, with fairly straightforward taxes, the site is great tool that I will bookmark and use year after year.

So tell your friends, tell your neighbors, tell that weird guy who wears suspenders and lounges in your mall (okay, maybe you actually shouldn't talk to him), Taxact.com is actually free. So use it.

This blog posted is linked in to The Thrifty Home's Penny Pinching Party and We Are That Family.

Save on electronics: skip the extras

2013-02-12T23:49:00.002-05:00

Click for coupon. Good until 2/14/13

Buying electronics can be stressful. Most of the time I take my chances on Craigslist, but every once and awhile I venture into a store. Today, I purchased a new notebook/laptop. Staples is having some incredible deals right now. Lots of laptops/tablets/notebook are on sale and a friend knew I was looking so he forwarded me the email detailing the sale. Plus, the email has a coupon for $75 off the sale price. That's my kind of coupon.

I chose my laptop, very inexpensive of course, and reserved it over the phone. When I go into Staples, I go over to the display model just to make sure I like it. The salesman approaches. Oh, here we go.

The dreaded questionnaire ensues: "What do you use your laptop for?" You recognize this question. The Internet and Cable companies ask it all the time. What would you like to do with our service?...so I can tell you why you need to upgrade.

The salesman tells me that I don't need this notebook. In fact, I'd be much better off with a tablet with a $70 case with a fold out keypad. We had some conversation about and to be quite honest, I was pretty confused. Maybe he's right? Before I can make a decision, the man proceeds to start telling me about the warranty I should probably buy for either device to cover any accidents or defects. Did I know the manufacturer warranty doesn't cover labor and that costs a bajillion dollars? Thank you, no I did not know that.

So I just stare at the two devices for about 10 minutes, no joke. Finally, it dawns on me: I've researched this notebook, read reviews, looked through all the specifications - this was going to be an informed decision. Now, this salesman is asking me to consider a tablet I've never even looked into, and I'm thinking about buying it! There is something wrong with this picture. So I quick google the proposed tablet on my phone and started reading reviews.

I ultimately decided instead of making a split decision on a large purchase, because of a conversation with a salesman who cared more about selling me the extra warranty, I better just go home. I did. I went home, I thought about it, and you know what? I returned the next day and bought the notebook I came in for the day before.

I knew what would come next: all the questions:
Question:Would you like to make your laptop safe and sign up for our extended warranty; its $100 for 2 years.
Answer (aloud): No, thank you.
Answer (in my head): This is how the company makes its money, but trying to scare me into believing that I am going to walk home and drop my laptop on the cement floor, or that it will burst into flames. I mean, someone's laptop has probably burst into flames at some point?

Question:Would you like to add Microsoft Office for $100?
Answer (aloud): No, I have Office
Answer (in my head): Open Office is a free version of Office that is compatible with the Microsoft edition. I'm not in school, so I don't think having Microsoft at home is a necessity.

Question: Do you *need* a case or a mouse?
Answer (aloud):No, I don't.
Answer (in my head): Need is a strong word. So, she's saying it's as valuable as food or shelter?

Question: Would you like someone to help you install your device ? It's $100.
Answer (aloud): No, thank you.
Answer (in my head): Is this a joke? You want me to pay someone to turn it on for me and snap the battery in? For real, there is no other explanation for what this is.

The conclusions to this story are as follows.
1) Don't make significant impulse purchases. On an impulse you don't have time to really weigh the products pros and cons or research the product.
2) Expect salesman to try upsell you on just about everything. Come in with an amount you're willing to spend and stick with it...otherwise you might just double your limits.
3) I have no idea how to use Windows 8. Okay, you probably didn't glean this from my story...but it's totally true.

In the end, I do really like this laptop (I'm on hour 4) and no problems yet. See, who needs a silly warranty!

The problem with window shopping

2013-01-29T22:38:00.000-05:00

I've been feeling broke in the past couple months. Buying Christmas gifts for my family, friends, my boyfriend, and secret Santa exchanges is enough to make anyone feel a little strapped. Let's face it, we're all feeling it. But coming out of the spending season, I think we can all recognize something about ourselves.

I went to the mall with a friend in early December. That was the first time in a long time I had set foot in a shopping mall. I've found that when you're used to shopping at discount outlet stores, and thrift stores, this type of shopping experience can be quite overwhelming. For a normal person I can compare this to the shock of going into White House|Black Market, Louie Vuitton, or some other outrageously priced store. I'm so used to spending half or even a third of the prices that real stores are asking that I just can't bring myself to buy stuff. And even though I'm not spending cash, I'm still being affected in other ways.

Whether you're used to shopping at high end stores or low end stores, I believe something magical happens when you go window shopping: You realize you need everything. You might not have known it before, but you sure know it when you step in the stores.

For me, it's like every piece of clothing, tablet, organizer, clock... it all looks better than what I have at home, and honestly, it probably is. It's newer, it's shinier and the dang packaging alone makes me think I will be more trendy and have more friends if I would just buy this product. I know that sounds ridiculous, but c'mon, we've all been there.

After Christmas, after the day-after-Christmas (probably the best shopping day ever) and now getting into February, the shopping season and post holiday shopping season is officially over. The sales are done and picked through. I recommend you go home, and stay away from shopping districts for a while. Instead of going to Target or Walmart to buy food items, go to the actual grocery store, so you don't have to walk by the aisles of clothing, purses, office supplies, home decor, and whatever that weakness is that you have. Just buy groceries.

For me, I realize how little I crave stuff when the stuff is not in front of my face. It's when I watch commercials, visit stores (physical and online), and look through catalogs, that I find stuff to want.

In a society where the average American is up to their ears in debt, but yet completely provided for, we don't need stuff to want. We need to stop wanting stuff. Avoiding shops is a good first step.

Discount Combos: how to save more money at the pump

2013-01-21T22:41:00.003-05:00

Every time I go get gas, regardless of the station, there are always signs, banners, stickers bragging about how you can save money at their facility on the black, syrupy stuff. Sign up for our credit card, you'll save 3-5 cents off the gallon. Buy groceries in our partner groceries store, you'll save 10-50 cents off a gallon. Buy a Snickers bar and a coke, you'll save 5 cents off a gallon. I've seen it all.

All of these things sound REALLY good because gas stations know we HATE paying for gas, so they capitalize on it. They tell us to buy something from them to save money on gas, so we think we are getting a better deal. Here is the reality.

We are not saving very much on gas. Sure, 5 cents, 10 cents, even 20 cents off the gallon sounds like a lot of money, but do the math. I usually put about 12 gallons in my car when I fill up, 5 cents off is only saving me 60 cents total, 10 cents saves me $1.20, and 20 cents saves me $2.40. Sure, it's nice to save a buck or two, but that's really not that impressive considering I just spent $45 bucks filling up my tank, and in a lot of cases, I had to spend money on something else to get it. For instance, shopping at that grocery store to get 10 cents off the gallon is generally not the most frugal way to buy food. Discount grocery stores offer far more in savings.

The point is, these little discounts aren't much...but, what you can do is to put them all together. Here's what I mean.

I went to the gas station last week to fill up. I fill up at Sheetz in Hamburg because it's on my way to work and gas is usually about 5 cents cheaper there then it is in Reading.. I happen to get my prescriptions filled at Weis Markets which partners with Sheetz for gas discounts. And I use a credit card that gives me 5% cash back on gas for half of the year.

The other reason I choose Sheetz as my gas station is I can save 5 cents off a gallon WITHOUT using their credit card. It's simply a swipe card, similar to a grocery store card. What this means is, I can use discount combinations. I can swipe my Weis card, save 10 cents, swipe my Sheetz card and save 5 cents, and then, I can pay with my Chase Rewards card and save 5%. And by the way, saving 5% on gas is about 3-4x's better than saving 5 cents on the gallon.

So let's add up my discounts:
Gas was $3.45
-10 cents off for Weis
-5 cents off for Sheetz
-5% off from Chase
Gas final price = $3.135/gallon

That's a $3.78 savings for 12 gallons. Now I'm not going to lie to you - gas is still expensive. But until we all get smart (or desperate) and start riding our bikes to work, combining gas discounts is the best we're gonna get. And by the way, I am totally open to riding my bike everywhere to save money, I'm just looking for someone to push me. Inquire within.

Ebook freebie until midnight

2013-01-11T20:06:00.004-05:00

I always feel it is invaluable to consider the lives and the culture of those who have much less than us. It changes the way we view money and view the things that we have.

When I was in college, I went on a cross-cultural missions trip to Egypt which ultimately changed the way I view giving to others. On the trip, I met a guy named Ted Oswald who immediately struck me as someone far more intelligent than me, and someone who had a sincere love for grilled cheese sandwiches. Another love of Ted's (besides food) has always been social justice and serving the urban poor. I was very excited to hear that he was working on, and has finished up a book based in Haiti. One Amazon book reviewer said it "takes the reader into the heart of Haiti's political, social, and cultural climate".

Up until midnight, you can download a FREE copy of his eBook "Because We Are: A Novel of Haiti". Currently, I'm anxiously awaiting the physical copy of the book to arrive at my house. In the meantime, download your own copy. I have no doubt it will entertain you and challenge you.

Book Description: When a mother and her infant are murdered on the outskirts of Cité Soleil, Haiti’s most infamous slum, two unexpected detectives emerge: Libète, a brash and headstrong girl of ten, and her brilliant but impoverished friend Jak.

Though made rough-and-tumble on the slum’s streets where gangs, police and UN peacekeepers have long battled for control, the murders stir Libète unlike anything she’s seen before. With the dead quickly forgotten as the community limps on in its grinding struggle to survive, Libète resolves to pursue the truth despite the costs, plunging headfirst into an insidious plot that will threaten her and everything she holds dear.

Click here to download your e-edition free!

Let's share that meal, says the Stubborn Saver

2012-12-30T19:33:00.002-05:00

I had a friend tell me recently that they wished they could thrift like me and save money the way I do. Of course I told them to read my blog if they want to change their life, and we laughed and they said they already did. I thought for a moment and realized there was one factor that separates a serious thrifter who saves money on nearly everything from a normal everyday saver that may use a coupon every once in a while. The difference is the ability to be undeniably stubborn.

This is a picture of the meal I had for lunch today that was about $17...actually I split it with a friend. It's my belief that a lot of people don't want to go through the trouble to save little money, in this case, admitting to the server/owner that we didn't wish to pay for our own meals, instead, we were going to split one. Honestly, it's always a little uncomfortable (at least for me) to split a meal. Its a little time-consuming to wait until you find the item you want at the thrift store. And its a little stressful to refuse to pay a price that is just too high - but these are things that, in the end, can save you a LOT of money.

Most people are not willing to go through the effort or the anxiety, and that's okay, you can still save money, but its the drive that moves me to save more than other people. It's a sickness that is sick and tired of watching people fall prey to debt and lose control of their finances because they don't know how to get what they need and spend less money. There is another path. I can teach you the secrets. Just don't be afraid if you find yourself becoming a tad bit financially stubborn. It's part of the way out.

I wish everyone a happy 2013, and here's to blogging more, because I like it so I should do it, damnit. Here's to a fresh restart.

Losing a domain name: the thrifty solution

2012-11-01T10:06:00.000-04:00

Pheew that was close. You may have noticed thethriftworld.com has been down a few months. I'm sorry for the confusion...but it makes for quite a thrifty story.

A few months ago I bought a house, and I was dealing with buying stuff for my house, figuring out how to pay bills, moving things in, repainting walls, and ripping up carpets. While all this is happening (AND I have internet connection problems at my house), I get a renewal notice from Google regarding my domain name (www.thethriftworld.com), which is supposed to automatically renew. Well, it didn't automatically renew, and the email got lost among the messages/bills/notifications/everything. And then one day, the website is down, and I am FREAKING OUT. My website has lost its home.

I call Google, and they want 90 stinking dollars for me to retrieve my expired domain. 90 dollars. By the way, it normally costs 10 dollars per year for my .com, so 90 is quite a hike. But I'm thinking to myself - What if a domain buyer buys it up and wanted thousands for it? What if they reopen the URL for $100/year? What if? Google is telling me I need to buy my domain now to get it back.

At this point I have a choice. I could turn my back to myself and my beliefs and pay an exorbitant amount of money to retrieve my beloved domain name, or I could take a chance and wait for it to become available again to purchase. In the meantime, anyone who has ever bookmarked my blog is getting a blank page...they think my blog is dead, but I decide to wait anyway. So I wait, and wait, and wait. Everyday I check godaddy.com to see if the domain name was back on the market.

Today, at work, I checked godaddy and my site is finally available! Price? $10/year. BAM. Patience, in this instance, really, really paid off. And truly, I took a chance. This is unknown territory for me, I wasn't sure what could happen. But the good news is, I'm back online. And while I may have lost some followers who thought my site was no longer running, I saved $80, and more importantly, I saved my pride.

I stayed true to myself and to my blog. I won.

Cable bill bliss

2012-09-03T10:46:00.003-04:00

I think hating your cable company is part of being an American. There are constantly connection problems, service appointments are only given with 3-5 hour time windows, their customer service is annoying, and their prices are a complete money suck. Did I miss anything?

While we can't change the attributes of our cable company, we may be able to do something about the price we pay for our services.

I wanted to set up cable at my house (basically so I can watch football), and because I am American and a complete tight wad, I hate this entire process. So I did some shopping around and finally called Fastrack* to set up cable. I asked the man on the phone what his absolute cheapest plan available was. He told me about their $29.99 plan, which is also what I saw on the website. I asked him if he had anything cheaper, and he replied no. Then I told him I had previously had a $14/month plan about 2 years ago when I was a customer...was that still available? He said, oh yes we do have that plan. Funny how he didn't mention that. Excellent, I said, I would like to purchase that one. He said that is only the most very basic channels, and I said that was fine.

A few days later, the cable company comes out to install the receiver and the service man tells us we'll be getting more than just basic stations, and after checking, we in fact do receive over 30 tv channels, which is not what we were initially told. The story continues...

I happened to stumble on an incredible TV deal on woot.com, the best place to buy electronics for cheap, and all of a sudden I needed to upgrade to HD Cable. A little frazzled, I assumed I would need to upgrade to that $29.99 plan I did not want. So I called the company back.

They informed me I would only pay $2.40/month to upgrade to HD...no that's not a typo. And then for the kicker. I go to cable company's office to upgrade to a digital receiver and the woman at the counter tells me my plan includes the company's on demand service where you can instantly watch hundreds of new tv shows and stream free movies, oh, and it also includes 40 music stations. Frankly I didn't believe her. But I didn't want to question why I would receive all these incredible services for $17/month. So I just simply said thank you and went on my merry way.

I go home, set up my receiver, and to my udder and complete shock, I did have the on demand services and the 40 music channels the woman told me I would have. I went on their website and found out that the $29.99 plan doesn't even include these services! Is this real? I successfully found a loop hole.

The moral of the story is being stubbornly cheap can really work in your favor..but doesn't always come this easily. For instance, I spent hours making phone calls and arguing with different internet companies so I could get the cheapest deal possibly and eventually did get the best deal, but it came with a great bit of hassle. But all these efforts are just part of my belief that the key to economic freedom is lowering your monthly costs so you have money for everything else. I will hold strong to this belief even when it's completely time consuming and stressful. But, hey, saving money comes with a different sort of a cost. The question is: are you willing to pay it?

*not the actual company name. I'm afraid they will find my blog, change my services, and destroy my life. Please don't find me, please don't find me.

Bed, Bath & Beyond: Oh how I loathe thee

2012-08-20T23:25:00.002-04:00

I have an abnormal distaste for Bed, Bath & Beyond. I went there today...but it was my last option. See, I bought this house (why I haven't been blogging) and I have this roommate. And I can't continue to agonize over little things like finding the perfect, moderately inexpensive bathmat because it simply means we will not have a bathmat for several months. Of course, I'm used to this because I am this way with everything, but it's not fair to her. She deserves to have a bathmat, ya know?

So I went a couple places without finding said mat and finally decided to take the thrifter's walk of shame into the famously overpriced retail store that makes it money off wedding registries for people who aren't actually paying for the stuff, but making their friends and family cough up the money, and maybe the stuff is kinda nice, at least the marketing is good, but seriously why the crap would you pay $95 for an over the toilet shelf when they are $20 at Target! ahhhh!!!! Okay, okay, back to the story.

But if I'm going to be honest here today, I was a little surprised at how much I didn't hate walking into Bed, Bath & Beyond. In fact, my experience was quasi positive and so I decided to create these lists...

Things I didn't completely hate about BB&B
1. Since I had just gone to several stores in an effort to avoid that very store, I was very familiar with price points on the items I was looking for. I was surprised to find their prices to be the middle of the road not just marked up like a billion percent.
2. Their 20% off coupons are generally inescapable. They send them to your house, they put them in the paper, they put them in every coupon book imaginable. They do everything but hand you one when you walk in...but actually if you sign up for their email or text list, you will get 20% that day anyway.
3. I actually found a bath mat. And I don't love it, and my roommate actually told me she doesn't like it, but its better than a towel, and the price was acceptable for the emergency situation (not having a bathmat for several weeks).

Things I was still moderately annoyed about:

1. I thought by using the famous 20% off coupon that my $14.99 bathmat would be like $5.99 or something, but it was still over $12. That disappointed me.
2. Their customer associate was really just too friendly. She asked me what I wanted, I explained I wanted a brown bathmat, and she just made it her mission to point out every single brown bathmat they had in stock. She later noticed I was still staring at the bathmats...she doesn't know me, this is what I do. So she comes back over and continues to make more suggestions. When I shop, I really don't want your suggestions. Frankly, I don't trust you. I don't think you have my best interest in mind and I'd rather you didn't speak unless you're spoken to, but I couldn't just walk away. I mean, I'm not rude.
3. I still basically hate Bed, Bath & Beyond.

Have you seen this? It's a 39glasses.com review

2012-06-09T13:57:00.001-04:00

Just a few weeks ago I ordered my very own pair of Oxford sunglasses online, from www.39dollarglasses.com. The website gives a large variety of prescription and non-prescription glasses to choose from including different styles, shades, colors and more for glasses and sunglasses.

Website: I love that the reviews for each pair of glasses is right on that page, which always gives the consumer some confidence, and it's certainly very convenient. Each pair of glasses shown offers a glance at the pair of specs on a certain face shape for an idea of what they may look like on you. Overall the website is easy to navigate, clearly displaying prices, and providing a fairly specific search engine to find different products. My only complaint (or rather compliment on their marketing squad) is that the majority of the glasses are not really 39 dollars. Some of them are, abut most of them in the $50-$60 range.

Glasses: The pair I ordered were non-prescription sunglasses with a grey tint. When I was looking through the website, I couldn't believe how many different options there were for choosing the right pair of glasses. My purchase, like all other purchases from the site, included a hard case, a micro-fiber cleaning cloth, and a 100% guarantee and a tiny eyeglass repair kit. The glasses (and lenses) I received are very light weight, as noted on the website, so unfortunately they don't stay on top of my head. But surprisingly they do stay on my face when I play ultimate frisbee, which was a pleasant surprise.

Overall, I think for prescription lenses, you probably won't find a better deal out there. All of their glasses are also manufactured in the United States, which is also always a plus. I do think for regular non-prescription glasses, they are a tad expensive compared to my usual flea market/yard sale sunglasses finds. But, hey not everyone is as cheap as me:)

Discount Grocery via The Food Aisle

2012-05-14T21:57:00.001-04:00

The Thrift World is excited to host a guest post by good friend and respected blogger, Crystal at The Food Aisle. Be sure to read her post below and follow her cooking blog.

I write this post with one sole purpose: to get you to find and visit a discount grocery store near you. I have a long history of visiting "scratch-and-dent" stores with my mom, some of them way off the beaten path, like that tiny Amish shop in eastern Iowa that didn't have any electric lights. Right after getting married, though, it was enough work to think about just stocking my own pantry and refrigerator with the resources I had close at hand, so it's been only recently that I've ventured beyond our local big-chain grocery stores.

Lucky for me, I don't live in Iowa anymore, so even though I didn't find a huge selection of discount grocery stores when I searched online, I did find one gem: BB's Grocery Outlet, with several locations in the southeast PA area. It's definitely the biggest discount grocery I've seen, and the most comprehensive. The milk is regular price and the produce is passable, not amazing, but still, they have milk and produce along with aisles and aisles of dry goods. Even though I have no prejudice toward generic products, what I particularly like at BB's are their numerous high-quality, name-brand items. We're talking Yoplait Greek yogurt w/ granola topping for a quarter a piece. Softsoap handwash for a dollar. Even a Martha Stewart all-natural carpet cleaner spray for less than two dollars.

I could keep going, but the most persuasive way to do this is to show you a picture:

This glorious load cost me...

wait for it...

Fifty dollars and change.

Just in case this still isn't clear (maybe you don't do large grocery trips very often, or maybe you cook too infrequently to know the relative cost of groceries), let me break this down.

Buitoni fresh four-cheese ravioli: At Giant, $4.49. At BB's, $1.79.
Fresh limes: Giant, $.50 each. BB's, $.25 each.
Kraft veggie macaroni and cheese: Giant, $1.50 each. BB's, $.50 each.

As far as high-quality, name-brand items go, this pile also contains:

Hilshire Farm smoked bratwurst
John F. Martin cheese dogs (quality local meat brand)
Townhouse Flatbread Crisps
Kleenex tissues
Turkey Hill chocolate milk
Terra sweet potato chips
Scott select-a-size paper towels
Post Great Grains cereal
Cascadian Farms organic frozen strawberries
Snapple Sorbet Pops
Annie's Naturals goddess dressing
Kotex product
Stubb's beef marinade

If I'd had the energy, I would have been tempted to go to Giant and price everything out to really wow you, but instead I'll give you a rough estimate. My best guess is that for this batch of groceries, I would pay between $80-$100 at most of our local grocery chains. And I took it off BB's hands for $50.

A few tips for shopping at discount grocery stores:

First, find one. Google "discount grocery" with your zipcode, or ask that Mennonite lady down the street. If Google fails and you know no Mennonite ladies, ask a hippie.
Plan to spend a substantial amount of time shopping. Discount groceries are notoriously unorganized, and you will likely have to sort through shelves of mismatched products to find the gold.
Save discount grocery stores for stock-up trips, not quick errand runs. The potential inconsistency of the merchandise and long lines of insane, cart mountain, I-only-come-out-of-my-house-once-a-month-to-feed shoppers may frustrate you if you need to get in and out.
Keeping the first two tips in mind, I recommend taking time to browse. Don't write a store off just because you don't see useful products on first glance. Poke around, shove things aside. Because discount grocery stores are not as pristinely organized as regular grocery stores, sometimes the good stuff is hiding. That being said, I do recommend choosing a store that, on first glance, looks like they use some kind of organizational structure.
Check dates! Only two or three items in my pile above were just slightly past their Best By dates, and since I've read plenty about how those dates are conservative, I deemed them just fine. I did see plenty of product that was wildly out of date, however. Just be conscientious.
Don't settle for bad food just because it's cheap. This will ruin your diet and enjoyment of food. I am sometimes tempted to buy food that's not very healthy or flavorful just because it's that darn cheap. But no matter how many Hamburger Helpers I walk out with, the price isn't going to make them taste any better. If you have to choose between settling for a mediocre-looking version of an ingredient you need or paying full price at a normal grocery store, suck it up: buy the better product. You're saving enough money elsewhere with those 45 packs of crackers for FIVE DOLLARS!!!

Yard Sale find: wine rack!

2012-05-12T13:43:00.002-04:00

Best yard sale deal ever. I was looking at these wine racks in a home decor and furniture store for over $100. Today's price = $1.

The wine/liquor rack was the best find of the day, but here are some others:

3 shirts = $1.50

1 wooden chess board = $1

1 flask and leather case = free

2 packs of sticky page flags = $1

1 retro Phila Eagles hat = $1

...this is where most cliche writers would say: blah blah blah = priceless. Don't worry folks, this isn't a cliche blog. I may go thrifting, but I don't use cheap words. That's where it counts.

Learn the lingo

2012-04-28T12:28:00.001-04:00

This is some sample jargon from the home I was raised in.

Like mother, like daughter...

In this case "sailing" is referring to the act of yard saling, a typical morning endeavor most commonly occurring on Saturdays.

Decide.com review: should I wait to buy?

2012-04-24T22:00:00.004-04:00

I am a thrifter so naturally, I labor over all my purchase decisions...okay so maybe I'm also horrendously cheap but that's besides the point. It is not uncommon for me to spend long periods of time staring at an item in the store contemplating: Should I buy this? Do I really need this? Am I getting a good deal? Is this the right time to buy?

Thanks to apps like ShopySavvy for Android I can tell if I'm getting the best price on item at a particular store that given moment...but the app won't tell me if it's the best time to buy the product. Decide.com comes to the rescue.

Decide.com gives current product price predictions, advising consumers to wait to buy or buy it now. Predictions are based on past product price history, future model release dates, the typical product release cycle among other factors. Unfortunately for me, this means I will feel ripped off unless I am getting the lowest possible price...but I digress.

The site is equipped with a search bar that allows you to search for a product specifically or non-specifically. You can search "panasonic lumix", which will bring up every product model for you to select the one you want, or "panasonic lumix DMC-FH25K"to get exactly what you want...although in this case, I have to wait to get what I want. Just one of life's little irritating themes I guess.

Decide.com is one of the many sites I have listed in the Thrifting Resources section of my blog, a bank of thrifty, money-saving websites. Please let me know if you have one to share!

Spotify review

2012-04-08T22:50:00.000-04:00

The best thing since Pandora, or iTunes, or whatever you're using to play music is out. It's called Spotify and it appeals to thrifty people like me, and like you.

I'll admit, I don't really buy music unless it's a desperate situation or unless I've been collecting the band's albums since I was 11, like Reliant K. The equation is generally: Not wanting to buy music + wanting to listen to music = Pandora. BUT what we all hate about Pandora is if you choose a song you want to listen to, they simply won't play it...maybe not for hours. And if you want to listen to a band, they'll play them, but you'll have to wait for every 4th song...but, wait no more.

Spotify allows you to choose an artist or band and then stream their albums right from their music player, which by the way, has many less ads than free Pandora, though it does require a download. You don't need to download any of the music though and you definitely don't need to pay for it. For instance, do you like The Shins? Type them into the search bar and up will pop 7 of their albums including their recently released album "Port of Morrow" and lots of songs that were featured in soundtracks and other singles throughout the band history. This saves you gobs of money on buying music, I mean, who does that anyway?

Did I mention it's free? Of course they don't have every song/album ever made but they sure do have a lot. Plus you can choose to upgrade the program for $10 a month and get the app and play music instantly anywhere ad free...but thrifters like us should probably just be happy with the free program. It's pretty darn good.

Unfortunately, a Thrift World dedicated reader pointed out an unfortunate clause within the Spotfy agreement that is worth mentioning: "The Spotify Service can be accessed (i) as an ad-supported free-to-the-user service having no monthly cap on listening hours or a cap on number of plays of a unique track during the first 6 months following creation of your Spotify account but thereafter a cap of 10 listening hours per month and a cap of 5 plays per unique track," per their Terms and Conditions. So pure Spotify freedom only lasts 6 months...but who says you can't just delete your account and create another one? We'll just have to see!

Free Fribbles today!

2012-01-21T11:10:00.003-05:00

New year: new spending habits

2012-01-04T18:56:00.001-05:00

According to the U.S. Federal Reserve, the median household debt is estimated at more than $200,000. How did we get there? As it turns out, school loans and houses are quite expensive...but the third biggest reason for debt is credit card spending. We, as Americans, have a LOT of credit card debt.

When you're shopping, how much easier is to buy something if you whip out your plastic? A 2000 MIT study showed that people at an auction were willing to pay twice as much for something when they use a credit card instead of cash.

If you want to cut back on your spending in the new year, here's something to try. Use cash when you shop. Instead of making most of your purchases using your credit card or even your debit card, get your weekly budgeted money out in cash and put it in your wallet.

There is something more real about handing over dollar bills and coins; you have a baseline for how much you have and how much you have left. With a credit card you are spending imaginary money that you can't see or even have...it only lives in your card. It's easier to spend that imaginary money, so much so that we can easily forget that we don't even have it at all.

Just a note - this is my 100th Thrift World post! Thank you to all my readers for your eyes and support. And hey, don't be afraid to leave a comment every once in a while. I know so many of you have thrifting tips of your own that could benefit many others, so if you have some, please share:)

Extreme Christmas saving ideas

2011-12-17T20:03:00.001-05:00

Maybe it's just a trend in my family but we have loads of gifts laying around even before we go Christmas shopping. My mom has books, picture frames, body lotions, crafty items, and tons more that she's gathered all year long. It's during the Christmas season that she finally breaks them out and wraps them up.

Sure, lots of stuff is on sale during the holiday season...or at least stores want you to THINK everything is deeply discounted. They just want you to buy stuff, so they'll do pretty much anything to convince you to grab everything in site while it's so cheap. But the truth is, the best time to buy gifts isn't between Black Friday and Christmas Day.

Special sales and deals happen throughout the year, and if you think ahead, you can save a bundle by shopping during each season's discounts. My mom starts Christmas shopping generally around yard sale season. I don't care what anyone says, you can find amazing gifts, new and used, right in people's back yards. We do it every year. Why should it matter if I spend $2 on your gift? If you love it, that's all that matters.

We don't just have to talk about yard sales either. If we want to get really crazy and save money, we can buy Christmas gifts from Dec. 25-30. Yep, that's when EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE goes way on sale. All those gifts that were $10, they'll all now $5. Every piece of electronics that was crazy cheap before Christmas, well guess what, it's even cheaper now.

If you want to get even crazier, I mean crazy like your friends and relatives might consider putting you away somewhere, consider moving Christmas. ::gasp:: I know, I know. I went a little far but let me just explain. If you moved your Christmas party until a few days after Christmas, everyone could buy everything deeply discounted those couple days after Dec. 25. You would save so much money, you could either (a) buy everyone twice as many gifts or (b) save a boatload of cash...probably a little of both.

With any of these options, wouldn't it be nice to have lots of your gifts ahead of time? Then the holidays might not seem as absolutely nuts as they already are with everything going on.

I have lots of posts about savings during the holiday season, be sure to click through and see my past articles on the topic. You can click "holidays" in the Thrifty by Category section.

10 Money-saving options for the unemployed

2011-12-14T13:18:00.004-05:00

Guest post: Written by Ellie Smith

‎10 Money-saving options I've explored since becoming unemployed:

1. "if it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down"

2. working in the semi-dark loaded down with blankets to save energy

3. home haircuts

4. going without deodorant and showering every other day (hey, it's winter!)

5. eating popcorn for at least one meal a day

6. baking my own bread and cookies

7. not leaving the house except to walk the dogs

8. making one trip to PriceRite last two weeks

9. cancelling my Netflix subscription and relying on network tv for entertainment

10. banning all Christmas-related expenditures

Estimated savings: $1,892.56

I realize it sounds really sad when you lay it all out there, but I gotta admit I'm kind of proud of myself. Now if only I could put all that energy into finding a job...
For more writings by Ellie, visit her blog: elliesmith.wordpress.com

Gobble up the savings!

2011-11-28T20:31:00.001-05:00

If there's one thing November is good for, it's turkey. And you don't just have to eat turkey on Thanksgiving. It just so happens that this time of year, turkeys cost only about 58 cents a pound, making it the best time to buy them...and freeze them. Compare those prices to chicken, and you've got yourself pounds and pounds of savings.

Save on food costs, by buying a couple turkeys for your freezer to stock up for the year and then enjoy them for special occasions, group dinners, or just have and eat leftovers!