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Posted
Aug 07 2008, 11:08 PM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
After a recent yard sale foray, I needed to squeeze what I'd bought into my gift closet. My "closet" is actually a big cedar chest bought for $15 at yet another yard sale. Because I'd been tossing stuff in higgledy-piggledy, I couldn't fit the new stuff in without reorganizing the stash. When I did, I was a little surprised to find out just how much I had.
Hardbacks bought at the dollar store (yes, they're by legitimate authors and no, there wasn't a mark on them) and at yard sales, plus quality fiction picked up for as little as 40 cents from the university bookstore's clearance table. Games, coloring books and a really cool fire truck bought pennies on the dollar a few months after Christmas. Unopened book-toy combos that cost as little as 50 cents at garage sales. Washable markers that were free after a drugstore rebate. Art card sets, gorgeously scented spa items, a craft kit, picture frames, candles -- all of it cheap. I felt like a frugal Santa Claus.
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Posted
Jun 23 2008, 08:55 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
As yard sale experiences go, Saturday was just about perfect. The weather was beautiful and I not only found exactly what I was looking for, I scored a killer deal on it. While the low prices I saw all day were thrilling, they were also an object lesson as to why yard sales can be as dangerous as dollar stores: Things are so cheap that it's easy to overbuy.
Prime example: the foot-tall statue of a bull terrier, priced at a quarter, that reminded me of the classic "His master's voice" ads for RCA-Victor. There was something very appealing about the pup, yet I had no real need for such a thing and also no place to put it. Why in the world would I consider buying it? Because it was only 25 cents.
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Posted
Dec 24 2007, 11:46 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
On Christmas morning let's all be anthropologists for a day. Come on, it'll be fun: We have our own theme song! (More on that later.)
Tomorrow, I want you to time how long it takes for everyone to open his or her gifts. Record all reactions, whether they be, "This is wonderful! Thanks!" or "I wanted the other game system! I never get anything good!" During the day, observe how long it takes for kids (and grownups) to lose interest in their new toys and baubles.
Now, figure out how long it will take you to pay off the gifts, if you charged them. If you paid cash, figure out how many hours you and/or your spouse had to work to pay for this "celebration."
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Posted
Dec 12 2007, 09:18 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Only 13 more shopping days until Christmas, if you keep track of that sort of thing.
These days, you don't have to. Even if you manage to ignore our culture's near-constant advertising, friends or co-workers or even family members will likely point out that you’re not spending enough money.
A reader who calls herself "Dallas79" has been steering clear of what she calls "a thousand 'grab bag' gift exchanges." Her husband calls her "Scrooge" and suggests that she "stop being so stingy."
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Posted
Nov 23 2007, 12:28 PM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
There was plenty of elbow room at a local mall this Black Friday morning. A nearby Walgreens was awfully quiet, too, and clerks were standing around chatting at the Office Depot and Staples that I visited. I got a late start, not leaving the house until sometime after 8 a.m., so maybe I missed the throngs. Or maybe there weren't any. Perhaps the predictions of consumer caution are coming true. Perhaps everyone's waiting for Cyber Monday . Elbow room was fine by me, even though I wasn't buying much. I've purchased gifts from clearance tables and rummage sales throughout the year. Some presents are courtesy of MyPoints and MyCokeRewards . A few folks will get jams (made from free fruit) and cookies (made with loss-leader ingredients). And I admit it: I'm re-gifting a couple of things. Keeping it realistic It's great fun to give gifts, but no fun to spend beyond your means . Well, it may be fun at the time, but your stomach will hurt once the bills arrive. Here are some reader strategies for
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Posted
Nov 21 2007, 09:06 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
The biggest newspaper of the year hits the doorstep tomorrow, crammed with Black Friday ads. Some people couldn't care less. A Smart Spending message board reader posting as "whyspend" has done away with Christmas presents -- and, subsequently, with lots of hassles. "No tension. No fake happiness when we open a gift we never asked for and never would have bought ourselves. No wasting time shopping online or in the shops," whyspend writes. "It's bliss." Another reader, "tazzmann," has also had enough. Dropping Christmas presents is a sure-fire way to get a Scrooge sobriquet, but tazzmann says a gift-free holiday has its advantages, such as "money still in your pocket." What you won't have: "Piles of wrapping paper strewn all over your house, bags full of old items and trash to take out, (or) gifts to return or go get batteries for." Different ways to give Other readers suggested dial-it-down gift strategies, such as buying only for kids, drawing one relative's name or donating to charities
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Posted
Oct 29 2007, 09:19 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
If the Toys “R” Us Big Toy Book is here, can Christmas be far behind?
Well, yeah. Fifty-eight days behind. But face it: No matter how much we whine about too-early holiday marketing, retailers aren't going to change their ways. We're the ones who have to change, i.e. adjust our reactions to the hype.
"Beebegurl," a Smart Spending message board reader, pays no attention to the retail calendar. In a thread called “Christmas Gifts,” she wrote that she shops for her grandkids long before holiday hysteria sets in. This allows her to look around "without pressure and at my own leisure and make a rational decision."
The most rational decision of all? Once she finds the perfect gift, she waits for it to go on sale. "I never ever pay retail for any toy."
Clearly, Beebegurl rocks.
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