Thrifty Tip Tuesday!

Well, I'm jumping on the bandwagon and have created my own weekly blogposts, newly titled "Thrifty Tip Tuesday". I love everyone's "Not Me Monday", "Wordless Wednesday", etc, so I thought I'd come up with my own. At first I was going to do "Frugal Friday", but I don't like the word frugal. In my mind, it is associated with the words "cheap" and "selfish". Don't ask me why. So I like this title much better! Thrifty to me means "wise" and "budget minded".



A little history behind these upcoming blog posts. Dave and I have always been on a tight budget, especially since kids came along! In fact, when Austin was born and I quit my job, we were anticipating a deficit situation. Over the last 12 years, I have learned so much about what it means to be budget-minded, how to save money on certain things, how to not buy things at all, and so much more. So these posts are going to be a mix of extremely practical (like buying oats instead of those little packs of flavored oatmeal), to the more general. I am so grateful for the many older and Godly women who have demostrated wise living to me and taught me so many things about being a worker at home. And God is by no means finished teaching me. I have recently learned so many valuable lessons, not only about how to save money, but the sins and personal pitfalls that can be associated with how we spend our money and what we spend it on. You know, we all have to buy things. It's how we use our money, and the attitudes and motives behind our purchases that God is concerned with.



With all that said, I think I could spend the next 40 years or so sharing some of the money-saving tips I have learned and awesome deals I have scored over the years, practically speaking. So don't expect that you are going to get all of them at once! I will have to learn to practice self control and pace myself in downloading all this information out of my brain for you to enjoy! For some of you, this info will be old hat, but hopefully I can encourage some of you along the way, as I learn and grow in this area myself.



So, let's get on with it.



Thrifty Tip Tuesday Tip #1: Ebay is your friend.












I know this isn't a revelation. There are some great deals to be made on ebay. But here are some ebay tips you may not know about:



1) Ever buy jeans on ebay?



I know, you're balking at the idea. I mean think about it, who likes jeans shopping? If you're a person like me, you hate it. It's so hard for me, being as short as I am, to find a pair that fits. That means so much time going from store to store trying to find that "perfect pair", which we all know doesn't exist anyways. What I have found is that if you have a pair that you really love, measure the waist, hips, and inseam. They go do a search under whatever brand you prefer. I like Gap jeans. Most people will list measurements on their listing, but if they aren't there, just ask the seller by clicking on the "ask seller a question" link on the right hand side. I have scored brand new or worn once pairs of Gap jeans for pennies. Literally. About 6 months ago, I bought four pairs, in all different styles. I know I bought one pair for under $2, then added shipping in for a grand total of $7!!!! Some will be a bit more, depending on the style. But for the most part, I have averaged $10 per pair buying them on ebay, and I have probably a 95% success rate with the fit. So ladies, you are saving over $40 a pair for the convenience of selecting them and purchasing them in the comfort of your own home. Hmmm???



2) Make an offer feature.



This is relatively new feature on ebay that some of you may not know about. It will have a buy it now price, and give you the option to "make an offer". Sometimes the seller will refuse your offer, especially if you offer way to low. But I have found that if you knock $10-$15 off the price (depending on what you're buying), they will usually accept your offer. Hey, who doesn't want to save $10? Come on!!! My feeling is, it can't hurt to try. They can only say no. And I'm OK with rejection. I have an example of this in the next section.



3) Look on ebay for stuff you have found elsewhere and comparison shop.



Ebay is usually the cheapest place to find stuff. A recent find of mine on ebay was a new set of cookware I just purchased. This is a tip in itself, so I'll elaborate a little. I have been putting off buying cookware for a couple of years, because I didn't have the means to buy a nice new set, and I didn't want to buy junk. I have had my nice set of Circulon since we got married, but the coating had been starting to peel off and I would find pieces in my food. Now you know that can't be good for you. I'm sure it causes cancer like everything else. Anyways, I did lots of research and found the cookware I wanted to purchase. I decided on the Cuisinart Stainless Steel Multiclad line. I found a set on Amazon and that was the lowest price I could find. Amazon always comes with free shipping as well, so I was ready to buy it. At the last minute, I decided to check ebay. A seller was offering it at a buy-it-now price which was about $12 cheaper than Amazon, and also free shipping. But there was also the "make an offer" option. I decided to offer him $26 less than the buy it now price, since it was a more expensive item. He accepted my offer!!!! So I got the set for $38 less than Amazon, with free shipping! So it pays to look! A note about the cookware. I chose this set because it is made with exactly the same contruction as the All Clad brand but without the sticker shock of All Clad. I got a 12-piece set for the price of one All Clad pan. And this set had RAVE reviews about being just as high quality as All Clad. It had hundreds of 5 star reviews. So if you're in the market for some stainless steel cookware, and you really like All Clad but don't want to spend the money, I can't recommend this product more. The pans are offered open stock and in sets, and really are wonderful. The point here is, just check ebay before you make a purchase. Chances are they have what you want. And if you aren't familiar with ebay, it really is super easy to use.