Monday, May 11, 2009

Money Monday - Garage Sales

Well, I posted on Thursday about our Financial Recap for the month of April. I probably should have saved that for today, but...ehhh....oh well.

Today I'm going to talk about garage sale-ing. And yes - for today - "sale-ing" is a word.

I LOVE garage sales. Like, it's an addiction. Well, no...that's not true. But I do love them. I think I love them for a few reasons:

1. My mom and I used to go garage sale-ing when I was a kid.

2. Garage sales have perfectly good things for perfectly cheap prices. A frugal woman's favorite!

3. Garage sales have things that are no longer in print, being made, or that are widely available to the public. Like those darling metal Tonka trucks.

4. Garage sale-ing is a great, fun way to get some exercise! (Read: neighborhood sales.)

5. Garage sale-ing is an inexpensive activity that can occupy your whole family. (Well, maybe not your husband...but most of your family.) :)

Now, there is one major danger to garage sale-ing.

Some people just buy things because, well, they want to and - IT'S SUCH A GREAT PRICE! But if it's not something you need, don't buy it. It will likely just sit in your house/garage/shed until you decide to try to sell it in your own garage sale....ineffectively. Unless you're one of those master Ebay sellers, skip the stuff you don't need.

I have found that keeping a running list of things I'm going to look for at a garage sale has been so helpful. For example, when I went out a few weekends ago, my list looked something like this:

photo props
girls shoes, size 7-9
boys shoes, size 9-11
lawnmower
girls clothes, size 3T and up

It was really great because it allowed me to keep my priorities in mind. If I saw something that wasn't on my list and didn't think it needed to be added to my list, I didn't get it. (At least...for the most part.) :)

Are you a garage sale-er?
Do you find garage sales an efficient use of your time and money?
What are your garage sale-ing techniques?


Also, as a preview for tomorrow, stay tuned for the BEST cinnamon roll recipe on earth!

3 comments:

Cristi Jo said...

I am in total agreement on the garage sales! We went to a big one down in Camby over the weekend, and even my husband was entertained! I keep an index card of things to look for and try to be as specific as possible. Something that I love looking for at sales is things for home-schooling. I was able to find some good stuff and can't wait to use it!

Sarah said...

I like garage sales, I dislike taking my children to garage sales. I take that back, I dislike taking Abigail to garage sales. She wants to buy EVERYTHING in sight. Does not matter what it is..."but Mom it's only 25 cents" that can certainly add up for a little girl with big eyes and a small wallet.

Miney said...

I am an awful garage sale-er. I am the person who buys things that then sit in the garage and end up in a future garage sale (or the trash). I also don't have much patience for sorting through a bunch of junk to find really cool stuff. I wish I did, but my attention span tends to be very short!