Kelly's Thrifty Tips

Two weeks ago I posted some tips for having your own yard sale or garage sale. Last week we focused on Father's day. Now I am going to refocus on yard sale tips but this time as the savvy buyer. Or semi-savvy buyer which I tend to be. I haggle minimally. Some people (like my fabulous sister-in-law) can haggle like a pro. I just don't have it in me, but I will if I feel motivated.



Okay off to the tips:

1- Plan your yard sale route. Most newspapers will have online postings and newspaper ads for yard sales, garage sales, estate sales and church rummage sales. Look them up and decide where you want to go. If you do this online you can map things out fairly simply with mapquest.


2- Start early. This is pretty obvious, but the fact is the really cool stuff gets snatched up. Of course if saving the most money is your goal, starting late works too. You can get a lot of great deals at the end of the day when a seller is not interested in packing there stuff up. Ages ago I read "Saving Money Any Way You Can" by Mike Yorkey, and one of the things that stuck with me was this woman Mike knew who purchased things for their church. She had like a free shop for people. She would go to yard sales at the end of the day and offer them a flat amount for everything they had left. If you do this, be sure you have the transportation to pull it off and some containers to do some sorting.


3- Shop with smaller bills. If you are planning on purchasing some high priced item, by all means carry the bills you think will be necessary, but do be sure to have plenty of denominations below $20 and some change too. This is simply a point of being considerate.


4- Carry a list of your family's clothing sizes and shoe sizes. You never know what you are going to find.


5- If you are looking for certain movies or books bring a list of those items. I can't tell you how many times I had stumbled on an amazing pile of books with some of my favorite authors and new authors I had recently discovered and I was a bit unsure of what I had and what I wanted.


6- If someone is having a bag sale (where you purchase a bag and fill it up), roll the clothes to get the most room. They also wrinkle less this way.


7- If you are hitting yard sales for a specific need, write that need down and the price range you are willing to go. This way you are ready if you come across the item you want. When I moved into my first apartments, I needed everything. I purchased everything too through yard sales and thrift stores. When you arrive at a sale and don't see what you are looking for be sure to ask.


8- When shopping for baby. Do not purchase car seats, cribs, bouncy swings...etc. The fact is so many things have been recalled that it is just wise to go new for those items. Do buy clothing and toys, but keep in mind choking hazards. Most of my son's clothes were purchased through yard sales and thrift stores because baby's frankly don't have the time in the clothing to ruin them. I also would resell his clothes at yard sales, thrift stores and consignment stores. Always use your judgment.


9- Keep some bags on hand for your finds. Some sellers will have bags and some will not.


10- If you aren't sure if you want an item, walk around with it while you shop. You don't want to set it down and have someone else pick it up just when you decide you do want it.

11- BE POLITE AND CONSIDERATE - This is one of the reasons I mention bringing smaller bills. Also watch how you park your car. Don't block a neighbor's driveway. Look both ways before bolting across the street. Don't cross in someone's lawn to get to a person's yard sale. Be polite to the other shoppers. My being polite helped me score a color television over a rude shopper which I sold eight years later for the same price I paid.

Also by being polite, don't get cranky if someone doesn't want your haggled down price. Some people have a set price and that is it. The year I was moving cross country, I had a yard sale in which I sold comic books at 25 cents each. A man tried to get me to sell my boxes (250 per box-no joke I was a collector at the time) for $5 each. Basically about two cents a comic. He yelled at me when I politely told him my price. He proceeded to yell that he was a comic book dealer and he knew prices. I informed him that I was a collector and I too was well aware of the prices and had no intention of going any lower than I already had. I had been to far too many comic book shows and knew for myself what those comics could sell for at any show and that any dealer would charge at least double my 25 cents and more likely prices of up to $1.00 for most of my inventory (yes I was a comic geek).

His rudeness eventually got him removed from my yard by another shopper who was highly irritated at this man's actions.


11- Carry tools with you like a measuring tape, screw driver, tape, rope and pliers. You never know when you are going to need to take an item apart, tie it down, or measure it to see if it will fit.


12- If you don't need it, do not buy it. This goes for yard sales and any kind of shopping. A great deal isn't a great deal if you don't need the item.


13- If you are looking for collectibles. Study up on what you are looking for. You can get some great deals that way.


Now onto something cool. It has been my dream for probably the past ten years now to go to the World's Longest Yard Sale which is also known as the 127. This sale is a four day yard sale extravaganza that had its humble beginnings in 1987 as a way to bring people to the less traveled highways of Tennessee and Kentucky. This year's sale is to extend from Hudson, Michigan to Gadson, Alabama and runs August 5th to August 8th. Check out the map of the sale below:



For more information about the 127 Corridor Sale follow the link below:


LINK: 127 Corridor World's Longest Yard Sale or 12 Corridor World's Longest Yard Sale (2)



FREE SAMPLES


While supplies last you can get a free sample of Biore Steam Activated Cleanser or Makeup Removing Towelettes. They take 8 to 10 weeks to arrive.


LINK: Biore Samples


If you are a dad, John MacArthur and Grace to You have a hard cover copy of "The Quest For Character." This very generous offer for dads expires on June 27th.


LINK: Grace to You - The Quest For Character


Walmart has another sample of Starbucks VIA. If you find yourself to occasionally desire a little coffee but don't want to make a full pot, this is a great way to go. Follow the link below:


LINK: Starbucks VIA


Free Samples of Gas X Thin Strips. Beat the tummy grumbles with Gas X. Give it a try at the link below:


LINK: Gas X Thin Strips Sample


From IKEA Wednesday June 23 to Monday, July 5 Kids Eat Free. Here are the details from the website:

Wednesday, June 23, 2010 tp Monday, July 5, 2010

Kids Eat FREE!

Fill up their tummies with a free meal 11am until closing!

Valid Wednesday, June 23, 2010 - Monday, July 5, 2010. No adult purchase necessary. Choose any three kid-sized items to create a meal, including five meatballs, mac and cheese, PB&J sandwich, kid's yogurt, two cookies, chocolate milk, and more! Kids under 12 only. A $2.49 value.

Always check with your local store first. This is from the Tempe IKEA.




REBATES


Buy $50 worth of Olay facial care productss including their cleansers, moisturizers and specialty treatments and get a $20 rebate. This is definitely worth the time if you like Olay products. The products must be purchased by June 30th and postmarked by July 16th.


Rebate link: Olay $20 Rebate


Get a $5 rebate from Clorox if you buy the Clorox Toilet Wand System. Expires 2/1/11.


Rebate Link: $5 Clorox Toilet Wand


While supplies last mail your receipt from the purchase of Cover Girl Lash Blast and get a free Elle Mirror (very cute). Again this is while supplies last. Follow the link for directions.


LINK: Free Elle Mirror with CoverGirl Last Blast Receipt


Get a free reusable grocery bag mailed to you from Jolly Time popcorn when you send in 3 UPCs while supplies last. Get details on the website at the link below. I totally recommend picking this up. I got a great one a while back from Sunsweet, and these bags are amazing. They hold way more than your typical grocery store reusable bag.


LINK: Free Jolly Time reusable grocery bag with 3 UPCs


Send receipt with purchase price circled and UPC from Just for Men - Touch of Gray and get $9.50 back. Know someone who'd like to try this out? This is a great way to give it a shot.


LINK: Just for Men $9.50 rebate


Get a $15 rebate when you buy any Neutrogena Clinical. Neutrogena has long been known for their excellent skin care. Try their new Clinical Treatments and get $15 back. Purchase needs to be made by August 31, 2010 and postmarked by September 14, 2010. Follow all the directions on the form.


LINK: $15 rebate on Neutrogena Clinical


Schick Hydro will give you up to a $10.99 rebate just for trying Schick Hydro. Mail the original sales receipt, UPC, and rebate form (not valid on purchases from Sam's Club or BJ's Wholesale Club). Always follow the directions to get your rebate. Receipts need to be dated between 6/14/2010 and 8/18/2010.


LINK: Up to a $10.99 rebate for trying Schick Hydro


Get $5 back by mail when you purchase any three SC Johnson Products. Products listed here:


Ziploc
Glade
Windex
Scrubbing
Bubbles
Pledge
Shout
Fanastik
Draino
Raid
Off
Saran
Nature's Source

Must be postmarked by 7/15/2010 and received by 7/30/2010. Follow the link below for the rebate form and all the details. Remember follow all the directions.


LINK: SC Johnson Rebate download



Buy $25 worth of Aveeno products in a single purchase (yes SINGLE purchase - very important to remember in other words can be more than one item but only one receipt), send in certificate, receipts with items and purchase prices, write in UPC codes on the space provided on the form, and send it in. The items must be purchased between 6/14/2010 and 7/18/2010. Follow the directions to the letter.


LINK: $10 Rebate from AVEENO for $25 in AVEENO products purchase.


The word at A Full Cup is that there is a Snapple rebate pull off at several grocery stores that gives you a full rebate up to $6.99 for the purchase price of a Snapple 6 pack. I haven't seen it yet, but I thought I would give you the heads up. This would be a tear off thing. One per household so just take one if you find it. :)


Don't forget to check out the newest coupons from Cellfire that you can download directly to your store's loyalty cards. Follow the link below.


LINK: Cellfire

Kelly's Thrifty Tips

Now is the time of the year to start saving money with yard sales. Actually yard sales go on a lot all year round, but summer really is THE season. When I lived in Rhode Island, my family had yard sales about once a month. It was the way my mom and grandma came up with extra cash. Here are some tips I learned from them for doing a yard sale.

Make a bank -- Have change on hand. Do not assume that all the people who go to your yard sale will have small bills. My mom and grandma actually had a seasonal thing with yard sales so they set aside a bank for the entire season. Typically they would start off with about $150 in $10s, $5s, $1s, and plenty of change. After the sale, they would first count the bank money out, and their profit would be what was left. I highly recommend a bank, because truly it is much better to have the change on hand for those people with larger bills. I can't tell you how many times someone would come up with a $20 to buy a $1 book. And speaking of that bank. My mom and grandma always held the cash in a fanny pack. You can pick these up cheap at just about any thrift store. It was a lot easier to have the money on them rather than some cash box that could be snatched. Lastly...don't accept checks. It is really not a good idea.

Plan your sale -- Do not just wake up one day and decide to have a sale. Give yourself a few weeks in order to plan what you want to sell and why you want to sell it. Are you trying to make money? Are you trying to declutter? A few weeks of planning can really make the difference in the success of your yard sale. You also can use this time to figure out how you will advertise your sale.

Know your prices -- It is perfectly fine to do some dickering over prices, but you should have a pretty good idea of what you want to charge for the things you are selling. It isn't like someone else is picking the items out of your home for the sale. You are the one doing it. So figure it out while you are setting the items aside for sale. If you are really not sure how much you should charge for an item. Go to some yard sales before you have yours and see what other people are charging. Ticket your items. We wouldn't ticket things like books. We usually had a set price for hardcovers and another for soft and would have that posted.

Have a power supply handy -- We often sold items like radios and televisions at our yard sales. We made sure to have a power supply so people could test out what we were selling. The last thing you want is to leave your sale area to bring a stranger into your home to see if a toaster works.

Do not be intimidated -- Set your ground rules. If you do not want early birds, don't allow it. If you have a certain level you will drop your price to and you don't want to go lower, don't (remember to look around at other sales and see what kinds of prices similar items are going for). We were pretty rigid with our prices until later in the day. That was when we were more likely to haggle. I was a little harder edged than my mom and grandma. I truly had no interest in haggling with a woman holding a coach wallet, but at the same token, I was a complete pushover for a dad buying some Barbies and clothes for his little girls. Choose your battles. :)

Know when to sell -- My grandma and mom would usually hold their yard sales on Saturdays or Sundays. I don't quite understand the yard sales on weekdays. I know I see it a lot out here, but to me it always seemed more the early bird approach where you are quite likely to be hit by dealers rather than people looking for a deal. My family also avoided yard sales on holidays, but now with more and more people not traveling far, you may want to try it

Combine sales with neighbors -- If at all possible, work with your neighborhood and have a neighborhood sale. There was a neighborhood in my town in Rhode Island that would do one neighborhood sale for a weekend in the summer. It was great because you could park your car and just walk all over the neighborhood from sale to sale. It also kept the neighborhood yard sale traffic down throughout the rest of the year. Another cool thing was a lot of the children had cookie and lemonade sales during the weekend. Let me tell you, they did well!

Display -- Never underestimate the power of displaying your items nicely. First, keep things clean. Do not sell items that are so dingy no one would even want to touch them. Think about what makes you want to look and what makes you not want to look. My mom hung clothes off a portable clothing rack and on our fence. Other items she put on tables. She always had a box of clothing people could go through as well, but the nice stuff was displayed and displayed well. Also think about what appeals to men, women, children and teens and set up areas accordingly. Also display eye-catching items where people can see them when they drive by. My mom always made a point of putting large exercise equipment and yard tools like weed whackers up front to draw in the men who might not be as willing to browse as their female companions were.

What sells -- To save aggravation, it is a good idea to get an idea of what sells. I found a pretty awesome list at thefuntimesguide.com Guide to Household Tips. Follow the link below for a great list of what sells and to whom. :)

LINK: What Are The Hottest Yard Sale Items?



FREEBIES:

This is sooooo cool. The American Museum of Natural History and NASA have an awesome freebie for educators. It is the DVD "Journey to the Stars." Here are details from the site:


"Educators and parents: Are you ready to take a Journey to the Stars? The American Museum of Natural History and NASA have joined forces to produce a planetarium show about the amazing variety of stars that dot our cosmos--exploding stars, giant stars, dwarf stars, neutron stars, even our own star! But you don't have to go to a planetarium to experience this mind-blowing journey. NASA will send you a DVD, and Educators Guide for free!"

When my son was younger, we got some amazing weather maps from NASA. I guarantee you are going to want to alert any educators you know. Follow the link below:

LINK: Journey to the Stars

Humana is offering a free "Retirement for Dummies" or "Well-Being for Dummies" when you register with Humana.

LINK: Human free book offer

Follow the link below for five freebies from Walmart.

LINK: Walmart Free Samples


Earlier last weekend I posted a free sample for Starbucks VIA. If you haven't picked that up yet, here is the link: Starbucks VIA (mind you they could be all gone) Now if you are a Costco member, I have another opportunity for you to get a sample of Starbucks VIA. Follow the link below, but remember you do need a membership number for this one.

LINK: Starbucks VIA sample for Costco members

Free CCM has a free song download for "Jesus Saves" this week from Carlos Whittaker as well as still having free song downloads from Addison Road, Jonny Diaz, 33Miles, and Mike Farris. Don't wait for these to disappear. Follow the link.

LINK: Free CCM Song Downloads

More music? If you enjoy country music or would like to give a country music CD to a friend check this out. If you write a letter to a soldier and take it to your local Ram truck dealer, you can get a free CD "Breaking Southern Ground." They are looking to get 1 million letters written to soldiers. Details and a way to find a dealership near you are available by following the link below. Also if you download a song directly from the site, Ram truck dealers will make a donation to Soldiers Angels with EVERY DOWNLOAD!

LINK: Letters for Lyrics




National Parks are offering a few more free days this year. For this summer, take advantage of free entry on August 14 and 15. Other free days include September 25 (Public Lands Day) and November 11 (Veteran's Day). Follow the link for participating parks state by state: Free National Park Entry

Check out the National Parks page for events that will be held all summer. Most events are free though there is a charge for entry to the parks. This link takes you to Arizona National Park Events: Arizona National Park Events