Things you should be buying used

[blue gecko]

This might be interesting to explore:

http://moneyland.time.com/2012/07/11...e-mostpop1#end

[flourbug]

I am a bargain hunter.

I love extraordinary furniture. Not just good. Really good. The type I would only be able to have if I hit the lottery. I wade through mountains of junk on Craigslist, estate sales, etc... and I have picked up some really NICE pieces.

Exercise equipment is also good to buy used. People get that fancy machine and never use it... then they offload for a fraction of what they paid. We bought a Bowflex and treadmill and stationary bike... and then sold them all off because we didn't use them enough either. lol

I have a full set of thick french copper cookware... $100.

We bought a transparent canoe. I forget how much it cost but it was no where near the $1200 it would have cost new. We had fun with it then Jason sold it for $50 more than we paid.

We bought a small boat from CL a couple of months ago... 16' outboard. We take it out on the Gulf, have fun exploring islands and coves. There are some incredible bargains in boats and equipment because of the economy down here.

Oh, Jason purchased 2 motorcycles from CL and sold one.

Frequently we actually MAKE money by buying something at a really good price then selling it after we made use of it.

[blue gecko]

We do the same thing fb. I think we have as much fun looking for things as we do finding them LOL.

Another good thing not to buy new is canning jars and equipment. Just be sure to check the jars carefully for chips and scratches before you use them.

If you have the skills to alter clothing you can pick up larger than you wear clothes and remake them. There is some lovely "material" available at the second hand and thrift stores.

Often we pick up leather belts that only look to be in bad shape. It only takes a little bit of cleaning and conditioning and they're good as new. Purses are the same way and have great resale value.

We also look for good kitchen knives. Most of them were discarded because they were never properly sharpened. We've found some incredible deals.

Old garden tools are another find. Many just need a new handle and a little TLC sharpening and conditioning.

[D. Gale]

Amy Dacyczyn ("The Tightwad Gazette") called this "zero dollar use." I've was really good at it for a while, then when we had more money coming in, I got away from it and then the economy tanked. We haven't had much extra money for anything until just the last year again, and I'm trying really hard to re-learn all these skills I had in the 90's when my kids were little and we were hitting garage sales all the time. DH and I are currently discussing getting a "new" car at the end of the year -- DH wants to get an actual new car or one that's just a couple of years old, and finance it. I want to take the cash we'll have saved by the end of the year and buy an older car outright.

I have really enjoyed not having a car payment for the past year! The last time we didn't have a car payment was probably in the late 90's/early 2000's.

[Cactus Az]

As the Walmart in town no longer sells material,I shop the local thrift store.

I was given some patio furniture that had badly damaged cushions. went to thrift store,and found a pair of drapes in just the right color ( lucky break ), and recovered those chairs for $1, and some time.

Most of my canning jars were gotten at yard sales for $2-3/ dozen.

[flourbug]

I just read an article in a decorating magazine about a designer who made a duvet cover and pillowcases out of a pair of used drapes. I've done the opposite - bought a few extra flat sheets and turned them into lined drapes that complemented the bed.

Garage sales are great for used drapes and curtains that can be re-purposed, especially if you have pets. You can make a pile of pillows for just about nothing.

[blue gecko]

Old pillows make great dog beds. Use an old pillow case and you've got a washable cover. A vet friend used a crib mattress with a crib sheet as a dog bed for his large dog. I've always thought it was a great idea.

[Coyote]

Vehicles and furniture, absolutely. Guitars, ahhh...maybe. The good ones usually go up in price. Tools, some yes some no. The rest, whatever is comfortable for you.

Personally, I'd rather go to the dentist than go shopping.

[Feather]

I refuse to bring used furniture into my house unless I know the person who had it before I did. We've had to many cases of bedbugs here. They had to treat an entire apartment building down town that is for people that are retired and/or handicapped.

[flourbug]

Feather, people you know have bedbugs - and won't tell you.

Heat kills bedbugs. With record summer temperatures, even northern garages are reaching temperatures that will kill bedbugs. All it takes is 113 F for 90 minutes to kill live bugs and eggs. (A car parked in a sunny location will easily get up over 140 degrees inside.) Use a strong fan to dry out the air faster. Anything I buy gets the garage treatment for a day or two. If you have guests (who may be the cleanest relatives in the world but I betcha their luggage was on the plane right next to other people's luggage - and all of it has been in hotels and who knows where). Put a space heater and fan in the room, and bring the temp up high for a few hours. Buggies ALL be dead.

[Feather]

I forgot about putting the furniture in the garage to kill things. That's what I did before I moved in here, I stored things in a storage unit, my last apartment had been over run by roaches. The gal below me and the one next to me were both very dirty and were the reason the whole building was infested. I can handle chairs being used and treated but not mattresses. I don't go places where I stay over night either. Something about sleeping on a bed others have slept on makes me feel itchy. The apartment complexes I've worked at had strong rules about taking furniture from the dupster area because bugs are so hard to get rid of.