This is Day 22 of a month long food stamp challenge. If this is your first visit, please check out this link to see all of the posts and get a better understanding of what is going on.
After a tense morning of medical tests, we dropped in a few local thrift stores to look for a few items we’ve been wanting/needing. We found and purchased several things and had a conversation along the way about how prices at thrift stores have skyrocketed in the years since the recession. People are more careful with their money now and you are just as likely to see well-dressed middle class folks in second hand stores as you are those who actually appear to be nearly homeless.
John & I are no stranger to thrift store shopping; At the start of February I found this old Singer sewing machine for $22.67 (total price) at a local thrift store. Now that the weather is turning cold and much more time will be spent indoors, it will be put to much use, the familiar hum reminding me of my childhood when my grandmothers would be busy with their various projects.
The thrifty theme of the day carried over into our meals, especially the more than adequate dinner of leftovers that was absolutely cost-free.
MEALS
BREAKFAST: $1.31
coffee
sugar
creamer
oatmeal
LUNCH: $.44
pasta w/ butter & pepper (John)
pasta w/ leftover tomato sauce (Michael)
PITCHER OF TEA: $.61
DINNER: $0.00
leftover night included:
beef stroganoff
kale, broccoli, elephant garlic & onion sauté (gifts from Shawna Coronado)
potato salad
coleslaw
stir fried veggies
sweet potatoes
sweet potato pierogi
NOTE: See that sweet school lunch tray? We found them at a local thrift store while shopping for other home needs. We picked up four of them for $.89/each because we’re cool like that. We are just crazy enough that we enjoy eating from them, not to mention the nostalgia was kinda cool.
- Consumed Today: 2.36 [+6.64 for the day]
- Consumed To Date (week): 2.36 [+6.64 for the week]
- Consumed To Date (month): 96.31 [+92.69 for the month]
- Spent To Date: 208.48
- Remaining Balance: $70.70
QUESTIONS OF THE DAY: How has your attitude about shopping at second hand stores changed over the years? Do you feel more or less likely to find good deals these days?
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
I love the plates :0)
I went to goodwill last week and walked out not buying anything. Waaaaay overpriced for used clothes. I could get brand new clothes online cheaper by finding a coupon code and buying clearance + shopping through ebates.
I love the sewing machine too!
Love the plates and WOW AT THE SINGER!!!!! Checked it on Ebay just for kicks?
I will not do Goodwill.
I went in there a year ago to see what they did with their stuff that didn’t sell, to see if I could get it donated to the battered women’s shelter, and neded up uncovering this huge scam and fought with management yada yada yada.. I have been getting my clothes from church grab bags and my daughter’s leftovers for 15 years. It’s just stuff. I thought the days of good deals were gone.. til I saw your Singer :)
The Singer was a steal at a local thrift that was having a huge one day 50% off sale. Also grabbed a baker’s dozen pillowcases at 50% off of $.25 for use in other projects like reusable shopping bags. Which reminds me, that’s a how-to I need to get busy on soon.
Most of the stores are like that these days. I used to find dressers for ten bucks, now they’re upwards of $80 in poor condition. Don’t even get me started on some of the clothes. Goodwill is acting like they are a boutique consignment shop these days.
I’d love to see your how-to on converting pillowcases to shopping bags. Sounds like a great idea. Yes, the thrift store prices have skyrocketed. It’s what I call price gouging, and right when so many more people need help desperately. Also, I’ve noticed the same thing on Craig’s List; people asking insanely high prices for their old stuff. Of course, most of it just sits there online without selling, but it amazes me. I guess it’s just wishful thinking on their part and/or desperate people trying to get as much as they can, but it won’t work when trying to sell things for far more than they are worth. The one place where you can still get bargains is at garage and yard sales, if you have the time, patience, and gas money to get from one to the other. My Mom’s church has an enormous sale every year. They price that stuff to move, and it’s always a good place for bargains.
Okay, I’m definitely going to make that how-to happen ASAP.
Have been shopping thrift stores since before it became chic and yard sales just to get by as a young parent and now as a grandma. Prices have really gone up through the years. The Goodwill ‘outlet store’ is great because you buy items by the pound. Everything is in bins and not organized so its a bit of work but you can find some great stuff for less than at the regular thrift stores. That sewing machine is a great find. Have fun this winter. Maybe you can turn out some nice quilts. Sorry to hear the car was totaled, I misunderstood when you said you had changed the tire and pounded out the side panel. Thank goodness for insurance. Your meals are top notch gourmet. Best wishes.
Just want to add that I don’t shop much at the regular Goodwill stores because it is too expensive as your other readers have said. But the outlet stores are a good bargain. We have quite a few thrift stores in my area so we shop around for the best prices.
i don’t shop MUCH at Goodwill; however, i don’t shop much at all other than grocery shopping, which is several times a week! I do generally go to the Goodwill 2 or 3 times a year…i like to go before Christmas to get mugs…you used to be able to get them for $1 or less each, but i noticed last year they were much more. I also go there to get used books, and check and see every time i’m in if they have any plain white Corelleware. I rarely get clothes there, but the last 2 or 3 pairs of jeans i’ve gotten have all been from there (i.e. about the last 8 years). I found out this summer that the Dollar Tree sells books too, though, so will probably start getting my books there now, as $1 is better than $3.99 and up, although the Goodwill does have a MUCH better/larger selection. I know people will say just go to the library, but for people like me, it’s much cheaper to buy used than to pay the stiff fines because i ALWAYS turn them in late, even if i read them in just a day or two. I know myself, and it definitely pays to buy used for me. Then i usually turn around and give them to someone else, unless i really, really like it and want to keep it. Since we live in a very small house, that doesn’t happen to often.
I admire you for your sewing machine moxey-i wanted one for years and years, but then when i finally got one–over 25 years ago–i barely ever use it because i get so frustrated with the bobbin and stuff. i pull it out every couple of years and do something easy-peasy on it, then stuff it back in my closet. :-( When i was in high-school i made most of my own clothes, but i guess i kinda lost the know-how and where-withall in my decade+long wait to get one…
Anyway, in case i didn’t answer your question: My attitude towards them hasn’t really drastically changed, but the lines are longer and the deals are fewer, that’s for sure!
I used to love shopping at thrift stores, but can’t afford them anymore. The only thrift store I ever really mess with these days is St. Vincent de Paul’s because they will give free clothes (something like 3 outfits per family member) to people in need. I’ll go there as a last resort if one or more of us really NEEDS something and I can’t find it on Freecycle and no grandparents give it as a gift. In general, I try to save their stuff for people that don’t have other resources. That’s also where I’ll donate our stuff when I don’t want to mess with giving it away on Freecycle or at a Really, Really Free Market.
Like others, I have been a thrift store shopper since before it was the *it* thing to do. In college, a friend was pregnant and we outfitted the entire nursery in a current up-to-date theme by thrifting. As a mom of 2 on 1 income, I still thrift for many of my kids clothes and other household needs. My parents do it as well. Like you and others have mentioned, the prices have truly changed and not for the better. We have a local Value Village and they have gotten hip to designer’s so they automatically mark those up and out of principle I refuse to pay those prices. Every federal holiday they offer 50% off and 2x a week they offer 25% off. I like Goodwill because items are one price regardless of designer. We also have a Salvation Army nearby that is also 50% off on Wednesdays.
I say all of that to say that I go in armed with patience and ready to look for the deals. I also look for things that can be repurposed into something else like you plan to do with your pillowcases. While I do thrift for a deal, I also thrift because I think there is just too much stuff in the world, so let’s use it for another purpose if we can.
By the way, my kids love the thrift store. The are being taught to be thrifty even now.
Thrift stores all vary in price for their goods. Search them out, and many times they will have a reduced rack.
I also have found cloth scraps to be a reasonable price. I bought a really pretty piece for $1.00 that was the size of a queen sheet. On a couple of occassions it was used for that purpose.
It is probably us “millionaires next door” you see in the thrift shops. We didn’t get this way by wasting or money :)
I forgot to mention a few days ago.Someone mentioned that maybe a former FS recipient would be best to train/teach people how to shop more wisely.
Maybe…but I also think anyone who is actually frugal, and lives the life, could also do it just as easy.
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