Saving Money Around Town and Online

I rarely pay full price for anything anymore -- there's just no need to! With so many great coupon codes out there, you can get many items online for a fraction of the cost.

When I'm feeling particularly thrifty though, I turn to web-based services like Craigslist. We have purchased a swing set, playhouse, and toys for about 80 - 90% off the reg. retail price. They were gently used items and a great bargain!

Craigslist is like an online garage sale (no fees like ebay) where you can post your items for free and even browse for items listed in your area.

How Craigslist works:

• When selling an item, you create an ad (add a picture and write up a brief description) and wait for interested buyers to contact you. The buyer comes to pick-up the item(s) and pays you cash.


• When buying an item, visit your city's Craigslist webpage and browse through items you are interested in buying. Contact the seller, ask questions, arrange pick-up/payment.

Craigslist can be used to sell homes, cars, promote businesses, offer services, find jobs -- it's an excellent resource! For more information on how Craigslist works, visit Gather Little by Little for a great article on tips for using Craigslist.

Another fantastic resource for getting goods for cheap (or in this case, free) is Freecycle.

People join a list of freecyclers in their city. When they're ready to dispose of an item or looking for something, they send an e-mail that goes out to the entire list. If you have an interest, you contact the original poster and make arrangements to exchange the item. No money changes hands -- these items are totally free (minus the gas mileage).

The Freecycle site will allow you to look for a group in your city. If you don't find one, the site will give you step-by-step instructions on getting one started.

For more info. on Freecycle, click on their image below: