Combatting Super Inflation - Thrift Stores

I spotted a new thrift store in the city a few weeks back. I have no idea how long it's been there since we do not go into the city very often. It is very nice store and inexpensive compared to Goodwill and other corporate thrift stores in the city. 

I picked up a couple pairs of brand-new sandals at the new to me thrift store for pennies on the dollar. The Clarks would have been $49.99 at Goodwill. Some used brand name shoes sell for $29.99 and up depending on their retail price at Goodwill. 

On top of doubling their prices, Goodwill has the audacity to ask for donations. I have stopped giving extra to Goodwill stores in particular because their prices have more than doubled in most cases at these so-called thrift store; however, we are still able to find items reasonably priced items on occasion. 

To be fair, I still buy books in like new or new condition even though they have also doubled in price. We also still search for resale items and sometimes we score. I scored a king size set of heavy weight flannel Cuddl Duds sheets still in their original packaging for $80 less than retail. While I do not love the pattern, they are fabulous sheets. I knew that I needed to replace a set of sheets that I had retired, so I kept an eye out and ended up with a higher quality set of sheets for a lot less than retail. There are still good deals to be had at Goodwill, but they are elusive these days. 

Number One Husband says that paying retail is for suckers. There are other ways to avoid paying retail prices like purchasing sale items online, waiting for items to go on sale at the store or checking thrift stores. These options require due diligence and patience, but the savings can really add up over time.  

Unfortunately, some purchases have to be made right away due to situations like a refrigerator or a freezer going out. A simple search online can direct us to the lowest prices or sale prices in the area. There really is no reason to pay retail unless there is an emergency situation and there is no other option available.    

Happy hunting,

Mrs. Smith

 

Secondhand Treasures -Thrift Store Hauls - Advice

This is an accumulation of thrift store hauls over a period of time. Most thrifts stores have senior and military discount days. Take advantage of the discounts on those days if you qualify. It saves 15% in most cases. 

$8 tabletop adjustable desk. Retails for $250

Number One Husband surprised me the other day when he returned home from an appointment. He had stopped by the thrift store and found another Sun Oven. We now have three and the ability to cook a large meal like Thanksgiving dinner or we can batch cook freezer meals completely off grid. The Sun Oven retails for $499. He picked it up for $49. 

He also found a set of Pyrex food prep bowls brand new in the box for $5.99. I'm pretty sure that they should have been $15.99 because their prices have increased so much over the last few years. I was so grateful for these bowls. My large stoneware bowls that I love are so heavy that they are hard for me to handle due to the herniated disks in my neck affecting my thumbs.  It is very painful. I can't even use a manual can opener. I will have to pick up an electric can opener the next time we are in town. 

When thrifting we have one rule and that is to not buy anything that we can't use or resale. If an item is not useful, we just don't buy it. It is a waste of money and clutters up our home. It is a nice feeling to walk out of a store realizing that we didn't need or want anything. Contentment comes in many forms.  

We keep mental notes on the items that we are looking for. It is exciting to find something that we have been hoping to find without having to pay retail. Watch for stains, chips, broken or missing parts. They can render an item worthless. 

We always check the value of an item before purchasing, especially resale items and we take the cost of shipping into consideration. Shipping can take a huge chunk of the profit leaving us with little or nothing at all for our efforts. We also check to see if there is a market for every item we buy. Just because we like it doesn't mean that there is a market for it. Ask me how I know? Sometimes thrift stores can be more expensive than retail. Know your prices. Do your research. 

I bought this pretty lace as a gift for my friend who uses lace in her crafts.

This is a large spoon rest. I was using two different ones so I 
wouldn't contaminate my spoon for tea. This one takes up less 
space on my counter and it only needs one spot instead of two. 

Okay, I didn't need this, but I wanted a glass tea mug. This one
is perfect for me. I love tea and honey. I found it while searching
for replacement mugs for my dishware. 

This is also something that we needed to complete a set of 
Chicago Cutlery that we already have. It was .79 cents.

If you are off grid than you know that a low wattage anything really 
helps especially if it uses a heating element. I have been looking for a
 replacement blow dryer for a long time. As far as I can tell it
has not been used.

This is an oldie but a goodie. The motor on older models
just last forever. This one obviously wasn't used much. It
is in perfect condition and for $6.99 compared to $150 it
is a bargain. 

I bought this pastry cloth and rolling pin cover for .90. I got it for
half off the sticker price.

We bought this for our aches and pains.

I have been looking for these two books for a couple of years.
I found them both at the same time. 

My house shoes(boots) finally bit the dust. I wanted the same kind, but I didn't want to spend the $30 bucks, so I compromised when I found these brand-new ones for $4. They are so warm and comfy.

I have been buying up colored pencils for my Inductive Bible Study.
While they are not too expensive at the store, I'm still saving $1a pack
or more. I think I am good now. I needed the glue to add additional
ribbons to my Bibles. 

I have been looking for a certain style of fleece for Number One Husband
for years. They started making them again and I finally found
a brand-new Columbia for $5. 

We have purchased two Instant Pots, a Luxe Mini and an Ultra 6-quart with
no signs of use. The cost for both was less than $30. If I 
would have paid retail both of them would have cost me over
   $300 before taxes which would be an additional 30+ dollars.   

It really pays to avoid paying retail as much as possible. There are things that I would not purchase unless they still had tags on them. Safety and hygiene are important to me. I will wait for a sale if I can when I am forced to pay retail prices. Plan ahead and have fun...

Happy hunting,

Mrs. Smith

This Is a First - Weather Forecast - Monthly Grocery Shopping Experience

This is a first, I have not seen a forecast for "Blowing Dust" before. We are under a high wind warning. It's time to batten down the hatches and watch out for flying debris. The wind is already roaring out there. It seems the whole world is witnessing a lot of firsts lately!

This wind is blowing in another snow event on Monday. I'm glad I finished up my monthly shopping when I had yet another appointment in the city. The dental office had to cancel my teeth cleaning appointment that was on the same day due to illness. Ugh! I am counting down the days for my new front tooth...

• Today
  
  

  

  Patchy
  Blowing Dust
  and Windy

  High: 55 °F

• Tonight
  
  

  

  Breezy.
  Slight Chance
  Rain/Snow
  then Chance
  Snow Showers

  Low: 26 °F

• Saturday
  
  

  

  Chance Snow
  Showers and
  Very Windy

  High: 33 °F

• Saturday
  Night

  

  Partly Cloudy
  and Very
  Windy

  Low: 17 °F

• Sunday
  
  

  

  Sunny and
  Windy

  High: 42 °F

While I was in the city, I purchased just 11 items at Sam's Club for our monthly grocery haul, and it was $215. That is an average of $19.55 per item. Milk was just under $4 a gallon. I was able to fill up the gas tank for $2.77 a gallon. The fuel truck was delivering fuel, so I beat the price increase by minutes. Yea! It is now $2.85 a gallon. 

One thing that I noticed was the limited selection of products. Usually, they carry at least two options or more. For instance, they only had one brand of turkey bacon that we don't like at all. They also only had two expensive brands of toilet paper, plus Member's Mark. We need septic safe toilet paper which happens to be less expensive for a lot more product. I think that I may be able to order it online the next time I need to purchase some. 

Last month, I saw that they were discontinuing our favorite Kinders seasoning, so I bought a big bottle. We immediately called our friends who turned us on to this product and they went and purchased five bottles. 

They do not carry bread flour anymore even though I see it on YouTube videos at other clubs. I guess there is not much demand for it in our neck of the woods. I will check to see if the restaurant supply still carries it next month. 

Things are still chaotic out there as far as product availability and it seems to be getting worse every time I go to the store. The new norm is higher prices, out of stock, discontinued or an unrecognizable brand on the shelf with questionable ingredients. I find myself buying more substitutions every month. 

I really love Azure Standard and the quality of their products. They however cannot fulfill all of our needs. I buy from them whenever possible. Usually, every other month I am able to buy all of my groceries from them. 

I went into the city by myself this time. On the way home, I decided to treat myself to a book or two from the thrift store. Again, they had nothing that I wanted to read, however they did have something that I really wanted for a great price and in "like new' condition. I found an Instant Pot 3-Quart Mini Lux. 

They sell used for $50 to $80 bucks on Ebay. I got this one for $8 bucks. I'm excited because of its small size and because it only uses 700 watts. This is solar friendly compared to my other pressure cookers that I use. I have been on the lookout for one because I have just about worn out my 6-quart pressure cooker pot that I am unable to replace. I also have an 8 and a 12-quart pressure cooker. All three of them use 1200, 1600, and 1800 watts. I only use the larger ones when I have to run the generator. 

My mom gifted all three of the larger pressure cookers to me. They are some of my favorite gifts that have literally changed the way I cook and save money. Thanks Mom!

Stay safe out there and have a blessed Sabbath!

Mrs. Smith

• 
  

Pikes Peak - Thrift Store Haul

We ran a little late yesterday getting to the closest post office before the mail went out on the truck, so we headed into town. Here is one of the beautiful sights that we saw on our way. We have visited Pikes Peak by car and by one of only two cog railways in the USA. 

They have yummy donuts and hot chocolate at the top. They also have a nice gift shop. It is an expensive ride either way you travel. You can still hike for free up to the top of the 14,115-foot-high mountain if you dare. It looks like the price has doubled since the last time we visited. The cog train and railway were closed for three years for repairs and updates. I must say, it is still worth the trip. 

We got to town just in time to fill up before the last gas station changed the price. The tanker was offloading its new load of fuel. The price increased by another .20 cents a gallon to $2.99. It gone up about .60 cents a gallon over the last three weeks. 

We also stopped by the thrift store. We haven't been there in quite a while. There was not one book there that interested me, but I did find several items that I was looking for. I found a $50 Williams Sonoma 18/10 stainless steel ladle, a $30 brand-new Thermos food jar, a brand-new glass shaker spice jar for my granulated sea kelp and a $15 galvanized metal napkin holder all for $10. 

I can take these items off my list now. I have one more item on my wish list. I would really like a one-gallon fermentation crock like the one below for small batch fermenting. I don't need it, but I would sure like to have one. 

 

We put out cones at the end of our driveway to keep delivery drivers from getting stuck. We have a delivery coming today. The last time this company delivered to us in the snow, they got stuck and tore up our driveway. We couldn't get out because the road was blocked to pull him out. Number One Husband actually drove the vehicle out after the driver did a lot of digging. When the snow starts to melt in the sun, it becomes very slick and muddy. The bald tires on the truck did not help the situation. 

Just a little side note, I feel so much better today! Praise God!

Shalom,

Mrs. Smith