I worked most of day 30, so there was no time to think about shopping, even if I had wanted to. Day 31 was a little bit different.
I had bags of clothing and toys from a few days ago when I cleaned out some of our closets. I went to the thrift store to drop everything off, but the line was long and my car AC doesn’t work when the car is idle. I had every desire to go park my car, walk my donations to the curb drop-off area and go inside. I knew if I did go in, I had to need something in order to buy it. So I parked the car, did the curb drop-off and went in.
I had an idea the other day for purchasing gifts. I can’t buy new things and it’s still not completely socially acceptable to give used stuff for gifts. (I have every intention of starting this new trend!) I decided to look for used books, ones I am familiar with or topics that I know some of my friends or kids would like. I usually do this with vintage books, but they cost a lot of money. Books at the thrift store are $1, which I find very expensive since they used to be $0.25 each. Until I find another $0.25 book store, I’ll guess I’ll have to deal with it. After all, the money is going to a local charity and that’s a good thing. I was without my kids so I got to leisurely look through all of the books, slowly scanning each shelf, reading the title of every book. Now that’s some good down time!
Have you ever thought about the value continuum of books? Expensive (full price), relatively expensive (on sale), good deal (a really good sale), screaming deal (everybody has a copy or has borrowed one and read it), free or really super cheap (garage sales & thrift stores), and finally with some books, back to very expensive (vintage and rare books).
Some call it frugal, some call it cheap, I really don’t care about the name as long as I’m getting a good deal. I bought eight books. One book that I’ve been wanting to read for a while, but didn’t want to pay $15 for, was right there on the shelf. The other books will be for gifts. I usually alter them a little bit, meaning I write a personal note in them and add artwork.
I also bought one more thing that I would see as a need. My kids wanted to start battery recycling at the church. We go through a lot of batteries with the mics and remotes in the tech area. I bought a small metal trashcan with a lid for $6.99. Supporting my kids in their efforts to make this world a better place seems like a good thing to do, especially when it’s just $6.99. It might not have been a need, but it sure seemed like a good purchase. :)