We had bring-a-dish-to-share lunch at church this week. Attendance was a little thin, probably because of March Madness, so most of the spaghetti we cooked came home with us. We just refrigerated the pot that we cooked, which had a little sauce mixed in to about 1 1/2 pounds. I had bought a number of … Read more
Toys do not need to be expensive. They don’t even need to be cheap. They can be free! The ToobShooterâ„¢ Starter Set (click the picture to enlarge) consists of a batting tube (my wife quilts), my computer chair, a Folgersâ„¢ coffee can, a yellow golf ball, and a defunct trackball ball. Assembly time required: 8.7 … Read more
Kirby on Finance has a few great posts that address an interesting question: Can you afford to be so frugal? With this he makes an excellent observation: “So often we talk about the time value of money in terms of saving, but we rarely think about money value of time in spending!” Time and money … Read more
Our cordless drill was no longer holding a charge, so we began looking for another one. In the process we learned a number of things about the market for new and used cordless drills. Cordless drills at pawn shops probably don’t hold their charge. The first one we bought at a pawn shop had batteries … Read more
I was in town (Fredericksburg, VA) early enough today that I was able to hit a couple of pawn shops and three thrift stores. If you know what the price of things are, these can be places for incredible bargains. My favorite pawn shop so far is Spotsylvania Gold and Pawn. Courteous staff, great deals, … Read more
We had been pricing a newer TV and VCR for our living room. Our VCRs had pretty much bitten the dust, and our TV was a hand-me-down from my parents and mid-80s vintage, so it didn’t tune all of the cable channels (only 50 or 60) without the VCR. Our other TV tuned all of … Read more
I need to come to grips with this. Being a customer at a thrift store doesn’t entitle you to world-class service. You get the impression that they’re doing you a big favor by being open, and you had better follow their rules and accept their brusque “customer service.” Auctions: Sold as-is, where-is, no refunds, lug … Read more
We’ve gotten photo cards from several people for Christmas. We (actually, my wife!) made our own this year at a cost of under 50 60 cents apiece, including postage! She took a picture of our daughter (which wasn’t a chore for either of them — my daughter loves the camera). She draped a dark piece … Read more