Extreme Saving article on Yahoo!

[mafibisha]

I noticed quite a few "Wanted:" posts on my local freecycle board this morning... I wish them luck!

I'm suprised the article didn't talk about grocerygame.com as a way to save money on groceries, too.

Does anyone else find freecycle difficult to navigate? Or maybe I'm missing something on how to do it?

But how do you find something in your area? It kind of defeats the purpose driving 100 miles for something *free*!



edited to add - OMG - NM! I was on freecycle. COM and not ORG Need more coffee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!LOL !!!

 

[gabriellyn]

Slugging is GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I live in Houston and when I worked downtown I did it frequently! When a bus ride costs 3.00 each way and takes 15-30 minutes longer you better bet I will take advantage of slugging. Oftentimes if the weather was bad the driver would drop me off right in front of my building! Most of the time I had friendly interesting conversations with professional people from all different walks of life. Not once did I feel uncomfortable or creeped out. I know it seems strange, but when you see it in action and participate in it, it becomes a matter of routine, just like riding the bus. In fact I would often ride with the same people, so safety was never a problem. I no longer work downtown so I cannot take advantage of slugging, but now that DH works close to downtown he picks people up every day so he can get to work. It is a HUGE time saver! He saves at least 30 minutes every day by doing it.

I think freecycling is tough to get. Giving is easier, but even that is tough, because trying to coordinate with flaky people who never show up when they say they will is just frustrating. I did it for a while, but here in Houston there a million takers for one item so it's just not worth the hassle for me. Time is money too. I'd rather do thrift stores and garage sales.

 

[crisi]

I noticed quite a few "Wanted:" posts on my local freecycle board this morning... I wish them luck!

I'm suprised the article didn't talk about grocerygame.com as a way to save money on groceries, too.

It may have been here, or on another board or even in real life, but I remember a conversation making fun of "wanted" posts of freecycle.

 

[JaxJags08]

"YUMMMMM - you look tasty" - paraphrasing from a South Park episode where the kids go to a farm for a field trip and Cartman looks at a pig I think and says that.

I love that show!

I just keep thinking of chef Gordon Ramsay on his show The F Word (on the BBC). He had his children raise turkeys for a while - they named each one. Then a while later, he had someone come and butcher them all. Is that the right term for killing a turkey? His kids didn't watch that part, but they were kind of attached to them. They showed each turkey getting electrocuted...so sad!

 

[Todd&Copper]

Slugging is GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I live in Houston and when I worked downtown I did it frequently! When a bus ride costs 3.00 each way and takes 15-30 minutes longer you better bet I will take advantage of slugging. Oftentimes if the weather was bad the driver would drop me off right in front of my building! Most of the time I had friendly interesting conversations with professional people from all different walks of life. Not once did I feel uncomfortable or creeped out. I know it seems strange, but when you see it in action and participate in it, it becomes a matter of routine, just like riding the bus. In fact I would often ride with the same people, so safety was never a problem. I no longer work downtown so I cannot take advantage of slugging, but now that DH works close to downtown he picks people up every day so he can get to work. It is a HUGE time saver! He saves at least 30 minutes every day by doing it.

I think freecycling is tough to get. Giving is easier, but even that is tough, because trying to coordinate with flaky people who never show up when they say they will is just frustrating. I did it for a while, but here in Houston there a million takers for one item so it's just not worth the hassle for me. Time is money too. I'd rather do thrift stores and garage sales.

Sounds like you were lucky with slugging. I had NoVA friends who picked up slugs and they said you never know who you will end up with. Overbearing perfume; subtle body odor; chatty Kathys or cell phone Sallys. I couldn't deal with that uncertainty personally. But I don't have to even worry about it really since they don't slug in MD, only VA.

 

[dvcgirl]

I actually think that the title of the article is wrong. Should have been "Extreme Spavers"....no savers. Granted a lot of things in that article are necessities, but still, they're talking about saving money on things that you purchase. Purchase enough and you'll still *save* nothing . I think a lot of people get a huge buzz out of finding a bargain, but then find so many "bargains" that they end up in debt.

 

[Dopey420]

An article about "extreme" saving was just on Yahoo... Don't most of us do this already?

Last year, Andersen, who lives in Durham, N.H., decided to spend only $4 per person on Christmas gifts.

How would you like to be in this family? NOT!!

 

[bookgirl]

I'm the same way, I don't think I could "meet" my dinner. I know around here you can order a whole animal from a butcher so you never get to see him/her before hand, you just pick up a bunch of nicely wraped packages to put in your freezer!

I think if I lived on a farm, I'd be a veggitarian. No way could I raise cows and pigs and then have them for dinner one night. I guess I read Charlotte's Web a few too many times as a kid!

I had a roomate who's dad raised a few animals ever year for the meat. He gave them all food names(think cows named cheeseburger and a pig named BLT) so the kids would always remember that while they are around everyday, they are groceries not pets.

 

[czycropper]

Heck back in the 1970s my parents & another couple would buy a cow and have the butcher chop it up and put in the freezer (large freezer)-it was much cheaper than buying week to week. SO that's not a new idea.

 

[disneymom3]

I had a roomate who's dad raised a few animals ever year for the meat. He gave them all food names(think cows named cheeseburger and a pig named BLT) so the kids would always remember that while they are around everyday, they are groceries not pets.

My sister used to live on a small small farm in So CA. One year she and her DH bought two pigs that my dad shared with them. My niece who was three at the time wanted to name the piglets. (Who started out cute.) My BIL who is a nut says "Sure you can name them. That's Breakfast and that's Dinner. Don't get too attached!" This is the father of the girl who told her cousins that her daddy shot a deer. The other little girls were all appalled and said, "Your daddy shot Bambi!!!????" Her response was, "Yep, and he was good."

As for the slugging, I guess I don't get why you wouldn't just ride the bus. DH can ride the bus all month for $62 and it gets taken out before taxes. The bonus for him is he doesn't have to talk to anyone.

 

[mafibisha]

I actually think that the title of the article is wrong. Should have been "Extreme Spavers"....no savers. Granted a lot of things in that article are necessities, but still, they're talking about saving money on things that you purchase. Purchase enough and you'll still *save* nothing . I think a lot of people get a huge buzz out of finding a bargain, but then find so many "bargains" that they end up in debt.

Soo true!

Especially those of us reading the Dis budget board!

 

[crisi]

Last year, Andersen, who lives in Durham, N.H., decided to spend only $4 per person on Christmas gifts.

How would you like to be in this family? NOT!!

I'd love it.

 

[gabriellyn]

Good points to be sure, but $60 bucks or so is still $60. But the real bonus for me was that it shaved at least 15 minutes off of my commute time with the added bonus of often being dropped off at my building. As far as dealing with body odor, chatting, perfume, etc. as another poster said, those things are worse on a bus, plus there is no guarantee that I would even get a seat! Another plus to slugging is that I was able to ride in some very very nice cars that I will never get a chance to actually own. My fave was an Audi TT. All I can say is WOW!