How I Spent My $6.05

by Katy on February 2, 2010 · 11 comments

I wrote a few days back about how my wallet from 1983 was anonymously mailed to my father’s house. It was a time capsule of my 15 year old self, and contained $6.05 of post-1983 currency, which I wanted to spend on something special. I asked you, the readers for advice on how this money should be spent.

Advice ran the gamut from complete and utter teenage splurges to helping those in need. Here are a few of your suggestions:

  1. “I would go buy some blue mascara and a couple of 99 cent music downloads for, say, Abba or Night Ranger, lol.”
  2. “I would buy something for the family to enjoy that a 15 yo would like. A half gallon of ice cream with hot fudge sauce or butterscotch sauce, jimmies (or sprinkles), real whipped cream, etc. then have an ice cream party in rememberence of your teen years!”
  3. “Send it to Haiti…it might just make some teenage Haitian girl’s day!”
  4. “I think you should go to the thrift store and see what you can find for $6.05 and share with us what you bought.”

I went with suggestion number four and took my cash to one of my favorite Goodwill stores. And you know what I found? Exactly the type of baskets with white fabric liners that I’ve been keeping an eye out for! Exactly. Each was marked at $2.99, so this spent the $6 perfectly. However, I was able to talk the checker down a dollar as one of the liners was slightly stained, (which easily washed out.) This left me with enough money for:

A jumbo sized Snickers bar, which was my favorite treat when I was fifteen. (Luckily I danced for three hours per day plus theater classes!) I haven’t bought the candy yet, but I will savor every bite, and maybe even listen to a little Men at Work.

She just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich!

Thank you to everyone for your great (and humorous) suggestions. I wanted to do something my 42-year-old self really liked, while indulging my 15-year-old alter ego. Although I loved the idea of the blue mascara, I just couldn’t waste my money on something so useless, and as kind hearted as the Haiti idea was, I just gave money to Mercy Corp.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”

{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }

Kris-ND February 2, 2010 at 8:12 pm

No blue eyeshadow? No blue Mascara? Really? Are you trying to say that blue eyeshadow doesn’t appeal to a 42 year old?? lol

Well, this almost 40 year old doesn’t blame you for skipping out on the blue eye stuff. I often wish I would have been given that advice as a 15 year old. Particularly when my children just laugh and laugh whenever they see old pics!LOL!

You “done good”. I guess if you wanted to really 80’s up, you could have bought a can of Aqua Net!LOL!! Talk about appealing to an 80’s 15 yo huh?

Chocolate fits the bill better regardless of your age, although it is remarkable how careless one can be with their candybar calories at 15 vs in their 40’s isn’t it?

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Kristen@TheFrugalGirl February 3, 2010 at 3:38 am

Yay! I love it when I find stuff I really, really want at Goodwill.

Happy organizing!

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This Thrifted Life February 3, 2010 at 5:42 am

Fun! Those baskets are great.

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James February 3, 2010 at 6:56 am

“He just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich!”

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Marie-Josée February 3, 2010 at 7:29 am

What a wonderful coincidence that you found exactly what you wanted…Hurray! And bon appétit!

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nancy from mass February 3, 2010 at 8:16 am

How great is that! Finding exactly what you’ve been looking for! I hope I find a folding clothes dryer next time I go! (I’ve been looking for a long time.)

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Robyn J. February 3, 2010 at 8:19 am

What I want to know…………is what you are going to put in those baskets??? Great find!

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Katy February 3, 2010 at 8:32 am

Robyn,

The baskets sit empty at the moment, but I doubt that will be for long.

Katy Wolk-Stanley
The Non-Consumer Advocate

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Lisa February 3, 2010 at 10:49 am

I love it when everything works out so perfectly! You put out a call to the universe for those lined baskets, and …walla!… there they were! And to have bought them with your unexpected windfall…All I can say is old “Gus” (Guy- or Gal Up Stairs) is really smiling down on you!!! Chocolate is also one of life’s necessities.

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Mrs. B February 3, 2010 at 3:49 pm

You look like a happy girl in the picture. I can almost see that 15 year old busting out of that smile. Enjoy your candy bar.

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Lindy February 3, 2010 at 5:50 pm

I’m so glad you found the baskets you were wanting! I’m personally an organizing freak, so I think that’s great!

Now you will have to show off where you stored them and what you stored in them! 🙂

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