The Non-Consumer Advocate

Our down comforter was no longer providing the same warmth it once had, so I knew it was time to bite the bullet and buy a “new” one. (Shivering isn’t a good look for me.) I started my research with the NY Times’ Wirecutter website to see what they recommended and saw that the Costco one ranked high, so I clicked around on eBay until I found a “new without tags” version for $74.95 instead of $220. I also bought a new-in-package Pottery Barn duvet cover for $76.99, which seems expensive until you realize that it was probably around $200 to begin with.

People often assume that a decision to buy used is the lesser choice in terms of comfort and dare I say it — luxury. However, there’s almost nothing that can’t be found on the second-hand market. My purchases support independent sellers instead of morally corrupt companies that bypass environmental accountability and worker rights in the name of shareholder profits.

If I can avoid triggering the manufacture of a brand new item, that’s always going to be my first choice.

I awkwardly turned down a bid to prune our backyard maple tree as it came in at $3250. (Awkward, as we’re socially connected to the arborist.) I did receive a bid from someone else last summer that was much lower, but it somehow got buried in my inbox and I’m not sure the bid still stands.

I gotta say that home ownership can be a real pain in the tuchus. Yes, we’re building equity, but it’s only realized if we sell the house or borrow against it. Sometimes owning a home is just a series of boring expenses.

I went to Costco and only purchased items from my list. (Cat food, olive oil, chicken bullion, honey, frozen berries and a roasted chicken.) This may seem like a non-impressive “frugal thing,” but stores count on customers finding off-list items to bolster their profits. It’s not evil, it’s just the Science of Shopping. Whether it’s food purchases prompted by a tasty sample or the physical setup of the space, your impulse purchases are far from random.

I’m just as swayed by store displays and fun new products as anyone else, so I consider it a win any time I’m able to grocery shop without sprinkling my cart with impulse items.

I received a $20 refund from my doctor’s office, I started listening to Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz (my friend’s future daughter in law!) I sold a thrifted Calphalon frying pan through Facebook Marketplace, I gave away a cluttery antique vase through my Buy Nothing group, I returned a bag of unused miscellaneous Home Depot stuff, I picked up a $13 headlight bulb from an auto supply store for my husband to install on our Prius, (this’ll save us $22 over taking it to Jiffy Lube) my husband’s friend gave us a big bag of books for our Little Free Library, my friend Lise planted a native plant in a corner of my backyard and I donated two bags of clothing and random items to Goodwill.

I didn’t go on an ego driven space jaunt with my fellow billionaires.

I schlepped my 2021 Found Change Challenge jar to my credit union’s coin counting machine to discover that I’d gathered a mere $11.91 in dropped money over the course of the year. (Even though I’d found two one-dollar bills!) This shouldn’t have surprise me though, as I was serious about minimizing outings last year. Being a homebody doesn’t exactly open up opportunities for found money.

I really miss the before times.

I read some free library books:

• The Bookshop of Second Chances, by Jackie Fraser.

• The Curator’s Daughter, by Melanie Dobson.

• Confessions of a Curious Bookseller, by Elizabeth Green.

• Surprise Me, by Sophie Kinsella.

• The Show Girl, by Nicola Harrison.

I’m currently halfway through listening to the Nobel Prize winning Flights, by Olga Tokarczuk, but am struggling as it doesn’t have a traditional plot structure, and my brain wants to make connections which don’t exist. I think I just need to listen in bigger chunks to bring it all together.

I organized an overstuffed dresser drawer that holds my husband’s and my pajama bottoms, shorts, track suit bottoms and sweat pants. I was able to identify maybe five garments that hadn’t been worn in ages to donate, but most importantly I rediscovered a cute pair of sweats that I’d forgotten about.

Like shopping, but for lazy cheap gals such as myself.

I picked up a vintage glass lighting globe for $4.99 which I quickly sold to a vintage shop for $20, a childhood friend dropped off a bag of bubble wrap for me to reuse, (thanks, Deborah!) I’ve created a million-and-one homemade meals that keep us on budget, I’ve gotten better about properly organized grocery shopping trips that deter popping into the store for “just one thing,” but inevitably leads to impulse purchases, I used a coupon for a free pint of Häagen Daz ice cream as well as a $3.99 Red Baron pizza rebate that earned $4.49 through Ibotta, I returned a Goodwill rug I’d bought to resell but later realized had condition issues and I treated myself to a decent size $4.99 jade plant from The Grocery Outlet, which I transplanted into a cute garbage picked crock.

I didn’t go on an ego driven space jaunt with my fellow billionaires.

I took advantage of a rare Ibotta app deal before Thanksgiving that refunded 100% of the cost of a turkey and fixings if you bought specific items at Walmart. Mind you, I’m no Walmart fan, having shopped there just once in 2001-ish for a vacuum cleaner. (I’m lucky that Portland is rich with amazing supermarket options!) I carefully consulted the app to make sure I was choosing the precise turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cornbread, vegetables and gravy to qualify for the promotion and then promptly scanned the app as soon as I got home.

However, there’d been an issue with scanning the smeared label on the turkey at the register, which predictably became a problem when trying to complete the deal. I contacted Ibotta about the issue, but had misplaced the receipt by the time they replied. Oh well, live and learn . . .

Fast forward three weeks to me locating the receipt, and I was able to rectify the issue which completed the promotion! $20.38 into my PayPal account and I can let go of feeling foolish for chasing this deal.

I’ve apparently been an Ibotta member for close to a decade, but hadn’t used it as I feel like companies like this track your personal shopping habits in exchange for pennies. Also, there’s a “pyramid scheme” vibe to the app, as the best way to make money is to recruit others. This doesn’t sit right with me, and is the reason why I haven’t linked to them.

I’ve sold a number of things over the past month, although nothing too spectacular. Here are the most impressive sales:

• An Ikea Lömsk egg chair that I thrifted for $9.99 and then sold for $100. I sold it locally through Facebook Marketplace as it was yuuuuugely heavy!

• A Maker’s Mark Christmas sweater. Bought for $7.99 and sold for $75.

• A vintage Pizelle waffle maker. Bought for $4.99 and sold for $100.

• A lot of vintage Barbie dolls and clothing for $105. I bought a case full of vintage Barbie stuff for $14.99 last summer and already sold the case alone for $45.

• A Coogi 3-D sweater that I bought for $12.99 and sold for $150.

I’ve been reading up a storm, as my goal for 2021 was to read 52 books. I won’t make it, however, I still plan on cramming as much literary goodness as possible before 2022 rears her ugly head. It should be no surprise that I’ve been using my public library, both for physical books as well as audiobooks through the library’s free Libby app.

I’ll post a roundup of my 2021 reading for y’all, but for now please enjoy that I’m listening to The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser, and it is delightful!

Christmas came and went with minimal fuss. I didn’t really thrift for gifts this year and instead went heavy on food-based gifts (think big food baskets) and gift cards so that family members can pick out what they want and need.

We winnowed down who we exchange gifts with a number of years ago, which really simplified our holidays. These weren’t easy conversations, but people ended up happy to let go of the pressures of rote and obligatory gift giving.

I did send T-shirts with my son’s artwork to my sister and her kids, which were a hit. I’m perhaps a wee bit biased, but my son is a fantastic artist and he wins at T-shirt design.

I didn’t go on an ego driven space jaunt with my fellow billionaires.

My husband installed a hood vent over our stove after a mere 25 years of home ownership. He’d been stumped on how it would vent as it wasn’t an exterior wall. However, the discovery of a $99 clearance priced hood at Home Depot prompted him to watch some YouTube videos, and I am proud to say we are now proud owners of a fully functioning stove hood!

I found a soggy and rather filthy knit cap in the middle of a busy street and brought it home. I promptly gave it a thorough wash in a basin and then a quick once over with my sweater shaver. It turned out to be a Filson brand wool hat that sells new for $45. However . . . it was out of stock due to “supply chain issues” at the time, so I popped it on eBay for $44 and it sold within a couple of days.

Very satisfying.

My next door neighbor Nancy and I recently both read The Beneficiary, a biography about author’s Janny Scott’s wealthy and accomplished extended family. Scott’s socialite grandmother was rumored to have been the inspiration for Katherine Hepburn’s iconic character in the The Philadelphia Story, which prompted me to put the DVD on hold at the library.

Nancy and I then indulged in an afternoon movie date at her house, complete with popcorn and terrible impersonations of Hepburn’s mid-Atlantic accent.

I thrifted a midcentury end table for $12.99 and proceeded to clean it, repair some chipped veneer, refresh the finish and then sold it for $200, I had enough thrifted candles to get through the eight nights of Hanukkah, I picked up some free used bubble wrap from a local business who gives it away, we hosted Thanksgiving dinner and then ate from the leftovers for over a week, I’m finishing up an audiobook of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue through the library’s free Libby app, I gave away some notebooks, an unused planner, socks, bowties and a jacket through my Buy Nothing group and I got my free Covid-19 booster shot at a community clinic.

I didn’t go on an ego driven space jaunt with my fellow billionaires.

My daughter turned 26, so I planned an afternoon of adventures for the two of us. We normally celebrate family birthdays that include the four of us, but our schedules were all over the place, so it ended up being just the two of us. Her schedule was tight, so we ended up going to just two places.

• Our first stop was Purrington’s Cat Lounge, which doubles as both a “cat café” and a feline adoption center. Together we enjoyed coffee, treats and the disinterested company of cats. My daughter’s cat passed away recently, so this ended up being pet therapy, but very much enjoyed by both of us.

• Our second stop was a local restaurant that serves gluten-free fish and chips. This is one of my duaghter’s favorite dishes, but a rare treat due to dietary restrictions. I would rate the food as decidedly “so so,” but my daughter liked it, so who am I to complain?

My mother turned 79, so I hosted her and my step father for dinner, but also cobbled together a later “day of adventures.”

• Our first stop was ¿Porque No? where we dined on “Bryan’s Bowls” in the outdoor seating area. I had a filled punch card, which cut the bill in half.

• Our second stop was to Goodwill, where I picked up an end table to refurbish and my mom bought up a pair of drinking glasses.

• We then circled back to my house where I served tea and scones that I’d baked earlier. I’d also checked out a stack of library DVDs for my mother to choose from. We settled on The Bookshop, which ended up being the perfect rainy day movie for the two of us to watch while snuggled under blankets.

We as consumer are heading into the holiday gift giving season and are already being inundated with “black Friday deals,” and cargo ship mayhem news designed to separate us from their money and fill our homes with crap clutter. I invite you to reconsider how you gift with your loved ones. It doesn’t have to be a Day of Adventures, but there are so many better choices that don’t fill up Jeff Bezos’ Crammed Cavern of Cash™.

Shop local
Handmade
Buy used
Consumable goods
Experiential gifts
Gifts of service
No gifts <– seriously . . . do we need to give so many gifts to so many people?

Click HERE to read about previous Birthday Days of Adventure.

My son and I both got free haircuts from the Supercuts training center, which is a rare money saving tip that should work nation wide. (I know that my friend Joel who lives in Atlanta is also a fan of this frugal hack!) These cuts are performed by licensed hair dressers who happen to be new employees and are supervised by a manager.

We do tip, but it’s still a huge savings.

I brought home a dozen or so green tomatoes from a neighbor’s “free box,” I shelved my Little Free Library with children’s books from my mother and Shakespeare anthologies from my father, I stocked my freezer with pureé from a neighbor’s gifted Halloween pumpkin, I finished listening to an audiobook of The Rose Code and then started listening to Radium Girls using the library’s free Libby app, My son and I stopped at Ikea to buy a plant and also dropped off batteries to recycle and filled our travel mugs with their free coffee, I gave away some macaroni noodles, a fleece blanket, a pair of clip-on lamps, a pair of bow ties and some extra winter gear through my Buy Nothing Group, and my son and I drove through McDonald’s for free McNuggets after Portland’s basketball team scored over 100 points.

I didn’t go on an ego driven space jaunt with my fellow billionaires.

I sold a number of things, including:

• A pair of one of a kind Nike sample shoes for $85.

• Two Guitar Hero guitars for $60 apiece — HERE and HERE.

• A Chevron toy oil tanker for $45.

• A McCoy vase, which I sold locally for $30 through Facebook Marketplace.

• A Prince dance costume for $60.

My daughter started working at a high end grocery store and has been bringing home random leftover food, which is amazing, but also kind of a challenge.

So far I’ve been the lucky recipient of:

• Three (maybe four?) pounds of pastrami and sliced deli turkey. We ate “French dip” sandwiches swapping out the roast beef for turkey, as well as turkey wrapped around cream cheese and pickles. The pastrami went into my husband’s work sandwiches.
• A large container of pickle spears. See above.
• Two beat up looking grapefruit, which ended up being really sweet and juicy.
• Multiple boxes of gluten-free donuts. No need to work these into a recipe. Urp . . .

I salvaged the sturdy plastic sheeting from my son’s new mattress to create two drop cloths for future projects. I also cut another piece into strips and drew bats on them as reusable Halloween decoration. The last random bits got cut into pieces for use as packaging material.

Such a enormous amount of plastic, and I’m happy that it’s not going straight to a landfill.

My neighbor let me put out an extra bin of leaves with his yard debris pickup, (he rarely puts one out) I was able to give away the under-bed trundle and mattress from my son’s old twin bed through the Buy Nothing Group, and I went to Trader Joe’s and bought nothing but the 19¢ bananas, truly a feat of self control if there ever was one!)

I didn’t purchase a seat on a rocket ship with my fellow billionaires.