Making our Dollar Stretch Further..

The past two weekends I have ventured to the fruit markets to purchase the weekly fruit and veggie's and I must say I have been amazed at how much you can get for little $$. It happened by chance that I went last Saturday, but after realizing how much I was able to save and was also impressed by the quality I decided to go back again today. It's a loud and crazy environment, people everywhere and loads of shouting '$1, $1, $1 a bag..' but the kid's got a great kick out of it & seemed to enjoy themselves (which doesn't usually happen at the regular grocery store) so it's been a win win really.  The first time I went I got there at approx 10am, there was still a lot left, great selection/quality etc and today I didn't get there til 11am and once again there was still plenty left and what was even better, they reduce things further the closer to midday it is, so there were even better bargains to be found!  I even heard of 6kg of washed potato's going at one stage for just $2! (I was quite miffed as I paid $8.00 for 3 kg the other day from Coles!) but alas, I'd already bought my spuds early for 2kg for 99c a bag (maybe next week!).

I also bought a pineapple $1.20ea, Tomato's $2kg, Spinach leaves $10.00 kg, Carrots 99c bag, Mushrooms (fill a bag for $2!) Massive Strawberries for $4.00, Watermelon for $1kg, Squash for $2.00 a bag, Red Capsicum for $2 a bag, banana's for 99c kg, Apple's 99c kg the list goes on.. which added up to a very big saving on our weekly shop as I usually buy all of these items at supermarket prices. 

After finishing up at the fruit markets (and blowing my saving's on some German sausages for the kids..) we went to discount Grocery Store which offer's discounted grocery line's that may be out of their best before or close to their use by date etc and nabbed even more savings.. once again the kids were suitably impressed because there was a room filled with American chocolates/lollie's so they though that was just wonderful, even though they only left with one each... Last week I was able to buy Chicken Kebab's for only $1.99 for a tray of 6! This week a packet of gourmet Chili Con Carne for only $3.00! and 4 Serve Ravioli's for only $3.00 also among many other bargains!  I had planned on photographing my stash of bargains, however, Hubby was far too efficient in packing it all away.. so I'll have to do that next week for you all.. 

In a household that spends far too much of our $$ on food, I am very happy to have found these great places which have saved me many many $$ in the past fortnight, better spent on anything other than Woolworths or Coles! 

Online Garage Sales..

My name is Danielle and I haven't Online Garage Sale'd for the past 2 hours..

Online Garage Sales have been my latest addiction. In the past on a Friday night I always 'plan' to get up early on Saturday and hit the local garage sales to find some much unneeded  needed BARGAINS!! However alas I rarely ever make it before people start pulling their wheelie bins in and any I do attend post 11am have more trash than treasure. 

Enter, the online garage sale.. Now I can browse at my own leisure, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day (no, I'm not quite that addicted!) and only go and pick up things that I actually want need.  I must say I have bought some gorgeous bargains along the way, from baby toys, to home wares and even clothing. 

Another advantage of the online garage sales is being able to sell unwanted clutter of one's own, for FREE. I just take a piccy with my iPhone and upload it from there, its very easy and is a great way to move your unwanted items fast.. rather than the more traditional methods such as EBay which can result in lengthy auctions and at times ridiculous seller's fee's.  Although I think whatever I have sold, I have spent.. but at least I'm not out of pocket so it's a win/win situation! 

Some of the sites can get pretty 'catty' so if your willing to put up with odd whiner or two you are bound to find something that tickles your fancy.  Here are my hints and tips;

• Join multiple sites, but only sell on one or two popular ones or else you will forget where your listings are!  Ask people to 'tag' you in their response to your ad, this will ensure you get a Facebook notification.  If you don't have luck with your ad on those pages, try some different ones in a few days time to see where your items sell best.
• Be accurate and honest in your listings.. don't say the item is in good condition, if it isn't or don't say it's new, if it's not. it will come back to bite you on the bum. 
• Ask questions! If you are buying an item, don't be afraid to ask as many questions as you need to.. but to help you secure the item, write SOLD - pending the following questions;  that way, if your first to write SOLD it is usually the pages policy that you have won that item.  
• Don't complain publicly on the page.. it will only make you look like a whiner and no one wants to buy from a whinger. Explain your grievances to your Admin in a rational fashion, they often have a system by which 'problem' users are banned from the site after a series of warnings.. so don't just sit and stew on it, if you have been wronged, speak up.
• Arrange to meet buyers and sellers in a neutral location for your safety.
• Have fun! buy some bargains, offload some items you no longer need to give others the opportunity of a bargain and enjoy! 

So yes, there you have it some tips I hope you find helpful when tackling the world of Online Garage Sales.. 

Born to Shop!

My Stepson told me the other day, that I must have been 'born to shop' and although I'd like to think I was put on this earth for something other than gracing Target hellbent on getting a bargain, he was pretty spot on.  I can't remember a time that I haven't enjoyed shopping, shopping of all kinds - I even love grocery shopping (until I reach the cash register and ponder upon how many other things I could have bought with all of that money if only we didn't need to eat!)

As a child, I looked forward to Friday afternoons as this was our shopping day. Mum and Nan would take us to the local Target/Woolworth's (before the big shopping centres started to appear) and we would get a bucket of chips, cup of cordial and Nan would buy us a $2 toy each week.  I can still vividly remember walking down the aisles and the smells of the store, some of the things we bought and events that happened when shopping such as loosing my Brother in Target (he was hiding under a round rack and Mum nearly had a coronary searching for him).  As I got older and the shopping centres got bigger, I was in awe of the atmosphere, particularly the atmosphere at Christmastime with all of the lights, crowds, decorations and music, still to this day, that is my favourite time of the year to shop!

My favourite shops by far are Op Shops - second hand stores like Lifeline etc - as a child I wouldn't have imagined walking into such shops, let alone buying and wearing things from them (snooty much).  They are wonderful outlets for home wares, clothing, books, toys and renovation items and over the years I have found many bargains and saved myself thousands of dollars - many of the items new or near new - you would never know they are second hand.  My most recent purchase was a 3.5 seat chocolate brown suede lounge, gorgeous modern design and at only $299 was a fraction of the price you would pay from a furniture retailer & the best part is, it was brand new!  

Other favourite stores I love to explore are Bed, Bath and Table, Target, Myer, Trade Secret, Pumpkin Patch, Loot & the Vast Interior & even the humble K-Mart (which has an awesome selection of fantastic home wares this year) including this gorgeous bedding, wall decal etc that I picked up the other day.

I guess my tips for finding a retail bargain are; shop often - the more you shop, the more likely it is that you will come across price reductions, only buy things you genuinely need - after all it's not a bargain if you buy it to store in the cupboard.  I don't tend to lay by as I find I get the item cheaper before the lay by expires or I change my mind about what I purchased in the first place, cancelling multiple lay by's each year can become costly.  For example one year my kids wanted those electronic interactive cubes, $59 each at Toyworld, I picked them up for $3.00 each from Target right before Christmas, guess what a lot of the kids in our family received that year!  I also picked up the I-teddy, originally $120.00 for $15.00 by playing the waiting game at Target.  Patience is luckily a virtue I have!

Another tip, after becoming an avid second hand shopper is, often if you wait, you will find the item in a second hand store.. so why buy new??  An example of this that happened to me recently was shopping for our family portraits. I went to target and bought myself a red top ($40) and my stepdaughter a white cardigan ($29) only to find a near identical red top ($2) and an identical white cardigan ($4 - WITH TAGS!) in Lifeline only 3 days later!!!! I was also able to pick up all of the Marian Keyes novels at Lifeline for $2-$3 each over time, rather than purchase the at department stores for $20+ and the other day I picked up a whole bucket of Mr Potato Head toys (including Darth Tater) for only $4 - a toy I have been resisting paying full price for, the kids now have more than they would have gotten if I'd bought new - Good things come to those who wait!  Go to garage sales and utilise eBay to your advantage also.. you'll never pay full price again..

Later this week, I am going to try out a new method of shopping for me, the world of online grocery shopping! Ill let you all know how that goes too...

Happy Bargain Shopping! :)