Prairie Eco-Thrifter

MARCH 25, 2014

I’m in good company with my love of all things used. Likewise, thrift stores are always full of people. If you think buying used is just for people who are on a tight budget, think again. The most famous large family, the Duggars, routinely buy as much as they can used. The Items We Typically Buy Used.

Buying Second-Hand 177

Buying Second-Hand Saving Money Money Garage Sale 177

Family Balance Sheet

NOVEMBER 26, 2014

I use this spreadsheet. Whether you are scrambling to find money for gifts OR you could just use some extra cash this season, my hope is that this list of ideas (many we’ve done ourselves) helps you find some cash for Christmas. Are you fluent in another language or maybe you’re a math whiz? Consider tutoring.

Christmas 235

Christmas Finds Part Time Thrift Stores 235

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

APRIL 4, 2013

From food waste to packaging to disposable items, there are a lot of resources being used by humans. A meal plan can be one of the best ways to avoid last-minute takeout runs, as well as ensure that you have a way to use the food you buy. Find Ways to Re-Use as Much As You Can. Nor is it healthy. You can do the same.

Re-use 278

Re-use Home and Garden Bulk Electronics 278

Family Balance Sheet

APRIL 30, 2015

We want something that can tow the pop-up camper that we bought last fall and we’re having some sticker shock. We’re amazed at how much used high mileage SUVs can still be, but a new vehicle is completely out of the question. But we’re also in the market to replace our living room couch that is falling apart.

Thrifting 100

Thrifting April Thrift Stores Financial Goals 100

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

APRIL 24, 2013

If you want to save money, one of the best options is to buy used. Not only can buying something second-hand help you save money, but it also reduces the amount of resources that you use. Buying used is one way to increase the sustainability of your life. There are many consumer electronics items that you can purchase used.

Saving Money 213

Saving Money Money Used Buy 213

Couponing 101

NOVEMBER 1, 2019

Thrift shopping is making a comeback and we are loving it! That being said, in-person thrift stores aren’t always ideal. Some may not have a good thrift shop in their community, while others may prefer the convenience of shopping online. Favorite Thrift Shopping Apps. Have you tried a thrifting app yet?

Thrifting 58

Thrifting Shopping Thrift Stores Consignment 58

Saving Cents With Sense

AUGUST 30, 2013

Thrift Store Style. Thrift stores, on the other hand, offer affordable, stylish clothing. Many shoppers are now turning to thrift stores to find fashionable items. If you have a school meal plan, you’re paying for every meal, whether you eat it or not. This site uses affiliate links.

College 102

College Student Public Transit DSL 102

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

MAY 16, 2013

Check them out: Good Reads From The Blogosphere: When you’re aggressively trying to pay down debt, you may feel that you’ve done all you can to curb your expenses, but have you really? 8 Great Things that You Can Find at Thrift Stores. Think Again. How to Get Out of Unemployment posted at Debt Free Blog.

Fridays 187

Fridays Debt Unemployment Rent 187

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

OCTOBER 6, 2013

Anything you now longer want that is still wearable and in reasonable condition can be donated to thrift stores. Garments that are in good condition, especially well-known or high-end labels, could be donated or sold to secondhand clothing stores or through eBay or other online sites. Go Frugal Go Green'

Saving Money 249

Saving Money Green Money Clothing and Accessories 249

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

OCTOBER 15, 2015

If you are in more of a hurry, find a thrift store instead. But, find one in a high end neighborhood, one where the store sorts through the donations to select only the best. For example, if you want to buy slightly used home furnishings, find an upscale neighborhood where the kids are mostly grown. My best finds.

Garage Sale 100

Garage Sale Garage Finds Sale 100

Couponing 101

MAY 29, 2019

Buy Used Clothing. You can find used children’s clothing at thrift stores, garage sales, or online via Facebook Marketplace or eBay. People often wind up with children’s clothes they no longer need or want, so put the word out that you’re interested. Ask Family and Friends.

Clothes 84

Clothes Clothing Simple Friends And Family Sale 84

Family Balance Sheet

JULY 16, 2015

When you walk into a grocery store with a plan, you eliminate impulse & duplicate purchases. We used to spend hundreds of dollars a month going out to eat at restaurants. And during the warmer months, they encourage you to increase your thermostat while you’re at work and/or away from home. It saves us $67 a month.

Budgeting 100

Budgeting Budget Thrifting Thrift Stores 100

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

SEPTEMBER 27, 2017

We do put up decorations (ones I buy at garage sales or thrift stores and reuse each year). Bring in your slightly used, but in good shape costume and pick one from those others brought in – as a swap. Encourage your child to use their imaginations to come up with a costume out of materials on hand at home.

Halloween 138

Halloween Green Reuse Garage 138

Family Balance Sheet

MARCH 23, 2011

Try replacing some paper products on your list with cloth and re-usable products that you probably have around the house and you will not only reduce your grocery spending, but you will also reduce your waste. I use flannel hankies during sniffle season. I have been using a Silpat Nonstick Silicone Baking Mat for years.

Economical 185

Economical Kitchen Paper Groceries 185

Family Balance Sheet

DECEMBER 11, 2015

To make clean up fairly easy so that you can enjoy your guests, I have found really cute and inexpensive party supplies, paper plates, cups, and napkins at the dollar store. I use our own silverware, mostly because I hate eating with plastic ware. We’re having an Ugly Sweater party at our office this year. Go Caroling.

Christmas 100

Christmas Budgeting Budget Swap 100

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

JANUARY 24, 2012

When I redid ours, I used that spray meant to re enamel tubs to re-finish the vanity tops. I sanded and re-stained the wood cabinet and fashioned a matching frame for the mirror out of molding strips from Lowes that I got for about $3 each. Thrift shops. When I re-did our bath floors, I knew I wanted tile.

Renovation 189

Renovation Home Real Estate Re-use 189

Family Balance Sheet

FEBRUARY 23, 2016

We’re going to give it everything we’ve got and hopefully pay off the last of our non-mortgage debt by the end of this year. Calculate how much debt you have by using my free Family Balance Sheet. There are definitely things we’re saying no to, but there are also things that we won’t to give up.

Debt 100

Debt Goals 2016 Calculators 100

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

APRIL 30, 2014

We’re glad we didn’t buy any furniture, or we’d have quite the full house! Many people overlook the power of using textures in a home to add points of interest as well as space and a homey feel. Use Patterns Sparingly. Use Patterns Sparingly. But definitely use them! Out of Sight, Out of Mind.

Home 182

Home Making Furniture Thrift Stores 182

Family Balance Sheet

FEBRUARY 16, 2016

We use an online account like, Capital One 360 (my referral link). But when you’re trying to save money, cut out this costly expense. When we’re crazy busy and the family is demanding that they be fed, I always have the ingredients for spaghetti on hand. 18 – Use Cash Back Grocery apps.

Emergency Fund 100

Emergency Fund Money Finds Friends And Family Sale 100

Family Balance Sheet

MAY 21, 2021

Your first assignment: Take the first step and calculate your debts by using my FREE Family Balance Sheet. I had no problem shopping at a thrift store, avoiding restaurants, and not having cable TV, but I didn’t want to give up camping and watching my daughters’ swim meets. 2 – Create your Debt Freedom Plan.

Debt 130

Debt Goals Debt Free Pay Off Debt 130

Family Balance Sheet

APRIL 1, 2021

When we’re crazy busy and the family is demanding that they be fed, I always have the ingredients for spaghetti on hand. Now go through the list and really ask yourself if you use or need all of it. If you’re not using it, cancel it today and redirect that monthly money into your emergency savings.

Emergency Fund 130

Emergency Fund Money Finds Friends And Family Sale 130

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

MARCH 3, 2014

Are you a ‘buy it new’ snob – one of those people who shudder at the thought of using someone else’s cast off stuff? I swore I’d never buy used junk again… but now I’ve changed my mind. Home owners get bored and re-decorate or re-vamp their homes. I was for awhile.

Buy 178

Buy Buying Garage Sale Garage 178

Family Balance Sheet

APRIL 6, 2016

However, there are simple things we can do every day that help Mother Earth by using less energy, sending less trash to the land fills, and conserving our natural resources. So we’re helping the environment and saving money…it’s a win-win. Trap rain water and use to water your plants and garden.

Saving Money 100

Saving Money Gift Cards Money Giveaway 100

Saving Cents With Sense

JANUARY 18, 2016

Thrift Shopping. With your wardrobe in mind, start with thrift stores. Thrift stores are not the dusty, smelly places of the past. If you shop at the department store, make sure you’re cruising for end of season deals. This site uses affiliate links. Shop at the End of Seasons.

Thrifty 40

Thrifty Budgeting Budget Mom 40

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

NOVEMBER 27, 2013

If you are looking for a can of spray paint you used last summer, you are more likely to look somewhere that you have other cans of paint stored. So, store your paint together with your paint brushes, paint thinner, paint stir stickes, rollers and etc to find them easier later. Store things where you use them.

Organic 177

Organic Organization Home Painting 177

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

MAY 12, 2013

Apparently there are some simple rules when it comes to de-cluttering and re-organizing your work space. Have a big box ready to take the throw-away items and another for anything that is good enough to go to the local thrift store. What about the old refrigerator in the garage you only use when you have a party?

Making 238

Making Work Occasions Pace 238

The Frugal Girl

FEBRUARY 14, 2024

Today we’re meeting a reader who only found my blog a few months ago; I love that she already volunteered to do a Meet a Reader post. Tell us a little about yourself I’m Andrea, I’m in my 20s. Essentially, we’re saving up a nest egg so that we have future freedom! Hey everyone! Here’s Andrea: 1.

Friends And Family Sale 188

Friends And Family Sale Library College Cars 188

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

DECEMBER 7, 2011

Re-establish your self-esteem. She lives her life, just like the rest of us, maybe better. Give away a dollar in front of the thrift store. Please use the comments to list other resources you know about to help others put themselves in the path of happiness. Forgive yourself. It doesn’t matter. Help someone.

Holiday 183

Holiday Friends And Family Sale At&T Giving 183

Family Balance Sheet

MAY 6, 2020

What got us through financially? I am totally paraphrasing the year, but had it not been for the money in our emergency savings, we would most likely have used credit cards to survive. I still use my spreadsheet to this day! I decided to use Dave Ramsey’s 7 Baby Steps as a guide and I wrote our first Debt Freedom Plan.

Debt 130

Debt Emergency Fund 2007 2020 130

Family Balance Sheet

OCTOBER 9, 2014

Today, we’re going to analyze those numbers and challenge ourselves to improve them. We used to spend hundreds of dollars a month going out to eat at restaurants. It saves us $67 a month. Thrift : I regularly stop by my favorite local thrift store and find crazy bargains. Dining Out.

Budgeting 100

Budgeting Budget Finance Organic 100

Saving Everyday

DECEMBER 13, 2016

I often find myself saying “I wish I had that when my kids were little” OR “you’d use that once and never use it again” I understand you want the best for your baby and shopping for them is very exciting. Once you receive your $10 Catalina, you can use on your next purchase – like Kroger cash.

Baby 40

Baby Kroger 2016 Saving 40

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

APRIL 3, 2013

I got 160,000,000 results today using Google Chrome. Today it is much less expensive to buy your clothes, even if you buy brand new and certainly if you shop some of the chic re-sale shops or even the thrift stores. There are many crafters, clothing designers and beginning savers who sew.

Sewing 201

Sewing Sewing Machines Machines Saving Money 201

Family Balance Sheet

JANUARY 17, 2018

We blew through our health savings account, and now need to save another $10k so we’re not caught off guard if another emergency were to happen. This will take us most of the year. I don’t want to use the term extreme frugality, because that sounds absolutely horrible. Read our Health Insurance Story: .

Financial Goals 113

Financial Goals Goals 2018 Debt 113

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

AUGUST 7, 2014

We got our clothes as hand me down from older cousins or from thrift stores. Instead of asking their daughters to work minimum wage jobs, the Obamas might want to use the strategy of other wealthy people to teach their children what hardship in life is like. Do You Use Skills Learned in Childhood? Embrace the Negative!

Daughter 242

Daughter Kids Kids and Family Parenting 242

Family Balance Sheet

JULY 9, 2015

Acadia’s advice is to be creative and think about your talents and gifts and how you could use them to make extra money. Acadia’s husband used his handy skills to fix up their home that they eventually sold for a profit. Jenn and her husband sold stuff they were no longer using and put it towards debt.

Debt Free 100

Debt Free Debt Budgeting Budget 100

Family Balance Sheet

JANUARY 8, 2020

I feel like I made a lot of trips to the thrift store to donate our stuff, but my house will tell you otherwise. That book has changed my outlook on reusing, recycling, making do, and rethinking one use products. It was a long road and we were finally non-mortgage debt FREE!! 2 – Reduce our clutter. Moving on to 2020!

Financial Goals 130

Financial Goals Goals 2020 2019 130

For the Mommas

FEBRUARY 18, 2016

No matter how much money we’re bringing in, just about all of us feel as if we could stand to cut down on our spending and put a little bit more money into our rainy day fund. Setting specific goals can help to get us excited about saving money. You aren’t limited to just thrift stores.

Money 40

Money Goals Kids and Family Saving Money 40