As Detroit Melts: Best Used Deals

Gad-Abouts for $2500 or Less!

I stumbled across a really terrific blog post today on one of my regular check-ins dedicated to the automotive industry. It’s RideLust: 15 Beater Cars That Won’t Disappoint, and it makes the case for the very best deals among ‘Brand New Used’ vehicles that can be had for under $2500 (that’s a deal that can’t be beat by much these days!).

Sure, sometimes you can happen across the Greatest Deal On The Planet just when you happen to need it, as explained in my previous post A Car, A Car, My Kingdom for a Car!. In lieu of that sort of deal, Ryan has lined up some really good ones. There’s the legendary long-lived staples like Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla, but a surprising number of Detroit-produced cars that will at least be good for nostalgia’s sake if they all go under in the current crisis.

As for me personally, we have one of those ’90s Chevy S-10 pickups. It’s an honest workhorse, didn’t cost an arm and leg, and isn’t all that difficult to work on (if you’re into that sort of thing). These are the smaller pickups that can still manage a half a ton of cargo if you need it, but manage to get mid-20s mileage. Gas isn’t going to be as cheap as it is today forever, you know.

So if you or someone in your family has a need for a nice gad-about and you don’t have a lot of money to waste, check these out. Then do your homework for dealers or sellers in your area that have used stock, make your best deal. Merry Christmas!

Links:

RideLust: 15 Beater Cars That Won’t Disappoint
A Car, A Car, My Kingdom for a Car!

Filed under Brand New Used, Resale, Transportation | Comment (0)

Saving Money on College Textbooks

My eldest grandson graduated from high school in the top 10% of his class a couple of months ago, for which we are inordinately proud - he was taking courses like advanced biology, pre-calc, physics and advanced literature/writing, which most kids around here avoid like the plague. Now we’re facing the costs of getting him through college, since we raised him and of course we will.

We have had to seriously crimp some of our expectations about how this could happen, as things have changed both personally and societally since our children were in college. First, they don’t give out full scholarships to incoming freshmen around here, no matter how well they do in high school. You have to start with your basic Pell Grant and complete at least two semesters before you’re eligible for scholarship or extra grant money. The Pell Grant won’t come in until the second semester because the process doesn’t even start until the student’s already enrolled, so tuition must be paid up front out of pocket, along with all fees and the cost of textbooks.

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Filed under Alternatives, Back to School, Brand New Used, Discount Outlets, Education, Recycling, Resale | Comment (0)

Wall Street “Crisis” Double-Speak

What it Means to the Home Mortgage “Crisis”

Many of us watched with serious confusion the strange financial market machinations that led to the Fed bailout of investment bank Bear-Stearns, taxpayers taking on bad debt paper held by speculators rather than any actual member of the central banking community. JP Morgan bought B-S for mere pennies on the dollar, ending up buying for just a 5th of what B-S’s Madison Avenue headquarters building is worth - the rich folks have taken their hit. What matters now is how much of a hit the average cash-strapped citizen will have to take.

Government bailouts of junk paper speculators is outrageous, and does not a thing to help homeowners whose mortgages far outstrip the current reduced value of their homes - while the price of every necessity is going through the roof. Yet at the same time Fed chair Ben Bernanke pledged to “do all that is possible” to help struggling homeowners. There actually may be hope on the horizon, though nobody should bank on Fed “pledges.”

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Filed under Brand New Used, Debt, Economic Recession, Housing, Resale | Comment (1)

ATG Debunks 7 Thrifting Myths

Selena at Apron Thrift Girl ventured into video this past November, and it turned out so well that I hope it won’t be her last video venture! Here she debunks 7 common myths about thrifting, which may help those who are new to living on a shoestring budget get past their preconceived prejudices and ingrained shopping habits. It also reinforces the things that us seasoned thrifters already know!

If you enjoy Selena’s video, don’t forget to check out her blog! There’s plenty more knowledge where that came from…

Previous Posts About Thrifting:

Thrifting: It’s An Art Form!
Credit Crunch: How to Survive the Recession
Living on Less: The Alternative Economies
The Payoff: Thrifting and Re-Selling
Free Yourself from Debtor’s Prison
Tips for Avoiding Pressure to Shop
Craig’s List: Great Resource or Scary Place?

Filed under Alternative economics, Brand New Used, Clothing, Discount Outlets, Recycling, Resale, Shopping, Thrifting | Comment (1)

Craig’s List: Great Resource or Scary Place?

A good friend read my post It’s Better than Cheap… It’s Free! and mentioned Craigslist as another very useful resource for the sale and exchange of items, along the lines of the Freecycle Network. I had never made use of Craigslist and wasn’t very familiar with how it works, so in this post let’s look at what it actually has to offer those of us trying to live well on limited budgets.

Craigslist is a lot broader in scope than the Freecycle Network, which maintains local sites devoted exclusively to the exchange of ’stuff’ for free - you advertise what you have to give away or want someone to give to you, and responses are routed through the administrators (sans personal information) to facilitate the exchange. In contrast, Craigslist advertises community news, businesses and services, housing, personals, for sale items and job openings (or wanteds), just like your local newspaper’s want ads - but much, much moreso!

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Filed under Alternative economics, Barter, Brand New Used, Recycling, Resale, Thrifting | Comment (1)

The Payoff: Thrifting and Re-Selling

I’ve written a bit about The Art of Thrifting, purchasing clothes, appliances, knick-knacks and gift items at secondhand outlets, garage sales and through auction outlets. I’ve also written about Alternative Economies and how systems like barter and straight trade can keep your family going without the exchange of cash or credit.

This post combines both of these approaches to make a talent at thrifting into an actual income. Over at Apron Thrift Girl blog there is a wonderful post describing one adventure in estate sale thrifting entitled Seeing What Has Always Been There that I recommend to readers so as to get a feel for how to make money by picking out bargains and re-selling them at a hefty profit.

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Filed under Alternative economics, Auctions, Brand New Used, Resale, Thrifting | Comments (3)