Other People's Trash Can Be Your Treasure
If you have issues with hand-me-downs, this article isn’t for you. If you don’t mind benefitting from other people’s short attention spans, dwindling storage space, recent life changes or fickle tastes, read on.
Thrifty people are easy to spot because we usually don’t carry the latest smart phones, drive the newest model cars or wear trends that haven’t even hit the states yet. It’s hard not to stand out when you are the only one at the restaurant not using your iPhone to update Facebook or Twitter. But that’s ok, because when your friends finally decide to dump their Blackberry or buy a plasma television or trade last year’s round toe pumps for square toes, they’ll remember you. After all, they paid good money for [insert item here] and they would rather it go to a dear friend, or at least not a perfect stranger! This is a fabulous benefit of being thrifty.
I can’t tell you how many practical, useful household items I’ve inherited over the years due to marriages, moves, break-ups, promotions and new product launches. This is just a partial list: dishes, cookware, utensils, vacuums, glassware, bedding, a DVD player, clothes and even furniture that was so awesome it travelled with me from Colorado to Boston. Most of these items came from family members and co-workers, but now there are even websites like Freecycle and Craigslist full of people looking to get rid of their extra stuff.
Maintaining a good relationship with your benefactors is important. You want to avoid seeming greedy, ungrateful or downright cheap. Here are some tips:
1. Never forget to say thank you, no matter how insignificant the gift may seem.
People want to feel that their generosity is appreciated, so even if you are given something small or old that doesn’t have much retail value, thank your benefactor profusely. They could be parting with something that means a lot to them, sentimentally. And at the very least, it’s just polite.
2. Offer to pay for expensive items and never balk at a request for payment.
Don’t expect to receive something of great value for nothing. If you know the item is expensive, be willing to spend some money and ask how much the person would like for it. Even if they don’t want a dime, they’ll remember you handled the transaction thoughtfully.
3. Say no to the things you don’t want.
Accepting every item that comes your way could quickly get messy. Make sure you only accept the items you want and have room for. When declining and item, say thank you and give a polite explanation for why you’re passing.
4. Take good care of the items you receive.
You never want your friends to come over and see the item they gave you gathering dust in the closet or sitting in disrepair. That doesn’t mean you can’t throw it away. Just don’t hang on to it for their sake after you’ve decided you don’t want it anymore. It will be obvious.
5. Pay it forward.
Don’t always be the receiver. Let people know when you are looking to get rid of something useful. You never know who will take you up on your offer.
Terrell Meek has worked for more than six years as a marketer for Verity Credit Union, advocating the benefits of financial responsibility.
A born saver, Terrell credits her parents with teaching her sound financial habits at an early age. She believes one of the keys to a satisfying life is learning to live simply.
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