New or Used?

Continuing with another Monday Money article with a question for each of us to consider:

Should I buy a new ______________ or used ____________________?

This question we can apply to a good percentage of our purchases every year.

Automobiles.

Houses.

Appliances.

Clothing.

Furniture.

to name just a few that have used options.

Other items such as gasoline, food and other grocery store items don’t offer the new or used choice.

Being thrifty or frugal doesn’t necessarily mean an all or nothing approach to spending.  We find that by cutting costs in some areas, we can splurge in other areas.

So where can we save?

Thrift Stores often are like a year round garage sale.

There’s the chain-retail thrift stores like Goodwill and Salvation Army in our city and several independents that are often operated by non-profits.

Some of these even have sales.

My old high school has a $5 bag sale every couple of months. Saturday I noticed a nearby thrift store was having a storewide half off sale.

You cannot tell what I bought Saturday from what I got brand new.

The type of store often determines the price you pay.

Several years ago I saw some vintage dishes, just like some I grew up with at an antique store for a few hundred dollars.  A couple months later, I saw another set of the same dishes for $30.

As we look towards a new year with resolutions to improve our lives perhaps this is an area you want to examine too.