The difference between living like a prince on a pauper’s budget and living like a pauper on a pauper’s budget is the difference of what job’s you’re willing to do. The business of state for all princes right now is finding a way to get what you need and want for less money.
I’m not trying to buy a nuclear missile, I’m just talking about household appliances.
I’m pleased to introduce you to my friend Craig. He has a list! He puts his nifty list online and makes it specific to each of our US areas. We can advertise our used goods for sale on Craigslist for free. How cool is that? Ever wonder how Craig makes his money? Commercial advertisers glean the purchases from people who didn’t find what they wanted online.
If you have a good sized local paper, they also have classified ads. Most of them are online too.
Lastly, did you know that you can buy a subscription to Consumer Reports Magazine online. I LOVE Consumer Reports. I know it’s weird. I have no patience for magazines like Town and Country, who tell you how to live like a prince on a prince’s budget. (Last month I might have learned how to behave on a mega yacht. Do NOT wear florals. When you’re in nature, you should not compete with nature. Well, it seemed to me that there was an awful lot of au-natural in that story!) Back to Consumer reports. Did you know that they even review things like dishwasher soap and laundry detergent? Ever wonder how they make their money with absolutely NO advertising? Subscriptions. They recognize that their data has huge value to wise customers.
Yesterday, I was forced to admit that the weed-eater I bought three summers ago for more than a hundred dollars was truly dead. I can’t say that it lived a good life, since it misbehaved as SOON as the warranty expired. (I’ll never own a another Troy Built) unlike my friend Craig who shares his list, Troy builds junky weed whackers and charges a lot of money for them.
Unfortunately, Craig had no good quality weed eaters on his list. (No wealthy grandparents were downsizing to a condo and getting rid of their premium yard care tools). So we went straight to Consumer Reports and looked up trimmers. It’s always interesting to me that the most expensive tools, appliances, cars, etc are very rarely the best. In this case, it was clear that Stihl makes the best trimmers. FS-45 functioned the very best and was priced mid-range. It breaks it down into categories including noise, ease of use and effectiveness.
Neither Home Depot or Lowes sell Stihl tools, but there was a dealer nearby. The dealer also offered a fantastic warranty extension to 4 years for the purchase of oil plus 5 dollars. (O’Conners for those of you in the OKC area.)
Now note, my friends, I want to save money wherever I can, but when I must spend money, I make sure that I get the best value. The money I’ll save on my one purchase of a best value weed eater would pay (again) for the subscription to Consumer Reports.
My daughter recently needed a new washer and dryer. Hers would have cost more to fix than she paid for them. So she found a pair on Craigslist that were priced well. She looked the models up on Consumer Reports and found that these folks paid about $2000 for the pair three years ago. They were very high quality and get clothes really clean, (and dry). But they had a lower rating for noise. All the way down to average. The people cited the noise as the reason they were getting front loaders. Soooo, after a bit of mild dickering, Tricia got a three year old washer and dryer set for $325. BOOYAH!
I’m not trying to buy a nuclear missile, I’m just talking about household appliances.
I’m pleased to introduce you to my friend Craig. He has a list! He puts his nifty list online and makes it specific to each of our US areas. We can advertise our used goods for sale on Craigslist for free. How cool is that? Ever wonder how Craig makes his money? Commercial advertisers glean the purchases from people who didn’t find what they wanted online.
If you have a good sized local paper, they also have classified ads. Most of them are online too.
Lastly, did you know that you can buy a subscription to Consumer Reports Magazine online. I LOVE Consumer Reports. I know it’s weird. I have no patience for magazines like Town and Country, who tell you how to live like a prince on a prince’s budget. (Last month I might have learned how to behave on a mega yacht. Do NOT wear florals. When you’re in nature, you should not compete with nature. Well, it seemed to me that there was an awful lot of au-natural in that story!) Back to Consumer reports. Did you know that they even review things like dishwasher soap and laundry detergent? Ever wonder how they make their money with absolutely NO advertising? Subscriptions. They recognize that their data has huge value to wise customers.
Yesterday, I was forced to admit that the weed-eater I bought three summers ago for more than a hundred dollars was truly dead. I can’t say that it lived a good life, since it misbehaved as SOON as the warranty expired. (I’ll never own a another Troy Built) unlike my friend Craig who shares his list, Troy builds junky weed whackers and charges a lot of money for them.
Unfortunately, Craig had no good quality weed eaters on his list. (No wealthy grandparents were downsizing to a condo and getting rid of their premium yard care tools). So we went straight to Consumer Reports and looked up trimmers. It’s always interesting to me that the most expensive tools, appliances, cars, etc are very rarely the best. In this case, it was clear that Stihl makes the best trimmers. FS-45 functioned the very best and was priced mid-range. It breaks it down into categories including noise, ease of use and effectiveness.
Neither Home Depot or Lowes sell Stihl tools, but there was a dealer nearby. The dealer also offered a fantastic warranty extension to 4 years for the purchase of oil plus 5 dollars. (O’Conners for those of you in the OKC area.)
Now note, my friends, I want to save money wherever I can, but when I must spend money, I make sure that I get the best value. The money I’ll save on my one purchase of a best value weed eater would pay (again) for the subscription to Consumer Reports.
My daughter recently needed a new washer and dryer. Hers would have cost more to fix than she paid for them. So she found a pair on Craigslist that were priced well. She looked the models up on Consumer Reports and found that these folks paid about $2000 for the pair three years ago. They were very high quality and get clothes really clean, (and dry). But they had a lower rating for noise. All the way down to average. The people cited the noise as the reason they were getting front loaders. Soooo, after a bit of mild dickering, Tricia got a three year old washer and dryer set for $325. BOOYAH!
2 Comments
A few weeks ago we were going to Lowes. Besides the snail bait and other etcs we were getting Rob said he wanted to look at edgers. I suggested we find one for $30. Low and behold there was one for $30! but when we got to the register it rang up as $25. awesome!
It's true… between Craigslist and Consumer Reports, you can have confidence that you're getting a great deal! And yes, my washer IS loud, but I shut the laundry room door, and who cares!?