Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.
The slogan in the title of this piece has been used by energy and a variety of other companies in recent years and it is taking hold in the American consciousness. It’s a good slogan for a number of reasons and it’s excellent advice, especially for households feeling the pinch and pressure of debt in various forms from credit cards, to home mortgages, to auto and student loans. One group in particular, the “Hipsters” have really embraced the mantra. Even if you’re not a Hipster, you can draw lessons from the things they’re doing.
You don’t have to be radical about it. You don’t have to take it to extremes like you see on episodes of the TV show “Extreme Cheapskates,” or anything like that but there are a number of good practical tips you can easily adopt that will leave you with more jingle in your bank account at the end of each month. That’s money you can use to pay down those burdensome debts, save for a rainy day, or take a much needed vacation with. Below you’ll find some tips and resources for how to put the slogan above to good, practical, every day use in your own life. Make use of the ones you’re interested in, skip the rest and do your own research too. What we’ve listed here is just the tip of the proverbial ice berg. Loan Libre is not affiliated with the links provided, and do not recommend any one approach or organization and do not guarantee any results. See disclaimer below.
Freecycle.org
Free cycle is a great website and a fantastic concept. It’s actually a family of loosely connected websites or nodes, arranged geographically, so there’s probably a free cycling group fairly close to wherever you live. The way it works is, you sign up (for free) to become a member, and get added to the group’s mailing list. Any time someone has something that they no longer want or need, they post a note to free cycle and you get an email. People give away everything from clothes to electronics to furniture and more. If there’s anything you’re interested in, all you have to do is reply to that note.
The person making the post is free to give the item(s) to whomever they want and there are probably a number of people responding, so be sure to engage with the person and tell them why you’d like to be the one to get whatever it is. If you’re selected they’ll tell you where and when you can come pick it up and that’s it. Nothing else to do and nothing to buy.
If you find yourself in need of something you can also post a note with your needs and if someone in the group has what you need, you may get one or more responses. Simply pick the one of most interest to you and go get it. A fabulous way to save money each month and a good way to make new friends.
Craigslist.org
It’s true that Craigslist has its share of scammers, so you’ll need to take sensible precautions when using this site but in every city that Craigslist has an entry for there’s a “free” section and in that free section, you can find a simply staggering array of goodies, ranging from furniture, electronics, books, kitchen supplies, building materials, and even livestock! Even if you don’t find what you’re looking for in the free section, you’ll find a huge variety in the other sections of Craigslist and everybody who is selling there is more than willing to wheel and deal, so if you like haggling and bartering, you can score some huge wins without heading to the shopping mall and paying full price. You’ve got to do your own due diligence of course, but that’s true even if you’re buying from a retail outlet.
DIY
Finally, there are a huge number of DIY websites on the internet, all offering detailed instructions on how to make things yourself instead of buying and generally, these DIY projects involve re-purposing or recycling materials. For instance, you can score dozens of large wooden spools that businesses use to wrap cable. When the spool is empty they just throw them away but with some sanding and staining, you can turn these into attractive dining or end tables in no time flat. They’re good looking tables, and much more durable than anything you’ll get store bought.
There are thousands of ideas for making and saving money. The more of them you apply in your daily life, the farther ahead you’ll be financially and the faster you’ll get out from under all that debt!
Disclaimer:
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