> an amusing seat (take the door off)
> fill it with ice at a party and store drinks in it
> or turn it into a bath tub

I hope you like these hand hints!

Found 3 sets of luagage (the kids used it to get here, how did they get back?); 3 pairs of REALLY expensive (and hideous) jeans; chair, lampset, one of those expensive full-spectrum lamps, ties (yes, ties. wtf), SO MANY POWERSTRIPS, a wii-mote, and a number of school books. (plus a few items i can’t remember)

Going to sell the school books back to the bookstore, sell a couple of the lamps on craigslist, and donate most of the rest to the GoodWill!

This is not to say all the unwanted stuff makes it way over though– I am a springtime garbage picker and proud of it. We hold our findings in the garage and sell it in a big sale in late summer– when the kids come back to college. Our biggest year netted $2000!

I’m going to be moving right about the time new students are moving in. I’m hoping some of them will buy all my stuff, as I’m planning to just move in my car. So, students, remember to check out Craigslist and all that jazz upon move in to save on the stuff you’ll just throw out later!

I also found that late August was a great time for ME to have a yard sale of student-friendly items; the kids just coming back for the fall need new stuff. I was able to get rid of my old bike, mini-fridge, and other small appliances, and ended up with some money in my pocket, too.

I’ve seen movies before they go to the theater with the director there to speak and they even served us pizza. I’m staying here when I retire because I can get most of the benefits of being a student without paying the tuition. The internet has made it so easy to find out about all this activity without being an insider.

Most of the stuff I wouldn’t want to bring in my house (bedbugs), but there were some good finds. One time I got a full bag of cleaning supplies that had barely been used. Apparently the students had bought the supplies new, cleaned up their room before they moved out, then tossed them. Saved us a good bit of money.

My best find:
An entire kitchen set - dishes, pots, pans, silverware, glasses, utensils - for $20. A young engaged Jewish couple was moving to New York and their stuff wasn’t ‘kosher’ for their in-laws.

Kris and I have a small fridge that lives in our mudroom. It died several weeks ago. The motor stopped running and it just gave up the ghost. For the past six weeks, we’ve just kept it in the mudroom, waiting to get rid of it.

Today was the first day of our street’s annual garage sale. At 4pm, I carried the fridge to the curb. I drew up some signs that said “free fridge” and then wrote out another page that explained the thing didn’t work.

I was taping the first of these signs to the fridge when a guy drove by in a truck. He stopped and backed up. “You giving that away?” he asked.

“I am,” I said. “But it doesn’t work.”

He turned off the engine and stepped out of the truck. He tipped over the fridge and looked at it. “Hm,” he said. “I want it anyhow.” He loaded it into the truck bed and drove off.

Hilarious.

Lissa

Another money saving idea is Freecycle. Many towns have a Freecycle email list where people post things they want to get rid of for free.
http://www.freecycle.org/

If there’s any less-than-wise college students reading this blog (and I imagine there’s some :-)), gain some wisdom from this post: Stop buying brand new stuff at retail prices and then just toss it out at the end of the school year!

Developing a frugal and spartan living habit in college will start you on a lifestyle that will ultimately save you millions over your life.

All that money you’re saving each month not buying crap you don’t need or won’t use could be invested in good growth stock mutual funds. From age 18 to age 68, even $100/month (and many spend that on cable and cell phones, at least) will grow to, quite literally, millions.

Of course, the power of compound interest working *for* you isn’t taught very well in school. If it were, 19% of the bankruptcies filed in the USA wouldn’t be college aged people and the average college student wouldn’t be graduating with a car loan, a student loan and a heap of credit cards.

Around here (Madison, WI), we have what is called, “Hippie Christmass”; which is when all the stuff that the students/other renters can’t move get put onto the curb, and it’s free for the taking. You just go around, taking the stuff, from dumpsters, or from the curb. Mid-august is the most, since around 85% of the places stop renting on the 14th of august, and the 15th they start up. (i have no idea where ppl stay that night. I had a place with a two week gap, and lived in my friend’s backyard for those two weeks.) Since i now have most of what i need, i take the stuff that’s in good shape over to the Good Will (and get a recipt. :D), while we also keep an eye out for things our friends need. My buddy brows his dad’s trailer, and we use his Jeep.

At the middle of may is what _I_ call Hippie St. Nick’s day, and that’s when the college dorm stuff is available. It’s often cheaper for them to buy something new again next year, then to store it, or to ship it back home, and then back again!