How the rich stay rich

[ChrisMiss]

Well, I knew I'd finally be able to prove it.  Today I was out shopping at the thrift stores here in Las Vegas and the very first store I stopped at there was a brand new Lotus convertible out front.  Two stores later there the car was again!  Now we know how they can afford those car payments.  They shop at thrift stores!

[Mattie]

Well, I don't own ANY car, but if it wasn't for thrifting I probably wouldn't have been able to save enough money for a down payment on a house.   

[SecondhandSophisticate]

During "snowbird season" here I see Mercedes, Jags, Volvos,
Beamers, etc. at Wacky Wednesdays at the SA... (as well as all the thrifts here) which is a mob scene with new/newer models high-end cars until about April, when they all go back up "Nawth".  Of course, some of them may live here year 'round and go Nawth to visit the grandkids for the summer,    Many have second homes here and furnish them from thrift stores. Of course, thrifts in the area have increased their prices accordingly.  Which makes me go back and ask the question I first asked several months ago on a post:  "What do really poor people do?"  And yes, less well-do-to folk come to Wacky Wednesdays as well as other thrifts, but the prices can be high. 

Congrats, Mattie, on saving for a downpayment on a house!  We weren't able to afford a home until our mid-30s, because it was extremely difficult to save while payment a huge rent, maintaining cars, putting ourselves through school. It is a stellar accomplishment!  I honed my thrifting skills when that was literally all I could afford--thrift stores--and even those just barely--and I am grateful for the experience    It sharpens the creative skills tremendously.

Ciao, Bellas!
SeSo 

[Jay2TheRescue]

Well, I don't own ANY car, but if it wasn't for thrifting I probably wouldn't have been able to save enough money for a down payment on a house.   

You must live in the city.  I can't imagine being without a car.  The town I grew up in did not have bus service, and it was a 5 mile drive just to get to 7-11.  The nearest grocery store was 15 miles, and if you wanted to go to Wal-Mart or the mall it was about 25 miles.  The town I live in now does have bus service, but the nearest stop is about 1.5 miles away. 

My main vehicle is a 1998 GMC Sierra pickup.  Great vehicle, never had any problems with it.  I still have my first car, a 1981 Buick Regal Limited.  Its paid for, and the insurance is cheap, so I see no reason to part with it.  I still have one of my old p/u trucks as well, a 1986 Chevy Silverado.  It really hasn't been driven in 2 years, but dad asked the other day if he could use it.  I'm going to buy the parts, dad & I are going to fix it in a few weeks, then dad will pay for the tags & insurance.  That's 3 cars... 

-Jay

[Good Buddy]

Apparently Warren Buffett's wife shops at thrift stores, I believe her name is Astrid Menks.
Cookie read that somewhere.
More power too 'em I say.

Ciao!

GB

[SecondhandSophisticate]

Good Buddy, where does she live ?  I'd like to go thrifting with her, just to see what she buys!

[ChrisMiss]

The thrifting attitude is what it's all about.  Being thrifty, dollar conscious and not buying into the media hype of consumerism.  Kudo's on saving money for the house, that's a great accomplishment. 

We've bought brand new cars before and will probably never do it again.  Not only are you stuck with car payments for years but you still have to pay those huge fees when you take it in for the required service to maintain the warranty.

Our car is a 1996 Honda, over 155,000 miles on it and it still runs like a champ.  It looks pretty bad right now, it could use a paint job and some dent removal; but I don't care, it's paid for and gets me from place to place.

Same thing with our RV (our full-time home), we bought it used and paid cash for it.  We've had to do some repair work on it but still what we've spent is far far less than what it would have cost brand new.  And if we take good care of it it should last us for many years to come.
 

[Good Buddy]

Being thrifty, dollar conscious and not buying into the media hype of consumerism.

Right on sister! 

[Big Daddy Audio]

As far as thrifting goes, my filter has been on high lately.  I've passed on things that in the past I would have gotten (not necessarily jumped on, but would have given more consideration).  I'm definitely in a purging mode.

My wife has been lamenting the fact that many thrifts are now approaching $2.00 for a used romance novel (She enjoys the historical romance - mainly Scotland).  I made an amazing discovery this week.  The SVdP in old town Glendale sells romance novels for $.29 a piece as their regular price!  This wasn't part of a sale or anything.  Nice.

I've also passed on numerous audio items because, quite frankly, I didn't need them.  I'm definitely in the "upgrade only" mode for audio.  If I see a piece that would be an upgrade over what I currently have, I would pull the trigger on the buy.

That is all.

[ChrisMiss]

My wife has been lamenting the fact that many thrifts are now approaching $2.00 for a used romance novel (She enjoys the historical romance - mainly Scotland).  I made an amazing discovery this week.  The SVdP in old town Glendale sells romance novels for $.29 a piece as their regular price!  This wasn't part of a sale or anything. 

I bet your wife enjoys reading Diana Gabaldon.  My mother and daughter both love her books.  I've only read the first one.  They are hard to find at the thrift stores too.  I'm on the lookout for the last book A Breath of Snow and Ashes for my daughter.

[Zed Simon]

Thrifting is kind of on hiatus for me right now since I just bought a co-op. Space and money are both at a premium (although there's been plenty of OT available at work). That's not to say I won't visit stores every once in a while...'fact, I have a couple cratefuls of records to give away to some lucky Salvation Army store next week. I'm putting things into perspective and being a little more discerning about what I really need and what I can do without. What I can do without, someone else will probably need (or at least want). They get that, I get more space. It's a win-win.

Jay2therescue: you brought up a point about Wal*Mart at one time being 25 miles away. Those were great days. Load everyone up into the station wagon and drive a half-hour or so to the mall for a special treat. Now, malls are just places to kill time. Nothing special about them anymore. And there are four Wal*Marts no more than 20 minutes away from me - the closest one practically in walking distance. Makes me think of that line in The Monkees' Daydream Believer: "But how much, baby, do we really need?"

There's better-quality stuff at the thrifts, anyway.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Thrifting is kind of on hiatus for me right now since I just bought a co-op. Space and money are both at a premium (although there's been plenty of OT available at work). That's not to say I won't visit stores every once in a while...'fact, I have a couple cratefuls of records to give away to some lucky Salvation Army store next week. I'm putting things into perspective and being a little more discerning about what I really need and what I can do without. What I can do without, someone else will probably need (or at least want). They get that, I get more space. It's a win-win.

Jay2therescue: you brought up a point about Wal*Mart at one time being 25 miles away. Those were great days. Load everyone up into the station wagon and drive a half-hour or so to the mall for a special treat. Now, malls are just places to kill time. Nothing special about them anymore. And there are four Wal*Marts no more than 20 minutes away from me - the closest one practically in walking distance. Makes me think of that line in The Monkees' Daydream Believer: "But how much, baby, do we really need?"

There's better-quality stuff at the thrifts, anyway.

I agree.  When I was a kid we had a 1980 Pontiac Bonneville Safari 9 passenger wagon that we drove to the mall.  When we first moved to the town the nearest mall was either in Manassas or Springfield.  Manassas was about 30 miles, Springfield was about 40.  Then in 1980 Spotsylvania mall was built.  That was only about 20 miles away.  Now my parents don't have a mall closer, but about 10 miles away are huge stripmalls with Wal mart, Target (pronounced TAR-jea) and all stuff like that.

I love the quality of the older stuff, and the design was so much cooler as well.  One of my favorites is a toaster oven I have that looks like it came straight from the Jetsons.  I also love my 1,200 watt blender and my 1957 Sunbeam Mixmaster.

[SecondhandSophisticate]

Jay, Big Daddy and All:  I completely relate to your comments. My husband and I (but mostly me ) are in the process of cleaning out our house...after living in it for 16 years, we are dumping everything that doesn't serve or cannot be sold at the local flea markets when the snowbirds come back to town.  I went through a collecting phase when I was ill in the 90s and was pretty much housebound for a while, but I'm over it. And I want only things I love and that are functional. I've got to really, really really love it or it doesn't come home with me. 

Today, I had to shop for clothes at a real clothing store, because after looking in thrifts for months for a few pieces to wear over the looonnnnng HOTHOTHOT summer, I found nada, zip, nothing.  I shopped for four hours and purchased three pieces of clothing and paid cash.  If it's not perfect, and it doesn't serve perfectly, I don't want it. Because after spending the past three weekends moving stuff around that is "dead" to me, I realize the price I pay for stuff is with my lifeforce, just like in _Your Money or Your Life_  (and we're still not done. But O!! What a feeling! The Unbearable Lightness of Being--to unload dead weight.)

Yes, shopping used to be a special event. When I was a little girl, we would go "downtown" in dresses  and gloves and have lunch and window-shop, maybe once a month. There was layaway, and very little credit, and you could, if you were known at the store, take things "on approval".  It wasn't about the buying, the acquisition, the avarice, it was about the bonding, the experience with your mom or your sisters or your girlfriends.  Merchandise was made a million percent better, the salespeople were trained in the art of service and proud of their expertise. Stores were open only until 5-5:30 during the week, except for either Thursday or Friday nights (paydays were weekly then, and the stores were open only one of those nights--not both)  We would  do other things besides just acquire stuff.

Zed:  How about "Pleasant Valley Sunday"? Might that song also be appropriate to this thread?

Ciao, Bellas,
SeSo

[Big Daddy Audio]

Criss wrote:

"I bet your wife enjoys reading Diana Gabaldon.  My mother and daughter both love her books.  I've only read the first one.  They are hard to find at the thrift stores too.  I'm on the lookout for the last book A Breath of Snow and Ashes for my daughter."

She likes her a lot.  The Outlander series is one of her all-time faves.  The used books stores around here have her in the "time travel" section rather than the romance section.  Diana Gabaldon lives in Scottsdale (or at least she did) and will do book signings in the valley on occasion.

That is all.

[lizardsally]

Our car is a 1996 Honda, over 155,000 miles on it and it still runs like a champ.  It looks pretty bad right now, it could use a paint job and some dent removal; but I don't care, it's paid for and gets me from place to place.

I hear ya!  My car is a 1995 Honda (I bought it used in 97) and it has over 200,000 miles on it (I'm such a dork, I even took photos of the odometer rolling over) and it still runs great - Hondas kick butt!  Not to mention I'm getting about 35 miles to the gallon!

Sally