If you were to forget where you burried some of your metal, could you claim that as a capital loss to offset your capital gains?

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The only socio-economic system compatible with freedom is capitalism, as defined as the complete separation of the economy and the state.

agnut:

After I posted it, I started thinking about how I actually do things, and, perhaps I am not as hopeless as I sounded in my post. I do look for deals and I buy nothing on credit. My philosphy has always been "If I do not have enough cash to buy something, then I do not need it". If I really need/want it, I look for the best deal and I save up to buy it. The only exception to that rule was my first house. I had to get a mortgage for it, because I did not have the cash. Fortunatley I was in a position to pay it off in about 7 years. Then I met my wife, who also had a paid off house, so, when we got married, we sold both of our houses and bought one together (for cash). So now, I do not buy anything I cannot pay cash for (even houses).

Yes, yes and yes. I also have the "frequent Shopper" cards from my local grocery stores to get the lowest prices. I never wanted to get the cards (for Privacy issues), but one day it dawned on me that I could fill out the applications for those cards using bogus information, and, since I only use cash for groceries, they will never be able to track it back to me. Now I am Mr. Smith at all the grocery stores in my area.

Generally we buys things "New" at retail stores, but not always. We recently decided to replace the small table we have in our kitchen. We purchased it a garage sale. We also got a really nice dining room table and hutch at an estate sale several years back. In both those cases, however, we did not dicker at the garage sale, we paid the price the seller asked. I think we got good deals on both of them, but could we have gotten a better deal? . . . . perhaps.

When it comes to clothes, my wife likes to shop at the discount stores (Ross, TJ Maxx, etc). She buys most of her clothes there and gets some really good deals. She also gets some good deals on the internet. When I need new clothes, I generally go to the factory outlet stores. I usually do that every year or two.

I feel that way about cars, but not TVs. I have never paid more than $300 for a TV. And, as nice as a big screen tv sounds, I just can't see paying a grand (or more) for one. I really don't need one. I have three tvs now. They range in age from 4 years old to 20 years old. They all work fine. I get along just great with analog cable and my VCR (and dvd player for rental movies). Thats all going to change, however, when the gummint forces everyone to go to digital TV and I have to buy one of them new fangled digital TVs. Hopefully by then, the price will be be down to the $300 area.

Cars, however, are a different story. I am 46 years old. I have owned 5 cars in my life. The first was used (a 1970 Datsun 510 Station wagon for $600.00), and the remaining 4 have been new. I always pay cash and I usually drive them for about 7 years (until around 100K miles). My current car is is a 2001 model. It has 40K miles on it (I now work from home so I don't drive as much anymore). I expect to drive it for at least another 5 years. The thing about cars is that, although I have some mechanical abilities, I do not want to inherit someone else's problem. If I buy it used, I have no idea why the former owner sold it. Was it fine (and were they just tired of it), or was it lemon or did they wreck it. I also like to drive a nice looking car. Call it pride or vanity. I just dont like driving junkers. I don't buy expensive cars, just nice sporty cars in the mid 20s (right now I drive a Honda Prelude, before that a Nissan 240 SX).

Yes . . . and thats why I am here (at GIM and in this thread). I am a strong believer that if nothing changes, then nothing changes. And I need to change some things. I think my weakness is not in budgeting and finding good deals (by shopping around). My weakness is in the "price negotiation" area. How do I know what something is worth? How can I negotiate confidently if I do not know what something is worth? When buying a new car, for instance, how do I know what it is really worth? How do I clear all the high pressure sales crap out of the brain, and the constantly shifing offers, and concentrate on the value of the car?

After my original post, I remembered my first big face to face PM purchase. Up until that point in time I bought all my PMs on the internet. Then, about a year ago, I found GIM and saw all the posts about avoiding buying on the internet (when possible). So I decided I would find a local coin store and buy some PMs there. I went into the store and I started talking to the guy and decided I wanted to buy several Krugs and 100 oz of generic silver rounds. The pricing on the krugs seemed fair, but he wanted .75 over spot for the silver. I had just read a thread here in which several members said that .75 was probably a bit high . So I told the guy that I thought .75 was a bit high, especially since I was buying 100 of them. He came down to .50 per, and we did the deal. So in this case, I had some facts, and was comfortable making a counter offer, and it was accepted. If i did not know that .75 was too high, I probably would have either paid it, or walked out (and not negotiated).

There are lots of cases where I might not have those facts. I can't be an expert on everything. What do I do then? I do not want to insult someone by making an offer that is too low. Going back to my purchase of the dining room table and hutch several years ago. I think I paid a fair price, but I don't that know for sure. I am happy with what I got (and the price I paid), but I do not know if it was a "deal" . . . . . . I think thats where I need the most help.

Anyway . . . . . . Thanks for this thread . . . . and your thoughful reply . . . And I hope to learn more, and put different practices into my life, as this thread develops.

Perhaps you ought to give out homework assignments . . . .

Hi again sober. Sounds like you are already doing several wise things I mentioned. You should give yourself a pat on the back.

Cars are our second biggest investment. This can be an area of substantial savings if one is willing to drive an economical used car. I will be 60 in a couple of months and have gone through many years of having fancy cars. The attendant high costs have left me to conclude that this was unnecessarily out of proportion to my lifestyle. I still play with cars like my Jaguars but don’t have much invested in them. If they give me any serious trouble, they are history. And probably without any financial loss. I couldn’t do that when the Ferrari had problems and it has been a good lesson for me.

I also understand that image is important in conveying success, particularly in some occupations. I want to project to others that I play around with older cars and can’t afford a new car. It is to be low profile for the future. I really don’t care what others think of me except that I do not appear wealthy to them. I have wealthy people living on my street and I look like a blue collar worker struggling to make ends meet. My neighbors know that I have one Jaguar I got for $1000 and another for $450; that deflates the image that Jaguars are expensive cars. They mostly have new cars in their garages. I don’t envy but only admire others fine things and therefore am out of the disastrous keeping up with the Joneses syndrome.

What we think others are worth is usually an illusion. Heavy mortgage debts, high car payments, credit card debts and no money in savings can all be concealed until what may seem like a minor speed bump can upset the whole financial juggling act. Many people are like the juggler with several plates spinning on sticks; they have to keep them all going at the same time. Any one can come crashing down and ruin their “show”. Because it is a show and not reality; not firmly grounded in fiscal responsibility. I wrote about this in silver musing VI and have just reread it and think it is sound advice.

I understand and respect your lifestyle; we are all different ages and in different situations. The suggestions offered here won’t fit everyone’s ability to do them but the knowledge may be useful in the future when circumstances change. It is my goal to discuss the many possibilities out there and let the readers decide what works for them.

You are nobody’s fool and are actively seeking further knowledge. That’s the name of the game.

I’m in the middle of writing A Simple Beginning… It is about how to start right now, not tomorrow or next month. It doesn’t take anything but a desire to get more value out of what you are doing on a daily basis. I’ll post it here as soon as I can.

I wish I could respond to others’ posts more quickly but this new automotive business keeps me hopping. Sunday afternoon and evening my son and I were tearing apart transmissions for the production line. Owning your own business means that you can work as hard as you want and as much as you want. I usually overkill but don’t feel it as I am my own slave driver.

Best wishes,

agnut

Just finished reading through this entire thread, and am really learning a lot as I go. Thanks very much for your hard work, agnut. Looking forward to your continued postings...

Agnut, This is a really great series, and you have done it very well. I thought I had done well with a few good buys at garage sales and auctions, but your graduate level course shows that I have just started high school!

I can add very little, but I want to make a contribution. I enjoy playing the game of buying bargains on eBay. I learned long ago that getting something you don’t need, even for a very cheap price, is not a bargain. Now I limit my eBay searches to only the things I want, and then I buy slow. By slow, I mean that I look at what I want to buy and compare with previous sales prices (or with comparable sale prices over time). If the item is sold often, I decide on my price and then I don’t worry about not winning the bid today. I just find later auctions for the same item and enter them into my snipe program (for last second bids) and try, try again. There is a substantial spread between the highest and lowest winning bids over time, and I always get a bargain at close to the lowest winning price. Please don’t ask me how much time it takes me to save a few bucks, because that might be embarrassing. My perspective is that I am playing a game and having fun while I save some money.

A more useful skill I developed several years ago is a combination of things which have been previously mentioned. When I see a coupon in the paper for the kind of peanut butter (or coffee, or cereal, or whatever) that I like, I cut out the coupon to use at the store. But I don’t rush to the store to use it! Instead, I wait for the item to be put on sale, and then I use the coupon to buy it on sale, for extra savings. Stores that double coupons and have good sales literally give away items for free! I agree that it is a nuisance to cut one coupon and to then wait a week or two to use it, but I have a value added approach that makes it more worthwhile. If the paper has one or more coupons that would make a good buy on something I want, then I get more of the coupons, even if that means I buy several more copies of the paper. That combination of several identical coupons combined with good sale prices on things I want, transforms a small nuisance into a profitable enterprise with significant savings. I respect that you are not cheesy enough to return to the store the next day to get another item which has a limited quantity. In contrast, I am cheezewhiz! It takes time and money to make return trips to the store, so I do all my shopping at a store in one trip. If I have six coupons but the store limits the item to two per customer, I buy my two and take them to the car. Then I return to the store (so I am then a “new” customer) and buy two more, and repeat as needed. By stocking up on stuff I want when I can combine coupons and sales to get very low prices, I can add more silver to my collection with the grocery money I save.

Keep up the great work on this thread!

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You don't need a weather man To know which way the wind blows. Bob Dylan

Nice try desoos. I think the tax boys would be over with their metal detectors to “help“ you..

However if you had a theft report with the police, it might carry some weight. Who knows what evil lurks in the minds of the tax man ? What kind of person works for the IRS anyhow ?

Probably better to avoid Mr. Legalman as much as possible and wait until the PM prices take off. You will have several options then which I won’t go into but expect you to use your imagination at that time.

An interesting thought however and I will ask my accountant friend the next time I talk to him.

Best wishes,

Agnut

P.S. I am still writing my next long post, A Simple Beginning…, but am short of time. In the meantime I will answer what I can and hope others will dive in and contribute their experiences and wisdom.

This thread is for ALL of us to learn to better our situations and I am just one guy contributing with what I have learned so far. This is OUR thread and not MY thread; I want that clearly understood. There are a lot of members here that are smarter than me and as this thread grows, readers will get a more complete picture of what others have done as well as what works best and why. I invite you readers who have not yet joined to sign up and become a part of this unique website.

Take a good look back at RiverRat’s post #15 and you will see what a real “Yankee Trader” thinks. He is at the top of his game but knows that there is always new information to learn which can improve his future dealings. He is at the stage where his methods of dealing are pretty much complete and the great majority of what he learns is of what new opportunities there are out there. Also, I think he has reached his comfort level where he can do what he wants rather than what he has to do. This is what level we want to attain in order to deal as much or as little as we are willing to trade our play time for our deal making time. In other words, we will get out of dealing as much as we put into it.

Who Loves Ya Baby-Back? Recipe courtesy Alton Brown Show: Good Eats Episode: A Rib For All Seasons 2 whole slabs pork baby back ribs Dry Rub: 8 tablespoons light brown sugar, tightly packed 3 tablespoons kosher salt 1 tablespoon chili powder 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/2 teaspoon jalapeno seasoning 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning 1/2 teaspoon rubbed thyme 1/2 teaspoon onion powder Braising Liquid: 1 cup white wine 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 1 tablespoon honey 2 cloves garlic, chopped Preheat oven to 250 degrees. In a bowl, combine all dry ingredients and mix well. Place each slab of baby back ribs on a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, shiny side down. Sprinkle each side generously with the dry rub. Pat the dry rub into the meat. Refrigerate the ribs for a minimum of 1 hour. In a microwavable container, combine all ingredients for the braising liquid. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Place the ribs on a baking sheet. Open one end of the foil on each slab and pour half of the braising liquid into each foil packet. Tilt the baking sheet in order to equally distribute the braising liquid. Braise the ribs in the oven for 2 1/2 hours. Transfer the braising liquid into a medium saucepot. Bring the liquid to a simmer and reduce by half or until of a thick syrup consistency. Brush the glaze onto the ribs. Place under the broiler just until the glaze caramelizes lightly. Slice each slab into 2 rib bone portions. Place the remaining hot glaze into a bowl and toss the rib portions in the glaze. *This recipe makes several batches of dry rub. If more rub is needed, it can be extended by any amount, as long as the ratio of 8:3:1:1 remains the same.

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Trading with Peace and Harmoney
"The day of reckoning is only at dawn" Aikitrader

One of my hobbies is homebrewing.

I got three 5 gallon fermenting vessels practically for free. It only cost me 4 bottles of homebrew.

I usually make beer. I try to keep my costs for a 5 gallon batch to $20 or under. (5 gallons = 56 12oz bottles or about 2 1/3 cases)

This fall I made a hard cider (10.5% alcohol), a cyser (made from cider and honey) and a Cranberry Hard Cider (made from cider and cranberry juice). So 7 1/2 gallons of high alcohol content I made for around $65 to $70. I'll be enjoying this for quite awhile.

The homebrewing makes great gifts at Christmas, and it is nice to bring homebrewed stuff over to friends and families housing for dinner and stuff.

I also kinda barter a couple bottles of my homebrew with my wife's boss for the free dental work he performs on me.

PS: I recently trashed picked an old oven to put in my garage so I can brew beer without smelling up the house.

GO EAGLES!

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Trading with Peace and Harmoney
"The day of reckoning is only at dawn" Aikitrader

Agnut,
This is an awesome thread, and it's helping me perhaps find some focus.

One question:
Is eBay your biggest outlet for selling stuff? I looked into making dough on eBay a while ago and like a lot of people got stuck on finding stuff to sell at a decent price. I still can't believe I paid for a 'how to make money on ebay' seminar, but the guy who ran it indicated NYC was a gold mine of stuff to sell - I haven't tapped that vein yet.

Like I met this guy who had a friend who had a jeans business, so he was able to sell the jeans basically off the pallets out of his old man's warehouse NJ. He did pretty good, made enough to sleep late, sit around and smoke weed and play XBox all day, but he was looking for sources of new stuff to sell, too.

I guess enough stupid people are doing it that a smart guy ought to be able to pull some dough out of the eBay market.


One suggestion: I read this a while ago, so I don't recall how true it is. I read one young woman's story about her method of doing pretty good on eBay. She lived down in the East Village, as I recall, and lived over a junk shop. She would look around the shop, take pictures of interesting stuff, put it up on eBay and when it sold, buy it and ship it out. Junk dealers know about eBay now, so I wonder if that would still work?

Another suggestion: There are guys who go and bid on contents of storage units that have not been paid for. Dirty work and you never know what you will find. But it can work out pretty well.

LG

Thanks for the rib recipe in your post #23 fasTTcar. I made copies and one is hanging on the fridge.

Best wishes,

agnut

Thanks Krugerrand. I notice that more and more members are posting; we have 1,090 readers and 41posts so far. That’s great; I‘m learning too. If you will notice, I am sometimes referring to posts here by number so that readers can easily refer back.

There are several topics to cover as we proceed so I don‘t think we will burn out like other threads. As these topics are covered and used, feedback from posters’ results should keep the thread cooking.

In time, we will hopefully be able to recount how this helped us and maybe increased our real wealth. To use one’s mind and first make/save money by spending it more wisely and later to make profitable deals will not only help us now but for the future in which I believe we will all need to be lean and mean.

There are a lot of good books out there, some have already been mentioned. The Fireside books, Mother Earth, etc. should also be of some help in self reliance.

Best wishes,

Agnut

Hi Weatherman. You said, “I learned long ago that getting something you don’t need, even for a very cheap price, is not a bargain.” That reminded me that some may want to accumulate things they already use so that they have a backup or multiple backups. They can keep it or sell it for a profit. That’s what I do at garage sales and estate sales. I have several coats and extra shoes and boots. I’m probably set for the next 20 years or more. I have things I don’t use now but may well need in the future. For instance I have a wine making kit with the books. I haven’t made any wine yet but I thought my son would (put the little bugger to work for my debauchery). We can pick blackberries by the gallons for free here.

And while I am thinking of it, I should mention that this thread will bring the family unit closer. It has mine and we are always joking and laughing as we find ways to use our money wisely.

And don’t feel cheezy about going back into the store for more coupon bargains when they limit quantities. I sometimes go the next day and I have been known to send my sons in with the coupons (cowardly bastard that I am). I don’t mind being cheezy; I just don’t like to be caught in the act.

Your shopping examples are just what I am talking about. I will probably seem to plagiarize your post in the future; it is so right on. This is part of “A Simple Beginning…” that I am so slow in writing.

Hey, this thread is writing itself ! Maybe I should just shut up and sit back and throw back a few brewskis and enjoy the ride. Seriously, I will in time as I only have so much to say about my own limited experiences. But not soon and not until you all grow thoroughly disgusted with me.

Best wishes,

agnut

Funny post agnut.

Thanks for the ribs recipe Aikitrader. It is hanging on the fridge with fasTTcar’s recipe.

Your brewing skills will come in handy; a future career. That is if you can part with the product. I will talk to my son about this and as I mentioned, we already have a complete wine making outfit. Got it at a garage sale and the seller said that I could come on his property and pick all the blackberries I want. I’m sure he will want a little “commission”.

My son goes out and picks mushrooms; he has three or four books on their identification. I tell him to be sure of what he eats. There are magic mushrooms growing in this area too. I recently read that in the spring and fall that the Russians go out in the woods and pick for canning, drying and pickling. This helps them through the winter. A fun free skill to develop ? Magical and delicious.

Yep, I’ve got to get into the home brewing. It’s in my family history/blood. My grandpa was the local sheriff in the thirties and when the feds were looking for illegal stills, he always either misdirected them or took them to an old broken down still. He was always hooked up with the moonshiners. As a boy I spent summers on his cattle ranch. Good times.

Best wishes,

agnut

Tell me when you have had a chance to try them. They are surprisingly good for such a simple process. Fall off the bone and semi sweet.

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If interested, I can give you a recipe for Tony Roma's ribs.

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Silver is the clear leader.:D jmo
Determination will take you from the outhouse to the penthouse...........

Post it Beef, or PM me. I always like trying a new recipe.

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Hi LikeGreen. I have bought and sold hundreds of items on Ebay. Although I do make money there, I mostly look for things I need and don’t want to pay retail. I also get rid of items for more than I could otherwise. I haven’t tried to sell any cars there but I understand from an experienced acquaintance that he has sold several cars there and was surprised at how much he got. Something to keep in mind. Do your research on Ebay and save the type of car on your “My Ebay” section that you might want to later sell so that you can see what it actually sold for. I do this all the time with a variety of items I am researching. We should spend some time with Ebay dealings. I am no genius but have been happy with almost every time I bought or sold.

I have several cars and am thinking of putting one in Ebay but will try selling at Craigslist first. I have bought and sold a lot there and it is a local market. I’m not sure how selling a car across the country will work. You can also tap into the other Craig lists for other cities and see what is going on there. I noticed that there were absolutely NO Volkswagen diesel cars offered in San Diego where I used to live. There are over 2 million people in San Diego county. I was floored ! I have 4 of them and three I paid about $200 each. Not running but with a rebuilt engine and transmission, they can get several thousand $ on Ebay. I recently saw one 1982 VW Rabbit that sold for $8,000. Car parts sell well there too; I had a speedo and clock out of an old Porsche 356 that had been kicking around for 10 years in my junk. I had no money in them as they had been part of a huge inventory I had liquidated long ago. I researched and to my surprise, they came out of a rare Carrera and I got about $150 for each of them on Ebay. I was tired of looking at them and may have thrown them away. A lesson here; know your items. Know what they are worth and who wants them. I have heard of some guys who have sea containers full of old business inventories that have been sitting for years. I have seen these containers for sale in past years in the auto publication Hemmings Motor News. I also know a guy who buys antique gas station equipment and makes a comfortable living.

That woman you mentioned who lived over a junk shop was one sharp cookie; she sold items before she owned them. I haven’t been able to pull this off very often.

The connections we make are gold and should be kept for the future. You never know when you will find a treasure trove and these connections can be a place to sell some or all of it. You will build a network of connections over time.

I have bid and gotten many storage units. You need to be careful here and know the setup. The owner of the self store company has usually gone through it before auction and picked the cherries out for himself. Don’t believe that he has not, even if the law forbids him to in your state. Enforcement is lax. And watch out for a “setup” unit. It looks like a display of promises but after you win the bid, you may discover that that tool box that looked full of goodies is really a bunch of old broken tools from Harbor Freight. You are not generally allowed to enter the unit but only peer at the door. Buying a pig in a poke. Don’t be the pig who gets poked.

However I have gotten legitimate units and gotten some great items. Again, you must know your area and merchandise as well as who is bidding against you. You might do better putting an ad in the paper that you are buying estates. I may do this in the future when I have the space to store the items. Remember that storage is a constant cost unless your items can be stored at home. I would recommend small items that you could ship across the country. For example, I have some old sheets of 6 cent airmail stamps I bought years ago for $20 to $25 each. I sold one sheet for almost $100 a while back but have been too lazy/stupid to get around to selling the remaining 5 or 6 sheets. I should be horsewhipped. That could be silver rounds ! And the sheets of stamps are so easy to ship and sell. That is primarily what you are looking for to sell long distance.

We will be talking about this buying and selling in depth after I get this “A Simple Beginning…” post posted. Several of you are already familiar and have been jumping the gun; I may not have much to say if I don’t get moving. HaHa

Best wishes,

agnut

Haste makes waste but if you’re careless enough, you can do it slowly too.
A little junk food for thought.

OOOOH !! Me too !

The more recipes the merrier.

agnut

I have made a living doing what Agnut is describing for the last decade. It is now a full time job and I make good money doing it. Buy cheap at estate sales, yard sales, flea markets etc, clean it up, make it look nice and re-sell it, often I AT LEAST triple my investment, many times even more than triple. It is a great life and I wouldnt trade it for any job in the world.

Hi Masonic Plot. You have attained a level which is an inspiration to readers. I am convinced that anyone can pick themselves up and take control over their own lives. I would greatly appreciate anything that you may wish to contribute. Your experience of what you specialize in, where you buy and sell and any details that may offer insight to readers will help open readers’ eyes to possibilities all around them that they hadn’t recognized.

There are stages that the new horse trader/ barterer will go through. You have to walk before you can run and you have to run before you can fly. “A Simple Beginning” will be like walking; I must post it first and get the readers actively participating who want to change their lives. Once this is firmly established, it will provide a crucial part of the foundation for further opportunities. And this won’t take long. In fact, it can be begun the same day !

Next will come deal making and I expect this topic to be the main body of this thread. It will illustrate with examples in real life the simple logical rules that successful dealers operate within. This is where you, Masonic Plot, are dealing on a daily basis.

Best wishes and thanks for sharing your experience with us. I hope others will come to understand that deal making is freedom as well as fun. I could never go back to working for others; I am too spoiled now.

agnut

A Simple Beginning… part 1

We all must first come to the realization that we are not depriving ourselves by making changes in our lives but instead depriving ourselves by remaining as we are.

Therein lies the mental attitude which will motivate us to act upon our beliefs.

Fear of the uncertainty of change is dispelled by the understanding of the absolute necessity to better one’s life.

We can begin with simple actions which are guaranteed to yield positive results. Start with daily necessities first. After that we can progress to actively seeking other buying bargains. In fact, the money saved from grocery shopping could be used to begin this next venture. You can therefore begin deal making with money you saved from buying wisely. A sort of OPM (other peoples’ money) attitude.

We start with grocery shopping because this is something we do all the time.

Do you go grocery shopping with $100 and throw $20 or more in the trash can as you enter the store ? No, most people do that at the checkout stand.

When planning a grocery shopping list, decide what is needed and what is wanted. You may be able to delete some items here. I recently cut out donuts with my morning coffee. I did it for my health as well as saving money. Sounds trivial ? Well, when calculated on a yearly basis, I will be saving over $150 per year. We Americans are inundated with marketing telling what we have to have in order to be happy or seen as successful. That is a huge pile of crap. We are successful when we think for ourselves and therefore take control of our lives.

A good deal sells itself; nobody has to push it continually in my face. Anyone notice all the new car ads ? The more they have to push a product, the worse the deal. I have never owned a new car and have owned hundreds. We will get into that later.

Next, look at the sale flyers that many of us receive in the mail. If you don’t receive these, the store may have copies. And if the store doesn’t offer sale flyers, they will have sale prices posted. Any coupons should be organized with your shopping list so that you have them when checking out.

There may be several markets in your area; find out what is on sale at each one and get to know your best bargain. And when bargains are really good, buy extra quantities that can be stored away before they can go bad. I have been buying cans of tuna that have an expiration date of 2011 so there is no problem with some items. Many canned items have expiration dates two or more years in the future. Look through the cans offered for the latest expiration date and buy these. The later dates may be in back as they want you to rotate their inventory for them.

These coupons often have a limited quantity clause. Get extra coupons from the store or neighbors who receive them and don’t use theirs. You won’t be taking vacations every year to Hawaii or having a fancy car in the driveway but instead will not show your prosperity and will be on the way to becoming the Millionaire Next Door.

When sales are significant, buy in bulk the items you know you will use. A bargain ain’t a bargain if you don’t use it. I have cases of canned goods that will be used long before their expiration dates. I balance my bulk buying while considering the following factors :

1. Do I use this item and how long will it take until I use it all up ? As I use up this item I will be watching for it being on sale again. Sales on the same items come around every few months and you should gauge your quantity to be enough to hold out until the next sale. After a while you will adopt the attitude that everything is on sale if you don’t have to have it when it is not on sale.

2. Do I have enough storage space with what I have as well as what I anticipate buying soon ? When I had limited space I packed cases under the bed, in closets and kitchen cabinets. Having an apartment is no excuse to not stock up on bargain items.

3. Is there a higher and better use for the money spent for a bulk item ? Spending all my money may prevent me from taking advantage of better future offerings. Cash liquidity is important at all times. There may be a garage sale the next weekend and an item I really need or one that’s ridiculously cheap may show up. So keeping some cash in hand around is good for the attitude that when a bargain appears, I will be ready to pounce on it.

I don’t buy bottled water except to occasionally get the containers to refill from my Aqua Rain water purifier. I did a parts per million purity test. My water filter gave 48 ppm. Guess what the bottled water had. 120 ppm ! My son was amazed. Bottled water at 50 cents a day translates to $182.50 per year. My water purifier cost less than that and I bought it 7 years ago and haven’t used half the filters it came with.

4. Will the sale item I am buying go up in price through time ? I remember Freshetta pizzas were on sale a while back for $3.50 and now go on sale for $4.50 or more. Sale prices go up right along with retail items as inflation works its dirty deed on the unbacked dollar. So an item bought on sale now like canned tuna might be 10 or more percent higher within a year. Than is like getting 10 or more percent on your investment. And saving money on purchases is ALL tax free. And I have the goods in my possession, unlike putting money in the bank or a stock. Also if a calamity were to occur, I don’t have to rush out in panic buying like the other sheeple.

Non food items such as toothpaste, toilet paper, paper plates, dishwashing soap, hand soap, laundry detergent and a whole lot of other items can be stocked as well. And they last for many years; most have no expiration date.

Recall the 1922-23 German hyperinflation and think within the context that we are experiencing a similar but slow motion inflation. The German Marks were losing purchasing power so rapidly that people were buying anything they could get in order to get something of value that would cost more the next day. Our inflation has been increasing lately and with the world awash in dollars and billions more being created, we may experience a similar inflationary period. Its hard to say since their Mark issuance had no debt tied to it and dollar creation comes tied to some collateral. This is inflationary but not like that of Germany.

When the time comes that Americans can’t carry the burden of the debt they already have, much less take on more debt, we will see who prospers and who loses their shirts. Personally, I think we are at a point of recognition right now with real estate ceasing to provide increased appraisal valuations so that borrowers can get more equity loans. Loan is like moan, groan, sown, zone and alone. More junk food for thought.

With what I am espousing here, you will be holding cash saved in hand instead of being eaten alive by eroding purchasing power of the dollar. Because what I propose is that you keep records of how much money you save as well as put that cash money away somewhere at home. If you really want to, put away 130 % of what you save since it is after tax money. It becomes easy when you can see the results as a stack of dollars continually growing. Don’t worry, I only like a stack of dollars for what it can do for me.

This applies not only to grocery shopping but to drug stores and other stores as well. I have a list of all the birthdays of those I plan on sending a card as well as mother’s day and Christmas. Greeting cards go on sale and I buy them, sometimes 5 or 10 at a time. The Christmas cards are often 25% of pre holiday price. I have even bought postage stamps at a 10 to 15 percent discount from face value. And I buy Christmas presents and birthday presents throughout the year.

Find your local dollar stores and check them out. Some good deals there and when you are in a regular retail store looking at their prices, you may remember the savings that can be had at the dollar store.

You see, to me bargain hunting is a game and a most profitable one at that. Also, my sons have learned it and enjoy themselves immensely. When we go out garage sailing, we call it “Raping and pillaging”. Like we are pirates on the high seas of finance. Argh Matey ! But this is a story better left to part 2 of A Simple Beginning.

There WILL be a test at the end of this thread; it’s called your future.

Best wishes,

agnut


Think of sale items and bargains as magnets and if you have the iron will, you will be attracted.

Paying retail is for the unimaginative.

About ten years ago I decided I wanted more control of my life. I wanted to find a way that I could make a living and support myself on my own terms. Having grown up with a father who absolutely loved to spend his weekends treasure hunting at yard sales, it dawned on me that I could perhaps do something like that for a living. So I started around mid week mapping out all the yard sales in the classified ads that were on my side of town. I would get up early on Friday and Saturday mornings and just start hitting every yard sale within a certain radius. I learned quickly that people give away a lot of really neat things cheap, and all they really needed was a little tender love and care and presto, I had a product that would make me some money in re-sale. I would do this every weekend for the first 3 weekends every month then the last weekend I would take everything I bought, after having cleaned it up and make it look new again, to the local flea market and re-sell it all. I found out very quickly that I was making 3 times my initial investment, even after factoring in gas and time spent cleaning things up. This made me very happy of course and I quickly learned that I could indeed support myself doing this and I could live my life on my own terms.

Over the years things have evolved to the point where it is now a full time job. During the week I go to thrift stores and rumage through their junk, always looking for good quality items, especially things made in the 1950s, people love those types of things. I find a lot of bakelite stuff, people love bakelite and it sells for a premium on e bay and at flea markets. For those of you who do not know what bakelite is, it is the first plastic and it was used in many things in the 30s and 40s and 50s from buttons to kitchen utensils to radio knobs, you name it. A lot of people collect it and will pay a premium for it, you can often find those old 1950s kitchen utensils at the botom of some box at a yard sale for 5 cents and turn around and sell it for 20 dollars on e bay. No joke. I also find a lot of sterling silver odds and ends silverware at yard sales and thrift stores, always buried at the bottom of some box, you cant imagine the excitement I feel when I find such things, I feel like a robber baron walking out of there with 3 sterling forks for 10 cents. Another big item for me is cast iron skillets. Especially the quality brands, like Wagner and Griswold, they dont make those anymore and they are in HIGH DEMAND. I find 5 or 6 of them every weekend at yard sales for maybe one dollar each, usually all rusted up, I clean them up and the good ones, like Griswold, which is the best in the world, sell for anywhere from 50 to 100 dollars on e bay, craigslist and flea markets. Wagners are a close second to Griswold and also fetch a nice premium. It is a big item for me. Basically what I look for is just good quality items and novelty things, things that are old, antique, things many people overlook at thrift stores and yard sales, once they are cleaned up and put on e bay the bidding frenzies begin and you always make so much more money than you spent. Good quality clothing, work boots, old coins, lamps, good antique wooden furniture that can be fixed up and resold, these types of items will make you money. Also, people give away so many things that you can use yourself at yard sales, new bottles of shampoo or household cleaning products, brand new for 25 cents, I always am sure to buy these types of things, not to resell but to use myself, it saves me a lot of money and money saved is money made. Every dollar I make I turn into real silver or gold immediately and I have been able to really get together a lot of PMs doing this over the years. I also find a lot of good ammo at yard sales and flea markets for incredible prices, good quality stuff, not cheap reloads, things like that as you know, are a premium for the survival minded person.

I am a bit short on time today and didnt really have a lot of time to think this through so I will add more later but this should give you some idea of what it takes to make a living horse trading and bartering so that you can begin to live your life on your terms.

What Agnut is offering is very powerful medicine and I cannot tell you how important it is that you listen carefully. This man is a treasure and his knowledge is priceless.

Really enjoyed the new installment, agnut. Also, Masonic Plot.... awesome info. Really appreciate your contribution to this thread, also.

Looking forward to the next installment! :cool1:

Hi Masonic Plot. Thanks for the great post. I learned some valuable things from what you said. Looking forward to when you have more time to post.

From now on I will be on the lookout for the cast iron skillets and bakelite items. Some research on Ebay auctions should give me some valuations and desirability.

Best wishes,

Agnut

P.S. Your post got me started on part two of A Simple Beginning.

BEST "SELF-STORAGE" AUCTION STORY...EVER!!!

I hit these things all the time, just a hobby. Get a bunch of stuff I really don't need, but around here a lot of them go for chump change. I'm usually able to E-bay a lot of it for a profit.

One place has a policy that they don't let you look first, they take bids on the locked unit, then cut the lock. Don't know why, that's just how they do it.

Anyway, hit this place about two years ago. Seems a local pizza place owner was re-doing his restaurant, and going through a divorce at the same time, apparently for re-doing a waitress...

His wife didn't pay the bill that came for the storage place out of spite. Guess she figured he could go to hell...

I bought all of the stainless stuff from his pizza kitchen,(pizza ovens, freezers, fridge, prep counters, etc.) in storage while he remodelled, for $50. I almost had a stroke when they opened that unit. He almost had a stroke when he found it empty. His attorney called my attorney, 3 days later I sold it all back to him for $4500!!! He still got a deal. It was probably worth ten grand.

He sued his wife, I have no idea how that turned out, nor do I care! America...what a country!!!!!

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This is the kind of stuff I don't think I could do (and sleep at night). I know it is perfectly legal and all, but just cant see taking advantage of someone like that.

I know that people do it every day, and if I do not do it, somebody else will, but I think its just wrong . . for me.

Kind of a Karma thing, I guess . . .

Hi silverbullet and sober. A legal right with a moral dilemma.

This is an interesting call and each of us have to handle it in a way that we can be pleased with ourselves that all parties came out fairly. I have always felt that in business, nobody should lose but get a fair deal. What is fair in some peoples’ minds is unfair in others; it is very personal. I’m not saying that silverbullet did anything wrong. It was his legal right to sell the items back to the previous owner for a profit. It depends upon what profit will satisfy the seller as well as the buyer.

If I were in such a situation, I may have told the buyer that both he and I knew what the items were worth $10,000 if sold elsewhere. I would have asked the buyer what price he was offering. If he said $4,500 I may have said that I only wanted, say $2,000 for my trouble and he owed me a few pizzas. And after the third free pizza, I may have told him that from now on, I will pay like anyone else because a few can mean as few as three. But that is just me. I also may have accepted his offer of $4,500 and let him work out things with his ex wife through the courts. It is easy to hold the high moral ground when the dilemma is happening to someone else. Silverbullet was also within his rights to have instead sold the items to someone else for $10,000. If the buyer was happy with the deal at $4,500 and he probably was since he would have had to have paid far more elsewhere, there should be no hard feelings. Humans are funny critters.

In this situation, the ex wife was responsible for paying the storage rent and was being vengeful. Actually, she should have to pay for the items that had to be repurchased from silverbullet. Some blame goes to the pizza shop owner for not having kept tabs on his shop equipment (and re-doing the waitress). Trusting an angry ex wife to take care of your goods is poor business. I have been there myself and also lost some things that were precious to me.

Fortunately these type of situations don’t occur often when deal making.

I’m glad this was brought up before I post part 2. We all need to get over the fact that we make money in deal making. I look at deal making as brokering items. My specialized knowledge of their worth allows me to make deals in the first place. If I see an item that is for sale at $100 and I know it can be sold for $800, I am under no obligation to tell the seller unless he is retarded. This seller is selling it for what he thinks it is worth. If you’re having a moral crisis here, realize that everything you have bought throughout your life has been the same. You go into the store and pay $2.50 for a can of beef stew, never asking how much it cost the manufacturer or the retailer. Or you buy a pair of pants in Wally Mart for $12.99, never wondering if they got the pants for $1.32 from the manufacturer. You judged that what you were buying had a price that was in accordance to your needs. A non verbal agreement was made and both parties should have come away satisfied.

So if you feel guilty in making money from your bargaining knowledge, get over it. It is illogical.

Best wishes,

agnut

P.S. Does anyone think that if the $50 storage container that silverbullet bought had instead held a pile of worthless junk, would the pizza shop owner offer to pay for the loss ? Silverbullet took the risk and was rewarded this time. How about the times he was not rewarded ?

Deal making is calculated risk taking with the odds stacked on your side because of your knowledge of what items are worth to someone else.

Agnut and Silverbullet,

First, I want to say congratualtions to SilverBullet. As Agnut said (and as I said in my original reply), what he did was perfectly legal, and he got a great deal. My point was I am not sure *I* (and I am only speaking about me), could have slept with that deal. Perhaps that is baggage from my past, perhaps that is just the way I look at life. Perhaps I need to re-evaluate my sense of right and wrong . . . . I dont know.

In this case there is plenty of blame to spread around. The guy should not have been messing around on his wife. He also should not have counted on the wife to make the payment to the storage unit (especially since it contained the guts of his business). The wife should have paid the storage unit (and I am sure that came up in the divorce proceeedings). And Silver Bullet did absolutly nothing wrong by bidding (blind) on the unit. Had it been me, I cannot tell you what I would have done once the contents of the storage unit were revealed, but, based on the facts as they were written, I am pretty sure I would have done something different than what Silver Bullet did. That is not coming from any sort of moral high ground (lord knows I do not posess any of that). . . . . Its just the way I am . . . . right or wrong. Perhaps I just do not have the "Killer" instinct.

I do have a question, however. How do these storage unit auctions work? Is any notice given to the owner of the unit that the contents will be sold/auctioned? Do they have a period of time to come up with the "rent"?

For instance, I probably would do things one way if the unit was auctioned the day after someone was late with a payment (and they had no notice) vs a situation where they were six months late with a payment and they had lots of notice that the contents would be auctioned.

Most salient point of the whole argument. As I understand the scenario, he had no knowledge that the pizza shop guy even owned it. It was a shot in the dark that hit. In those scenario's, ya pays your money ya takes your chances.

Goes back to the urban legend of a guy running off with another girl and asks his wife to sell his prized "insert valuable item here" and wire him the money. She then puts it in the paper for $100 and sends him the proceeds.

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