Get Something for Nothing - it's great!

How many "something for nothing" people do you know? Probably a few if you're like most folks.

But I'm not here to talk about dyed-in-the-wool freeloaders. I'm talking about getting more than you bargained for. I'm here to talk about getting some gravy to go on your mashed potatoes the next time you make a purchase at a private sale.

This can happen easy enough if you spend some time with private parties when they're selling off their belongings.

Often when you're buying something from a private party, there are opportunities to get other things at no additional cost. There might be some accessories or related items that you notice while making a purchase. The seller could offer these gratis since you are paying for something else at the same time.

And, if they're not offered, then there is nothing wrong with asking, "And, do those go with this too?" or something like "Won't those over there get lonely after I take this home?" Those should be clues enough that you want some related items "thrown in."

Often, the party you're buying from is trying to "reduce inventory" and that makes it so much easier for additional stuff to get "thrown in" with a single major sale. It's something for nothing, or at least it appears that way.

For example, I went to a man’s house to pick up a propane tank and some scrap wood. The propane tank was a purchase, and picking up the wood was a “free service” I offered to the community to obtain fire wood to heat my home.

Before loading the wood, he asked if I was interested in having a wood stove that had gone unused for several years. It was just sitting in the backyard. We loaded it with the wood and propane tank. It probably wasn’t worth more than $100, but at no cost, I couldn’t turn him down.

As another example, I bought a tractor with implements for a bargain price of $2,000. The tractor was in good shape and the implements probably were worth nearly $2,000 by themselves. It was a bargain that a smart shopper wouldn’t pass up.

Before I left, the seller handed me a huge handful of pins with retaining clips, knowing that I might misplace them like he had done so many times while using the tractor and implements. There was probably $30 worth of new pins with retaining clips in that double handful. He was happy to give them to the new owner of the tractor.

I got something for nothing and my frugal living instincts weren't going to allow me to turn it down. Nor was I going to insist on paying more.

Done with Something for Nothing, back to Frugal Shopping