Counting Pennies

Another great way to live on less is to look around for free things. There are a lot available if you know where to look. 

Freecycle is a network of people who connect online to give away things they not longer need or want. There are no strings attached here. You simply register for the email newsletter of the group local to your community or town and then wait for the offers to come into your inbox. Once you find something you want, you simply let the person know and arrange for pick up.

Craigslist. The largest online community in the world, Craigslist is not only divided into cities but also into categories. While you can buy and sell almost anything there, you can also get things for free, mainly from people who are moving and have a lot of little knick knacks they don’t want to take with them. Many people post photos of the items, so you know what you’re getting in advance.

Barter. You can do this almost everywhere: post a listing on Craigslist, for example, saying what you’re looking for and including a list of items you’re willing to give in exchange. Or you can talk to neighbors, colleagues or friends to barter face to face. Bartering has worked wonders for me in the past. I once bartered writing services for website design, and I also got the IKEA coffee table I was looking for (in pristine condition) by exchanging it for a group of DVDs the other person really wanted.

Pick things up from the street. I don’t mean you should go scavenging into people’s garbage (although so many do it that it actually has a name: dumpster diving), but there’s nothing to prevent you from driving around on recycling days to see what other people are discarding. In my town, a lot of people simply put electronics or good-quality furniture on the side of the street when they not longer want them. Many even attach a note with something like “it works” so people would actually pick the item up, rather than letting go to waste to the local landfill.

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