Archive for January, 2008:
An inspiring walk through a furniture store
My new friend, her little baby and I wandered through a furniture store after lunch today. She told me she likes to look how they put things together, and gets ideas from them.
I hadn’t really spent time in a store like that before, but it was fun! We saw some interesting designs and outrageously high price tags.
But that’s beside the point.
When you visit stores that take dinette sets, beds, and sofas and arrange them as they would be in a room in your house, you can get some wonderful inspiration– and recreate looks for a fraction of the price.
For example, we saw a large, clear glass vase with a potted plant in it. The roots were completely exposed. Easy-peasy to recreate! How many large, clear vases do they have at Goodwill? Oh, a ton. For less than a dollar. Get a plant (real or fake), pop it in, and there ya go.
Or, try a centerpiece I saw: It had a funky warped-style bowl, set inside a larger dish. In the smaller dish, there were seeds and beans surrounding an artichoke. Seeds and beans, people. It looked pretty neat, and you could pull 20 or 30 cents worth out of your pantry and set them in interesting thrift shop or garage sale bowls. As for the artichoke, if you don’t want to use a real one, you could get a fake one for probably less than a dollar at a craft store. Or, set something else in the middle. Repeat the same thing x3 and group it together for an interesting effect.
We saw a chandelier hung over a bed. Not quite what you’d expect, but it looked neat. Behind the bed, high on the wall hung a drapey fabric. You could keep your eye out for sales and grab a single-wide curtain, throw a dowel rod through it, and hang it over the bed.
There were many ideas you could try, whether you want to recreate a look or use it as inspiration for something totally different.
Especially if you’re like me (and not easily able to come up with design ideas on your own) this could be a fun way to dream up frugal ways to design your home.
What inspires you for your home decor? Maybe a store, a web site, TV show, catalog?
BBC #4: My responses
This week, I challenged y’all to do a few things in the Better Budget Challenge. (There’s still time if you want to jump in!):
Check your credit report, update us on your budget, and tell us what you’d like to improve on this year.
1. I got my credit report, and ugh, there’s an error I need to fix. In August, I replaced a credit card (my name changed, so I wanted a card that would reflect that). Unfortunately, I lost it before activating it. They sent another one, but the first card is still showing up on my credit report as having a balance. It’s listed in good standing–but it does NOT have a balance. I need to correct this.
My husband will order his credit reports when he gets home from work today. Hopefully, there’s nothing to change there.
I opted not to find out my credit score. I don’t really care what it is right now (even though I suspect it is good). All of my accounts are in good standing, and I’m not trying to qualify for a mortgage any time soon. Next year, I’ll probably order my credit score.
2. We’ve been using Mint.com for the past few weeks, and I still really like it. We’ll continue using the site.
3. I’m still working on reducing our overall expenses. I’ve whittled our grocery spending down, but I want us to eat healthier, as well. I need to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into my meal plan. If that means I need to spend an extra $5 per week, then that’s what I’m going to do (although, I think if I make certain choices, I won’t have to increase my spending).
I want to spend less on car maintenance. I need to seek out rock bottom deals on oil changes and state inspections. Even if that means going a little out of my way, or waiting a little longer at the shop…it’s worth it. There’s a quick oil change shop near my house. It costs $28 with tax, and takes like 5 minutes if there’s no line. I’d rather find a place that will do the same job for $15, and if I have to wait a half an hour or more, I’ll just have a book to read or other things to keep me occupied.
At about four oil changes per year, that could save me $60 each year.
I want tokeep an eye on those little things that I’ve bought in the past–trips to Target, a craft store, etc. These days, I don’t make purchases on a whim, and I want to keep it that way.
And, of course, I want to continue finding ways to save money without greatly sacrificing our standard of living.
Changes in eBay fees
This e-mail came across my inbox this morning, and I wanted to pass it along. Basically, eBay is lowering its listing fees and rewarding great sellers by offering them more exposure.
I haven’t sold anything on eBay in a long while, but if you’ve got some things that you’d like to get rid of, it’s nice that the listing fees are lower.
Before you sell anything on eBay, please read this horror story from Boogiemum. Of course, her story is a one-time event, but it’s worth considering, just in case it happens to you. It might make you decide to just donate your stuff and go for a tax write-off.
Seller Update: Fees, Rewards & Standards
eBay buyers want value and selection from sellers they can trust–and good sellers deserve rewards for delivering great customer service. That’s why we’re making a number of important changes that may affect you:
- Reduced Listing Fees
You asked, we listened. We’re reducing Insertion Fees and adjusting Final Value Fees to lower your up-front cost to sell on eBay. You wanted free Gallery, now you’ve got it–plus more feature discounts.
