I didn’t find this worked well for me.

A litre of gas here costs between $.90 to $1.15. That’s about $5 a gallon for gas.

Basic insurance for a 4 cylinder car about 20years old cost around $800 a year if you are a driver with no accidents.

Other operating costs about $800 a year at $65-$85 an hour for a mechanic, oil, tune ups, parking etc.

I understand costs are less for gas/oil/automotive products in the States. But why they are is also something to consider.

Now I get a lot from dumpsters around student buildings, and in the lobby of my building which has an place to put things you don’t need or want. I get all those mall labels, and wonder how complicit I am in someone’s poverty if I’m wearing a 79 cent new looking Gap t-shirt? I bought a couple pair if pants at Goodwill that were brand new, both pair for $3. I later found through a news story that Wal-Mart had dumped a label they’d been called on. The clothing was made by children working in a Sri Lankan sweat shop. Guilt.

If you dress as beautifully as Genni then I applaud you for your sense of style and thrift.

{Now looking for the recipe I came here for. Thanks for the HUHO idea}

Instead of doing consignment shops, I do ebay. I shop the thrift stores for both family clothing… and things that none of us are interested in but I know someone else would be. I shop garage/yard sales/estate sales for these in the summer. I also shop close-out stores. You have to be good at estimating what you will get at auction, it does no good to buy a sweater at $8, sell it for $10, and pay $4 in ebay and paypal fees, does it? What’s been really good is household and hunting items though. My husband bought a Browning bow for $75 at a garage sale and we sold it on ebay for $500. I bought 3 Coca Cola shower curtains at $6 at Big Lots and sold them on ebay for $40 each. I also bought two painted metal trays that meant nothing to me for $1 a piece at a yard sale, just because they were pretty, and found out they are some huge collectable and sold them for $50 and $65 (NashCo if I remember correctly).

Stride-rite toddler shoes in reasonable condition were always good for a few bucks per pair on Ebay. And don’t get me started about the so-called “brown market” in gently worn cloth diapers. Those suckers are money in the bank.

I worked for Goodwill for 5 years as a store manager. The Central Indiana corporate powers that be wanted to revamp Goodwill’s image about 8 years ago. They see themselves in line with stores like Wal-Mart and K-Mart (or at least that’s what they aspire to be). It seems like every few years they up the prices about 0.25-0.50 cents.
If you are going to shop at Goodwill I would look for the Grey Goods. These items will be mixed in with the regular clothing, but will have a grey tag attached. These are new items that Goodwill has purchased from Target (usually it’s returns and overstock/clearance items). Most of the time these items are reasonably priced and they will have a wide range of sizes.