Kijiji, Craigslist and Facebook, etc...

If you like myself, and constantly search the internet for a deal, then try these websites.  Most
of this is local trading. In Facebook search,  type in "for sale in MYTOWN" , where MYTOWN
is the town, village, or city that you live in. 

You can go directly to these links to find deals right away. 

www.kijiji.com

www.craigslist.org

Pawngo   https://pawngo.com/

Just like a pawn shop, you can buy and sell jewelry, odds and ends, tech, etc.

Recycler  http://www.recycler.com/

 You can exchange anything from pets to home listings, though it works best for actual products. Recycler also features a very easy to use search tool, making the sorting process less strenuous.

Oodle  http://www.oodle.com

This site aggregates posts from various other sites into its hub. The site displays internal listings but also ones from eBay and Facebook Marketplace (if you opt to sign in with your Facebook account). Unlike other bartering or swap sites, Oodle also offers a section for services instead of just goods, and even houses a place for personal ads. You can also create a listing for items you're seeking. And here's the best part — Oodle has its' own mobile app.

 

U-exchange   http://www.u-exchange.com/

It's pretty much a swap site where you can offer up some of your time or a product and trade for something else you might need. It's more streamlined than Craigslist and could work for one-off instances when you need to get something specific done.

 

Adoos   http://www.adoos.com/

Adoos acts as a much more typical classified listing hub with categories devoted to real estate, vehicles, community and jobs, among others. Unlike Craigslist, Adoos lets you log into the site through your Facebook account to provide more credibility and search optimization. The general layout is much more eye-catching than Craigslist's bland design.

 

Hoobly  http://www.hoobly.com/

Hoobly is the most similar to Craigslist in it's look and feel, though it does have a feature that asks users to register with an email address to help minimize spam on the site.
 

Use the public library

Besides old books full of germs, there are also cd's, movies, audiobooks, language workshops, and a possible coffee machine at the back of the library.  (It all depends how fancy your library is). There are also free seminars, and free use of computers where you can access internet browsers and check your e-mail, the latest news, etc.   Libraries have evolved tremendously in the past decade. Now you
have an idea of where some of your taxes go.  It's also a good place to go and hide for a few hours if you want peace and tranquility.  :)

How to turn a daily habit into a yearly investment.

This is an example of a $10/ day habit.  

$10 = 1 pack of cigarettes, or $10 worth of drinks, or $10 worth of lotto tickets.


Sincere apologies go out to the many Russian, European, Japanese, Chinese, and other  fans of
El Cheapo. I have been using  dollar currency in my previous examples including this one..


Here is the currency converter for today's date.

$ 1.00 U.S. =  .62 British Pounds Stirling
                   =  .72 Euro.
                   =  5.91 Norwegian Krone
                   =  31.91 Russian Ruble
                   =  6.10 Chinese Yuan
                   =  97.89 Japanese Yen
                   =   7.75  Hong Kong Dollar

Unfortunately, due to the limited amount of time for blogging, I cannot convert the currency of every country
in the world.  So, this is the daily/ weekly/ yearly  money habit example according to currency converter:


$ 10.00 U.S  = 6.19      British Pounds Stirling * 7 days/week = 43.33 * 52 weeks/year = 2253.16
                   =   7.31      Euro * 7 days/week =  51.17 * 52 weeks/year = 2660.84
                   =   59.06    Norwegian Krone * 7 days/week = 413.32 * 52 weeks/year = 21492.64
                   =   318.65  Russian Ruble  * 7 days/week = 2230.55 * 52 weeks/year = 115988.60
                   =   60.97    Chinese Yuan  * 7 days/week = 426.79 * 52 weeks/year =  22193.08
                   =   978.90  Japanese Yen   * 7 days/week = 6852.30 * 52 weeks/year = 356319.60
                   =   77.53    Hong Kong Dollar  * 7 days/week = 542.71 * 52 weeks/year = 28220.92
  
Quite elementary indeed!  

If you are frugal enough to save this much money for one year instead of spending it, there are
alternatives to stuffing the money in a regular bank account.  

Many banks offer a High Yield interest rate with a new savings account.   But 1 - 1.5% is really
nothing, especially if there is no compound interest. High yield, my foot!  A financial institution of your choice may offer higher yield equities, such as bonds, strip bonds, or guaranteed fixed interest investment funds. Strip bonds take a bit of understanding, but offer a high yield return at maturity. For a better explanation of strip bonds, go to: http://www.stripbonds.info/ 

Some financial institutions offer a free consultation with a financial adviser. El Cheapo is too cheap for high risk investments, so go with something safe my friend. 

the Coffee Habit.

Hello again, I'm back with more savings tips and tricks, and ideas!!!   

This blog in particular is about coffee lovers.

I can't believe all the different varieties of warm beverages Starbucks has compared to 7 years ago!!! Back in the day I would see, maybe, three or four different coffee types.  But now, look at this!!!

Now I ask myself, what is a Java Chip?   And a grande is  $5.40.   If you drink a grande every day of
the week for 52 weeks/ year, you are spending  $1965.60 a year!! Don't forget, the price of coffee goes up
every year.  I bought a jar of  Maxwell house instant coffee for $3.00.  -yes, I admit, it's nothing like takeout ,but the jar lasts me a month, and I spend about $20 a month on cream and sugar.  -So, $23 a month * 12 months = $276 a year.  Lets say I indulge a little bit more, and spend $400 a year on coffee, cream and sugar.  That's still $1565 in savings.

What if you are a Canadian and you like Tim Horton's instead??

Yes, that's about right....

 On average Canadian coffee drinkers' drink 2.8 cups of coffee per day (Coffee Association of Canada).


A large coffee is $1.90.. *  2.8 =  $5.32   Almost 3 coffees = the price of a Starbucks Grande...
Canadians will spend about the same amount of money on takeout every year.  ($1936.48)

Here is a competitive chart explaining how Timmy's provides more drink for your money. .

More drink? -YES,    More savings? NO.  

Now, don't get me started with cigarettes.