Buying second hand

Hard_Up_Hester

When hubby & I got together about 15 years ago (2nd time for both of us) We were given 2nd hand microwave, TV, bookcases, 3 piece, bed base & table with 6 chairs. All of this we still have apart from the 3 piece, which we sold on, & the TV which stopped working.
When the seal went on our WM we were told it couldn't be repaired as it was riveted together, hubby drilled out the rivets, replaced the seal & put the machine back together using tile battens & decking screws, that was about 3 years ago & it's never leaked!
All my clothes are 2nd hand and I keep them pared down to the absolute minimum.
Hester

[Deleted User]

Nearly everything we have or have ever had has been rescued, refurbished and given a second chance. We have some really nice things we've rescued and some nice things we've been given or inherited from parents. It none of it is matched sets but somehow it all sits happily together and makes the home we are so comfortable in. I genuinely don't understand the constant changing of style, colour, pattern etc. and now I'm a gramdma I certainly wouldn't mind sitting on the camping chair to have Christmas dinner! I think that having a home rather than a show house is so much nicer, somewhere to be lived in and not just for looking at makes for happiness as fashion can pass you by and you never know when you'll discover a treasure at a jumble sale!!!

Towser

I ask myself does it make me feel fabulous? If NO I don't buy.

I try not to spend any money so most of what I have came for free. It all sits happily together. I always try to create a show home with good design choices or colours. Less is more. I could happily live with just rucksack of stuff so as things turn up for free anyway the are put to use. I sometimes have to wait a long time until something right turns up but it is all part of my journey.

Mostly it comes from Freecycle, the tip, ebay, Charity Shops, carboots off the side of the road or auction. I don't feel the need for new. I get compliments on some of the stuff I have too! I live in one of the least deprived areas in the country so other peoples cast offs are usually good.

I prefer to spend my money on holidays or life experiences rather than things.

I do have too much stuff though because everything must be 10% or lower than the original price as a rule of thumb.

purpleshoes_2

Ive got lots of the stuff I had when I moved into my flat 20 years ago, cooker which was second hand, chairs, table, couches, have another couple of second hand tables. I still have too much stuff though, clothes and the excess are going.

I used to volunteer in the red cross and got staff discount. One thing charity shops are good for, well when you have one in your town that sells clothes for 99p, you dont buy full price clothes.

My problem isnt buying too much, its hanging onto stuff I need to let go of but the bin bags Ive given to charity since the start of the year, Im getting there.

One thing my local charity shop has been fabulous for is kitting me out with workout wear, its saved me a fortune.

skeeter93

Although I've been trying to save money for years, this mostly resulting in me buying bargains, rather than not buying. It's only the last couple of years going through mum and dads house for moving that I have realised the sheer amount of stuff that we own. I now look at things much more critically, and can't believe some of the stuff I have bought over the years...


Greyqueen, would that work on a stainless steel sink? We got a new one last year and it is scratched terribly! Also, what is wet and dry? Sandpaper?

Horace

I have some new furniture now that was bought by my parents (mum never paid full price for any of it as she is pretty good at negotiating with shops even when they have sales on). My original dining table was left to me after my grandma died and it had been in the family since it was made in 1880 or thereabouts (made for our family). As it was a drop leaf dining table, I was initially going to sell it but in the end gave it to a friend who was in desperate need as she had left her husband and had nothing. The table is much loved by her now. I kept the 4 bent wood chairs that I had also inherited because they came from my grandfather's ice cream parlour and they are comfy (handy for when I have to squeeze more around the dining table).

I love mooching in charity shops - I recently bought a set of 4 large mugs with black interiors (better for me because I have glaucoma and cannot see how much milk I have put in with a normal mug). When I looked them up on the internet they cost £4.90 each and I paid a fiver for 4. I use them all the time.

My sofa was bought from MFI Clearance and it is a 2 seater leather one - it cost me £128, I would pay that for it but wouldn't pay any more, before it hit the clearance store it was selling for around £400 so I got a true bargain.

lynnejk

Most of our furniture in the apartment is second-hand. We decided what we wanted and scoured the cs, free sites and auction rooms until we found what we wanted.


Some things are new - bought in sales, special offers or on cash-backs.


We always donate our things when going out of the house because we have benefited so much from other people's kindnesses. We think it as a kind of pay-back.


I use the library for books and never buy magazines etc. Most of our clothes are from cs except for undies and shoes which are usually bought with vouchers from surveys etc.


I think it helps save money and the planet if we don't join the 'buy now-throw it away tomorrow' society.


Lx

GreyQueen

skeeter93 wrote: »

Greyqueen, would that work on a stainless steel sink? We got a new one last year and it is scratched terribly! Also, what is wet and dry? Sandpaper?

Wet and dry is abrasive rubbing paper for metal, rather than wood, and is widely available in hardware shops and places like car-care shops. The most recent batch I bought was Rols0n brand from £land and is carp, so don't buy that. It's a blackish-grey, not golden like sandpaper.

It comes in several grades from quite coarse to very fine and the middling to fine grades are what I used. For my bowl, which had several deep and ugly scratches caused by using a metal spoon inside, I used a middling grade to work around the bowl, following the stress lines where it was pressed on when made, then finer stuff, until the scratches were gone. Final stage was wire wool (a brillo pad) to polish.

I've used wet & dry a lot on old cars and also on saucepans. I've never tried it on a sink but can't think of any reason why it wouldn't work. You'd have to choose a direction of travel for the buffing, rather than making little scrubby circles, and work coarse to fine, but you'd do that with anything you used it on. If you do it, please report back on the thread, so we can share the wisdom.

Oh, and use the paper lubricated with plain water.

starsandmoon

Most of my work clothes are from charity shops and car boot sales. Im looking for a table and chairs for my dining room. I have a spare couch cluttering the room up so my OH will have that for his house and I will find a table somewhere. Have seen one I like in Ikea but will have a good look round before I part with my cash. Im sure I can get a more solid wood one second hand.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

When I bought my first house about a year ago, everyone was saying how much time I'd be spending in Ikea. Still managed to avoid wasting any of my life in that soul-destroying place!

I am more and more thankful for having parents who brought me up to be frugal and love charity shops and bargains. My beloved first bike was second hand, as was my most wanted ever Christmas present (a Sindy horse). I'm the only one of my mid-thirties London friends who regularly shops in charity shops and has second hand furniture which I think is sad (although more bargains for me ha ha).

As well as saving £££s, second hand means you're preventing more landfill and helping a charity make money. My nans are pleased that some of their old items are being used and enjoyed by me, and staying in the family (pretty teaset, 1950s mirror etc).