Wishing I started shopping "not new" sooner.

I am such a, ahem, frugal gal that I can't believe I didn't commit to "not new" sooner. Perhaps it was the time involved in going to garage and estate sales...time I didn't have much of when I was working full time. Or maybe the amount and quality of second-hand merchandise wasn't as good. People used to hang onto their furniture and other belongings, especially treating stuff inherited from mom and dad like treasured heirlooms...now, I'm shocked at what people can't wait to get rid of (wedding photos? Really?!). My mother always looked down on "antiques" as rebranded trash...so maybe it was not having a role model. Whatever the case, I realize that I do already have a lot of used stuff that I love, but I could have gotten a lot more if only I'd thought to embrace the notion of trying to buy used first, instead of heading to a regular store first.

3 estate sales and all I got was a thingamajig.

Is it better when you come up empty-handed at an estate sale...or when you spend (and save) a lot of money? Difficult to decide. There's a lot to be said for not spending money, but I hate wasting my time and effort. Fortunately, the sales I went to were close to where I had to be, so not much gas was wasted. And they were in ESTATES, so it was fun to see how the 1% live. (Though, unfortuntately, they made everyone take off their shoes and the entryway was sopping wet. Ugh!) I did see a wheelbarrow for $13, but when I asked to borrow my sister's van to pick it up, she said she had a wheelbarrow I could borrow...so I saved the $13. I will only need it for a week or so when I set up my new vegetable garden in the spring, so that works out perfectly. As for the doohicky (or is it a whosit?), I think that will come in handy when (if?) I install my engineered hardwood floor, as I know you are supposed to cut the shoe moldings with a coping saw rather than a miter cut...we'll see how that works out.

Resist the urge to buy new for baby...and other mother tips.

It is very difficult not to run out and buy all the cutest things for the new most important person in your life. But, you CAN buy all the cutest things second hand...because everyone before you did just that and those things only fit for like, 2 weeks, and they are still just like new at the nearest garage sale or thrift store. Really. Pick a young neighborhood on a garage sale day and it's like shopping at the most deluxe mall.

Your kids don't care a lick about their clothes at this age...invest the money you save wisely because when they get older, they will care. A lot. And they will want very expensive clothes. And if you bought all their baby clothes full price to satisfy YOUR needs when they are babies, you are going to be one big hypocrite when you try to talk them into cheaper or used clothes when they are teens.

Meet that parental urge to splurge on your child be doing other things like starting a college (or bail) fund. And when portrait time comes around, think, about always using the same background selection or putting all your kids in the same outfit every time. Makes for a nice collage when they move out and all you have is memories. I had the offsping in denim overalls and a white turtleneck (items I thought would always be available and low cost) from 6 months through age 14...then he rebelled. Can't blame him...plus, now I have the pics of him in outfits of his own questionable tastes to use as comic fodder in the future.