A Gold Mine
It took me 2 years to save $13,000 and about 4 months to spend all of it. Literally. I have like $150 in savings right now.
At least I have something to show for it – but that is still a little ridiculous. I hate checking my bank account. It’s kind of depressing. But, ManFriend keeps reminding me that’s why we saved, so I guess that makes me feel a little better.
Or not.
Naturally, I’ve had to get a little creative when making those purchases that are not-so-necessary, but eventually we’ll need them (or want them). Sure scouring websites for the best price, downloading iPhone apps like Price Grabber, and clipping coupons can help sometimes. But I want to be even cheaper. I’m just that broke.
Then I discovered Goodwill. I used to think of it as a place with dirty clothes, random things people don’t want anymore, and just filled with junk. Well, it’s still sort of like that – minus the dirty clothes. But if you take the time to actually look, you may find hidden gems here and there. The drawback: it is time-consuming. Some days I can spend several hours there and only find a good book. Still good, but not great.
The other day I went on my weekly trip and looked through my usuals: furniture, vases, books, artwork and fabric. I found some great stemless vino glasses – all for about $.50 each. Score. We in the salted chocolate household can never have too many glasses for our beloved vino.
I moved on to the next aisle, and BAM! (Emeril voice) – a solid (and complete) China set. Ahahahaha! It’s ironic that I got this excited about something like this. It was just the other day I was complaining about the frivolity and uselessness of China sets. I said they were outdated. I said they were lame. I said they were a waste of money. Now I was saying I HAVE GOT TO HAVE THIS. I’m so weird.
I had to check it out just to make sure I was doing this. If I’m going to make this purchase (especially one that is so controversial), I had to ensure they were in good shape, a set of at least 8 and a decent price.
1. Real Gold
2. Real China
3. Perfect Condition
4. Set of 12
5. $25 Total.
A Gold Mine.
salted chocolate | life with a dash of flavor 
Truly Unbelievable!
Holy Crap are you kidding me??? That is awesome!! I can’t believe it!! I;m soo against china too but now that i saw what you got, i’m not anymore except i would prefer silver lining but hell for that price i will take gold!!! :) Good for you Ray, so proud and thanx for the good advice!! Keep em coming all those good finds of yours!! :) Love and miss you!!