Extravagant Costs of Underwear

Hi Frugalicious People,

Why is it that underwear is so EXPENSIVE?! A bit of stretch fabric and maybe some lace to pretty it up. Each year when I look for a couple of new items I am shocked at the ridiculous prices. Being on the Rubenesque side of things, I can not find inexpensive little numbers. So paying 50% of my food budget to hold my boobs up?! Is a No Way - I don't think so, situation - well this week that's for sure because I'm feeling extra frugalicious.

With an increasing need to lift my Balcony to better heights I wandered into an op shop near a public library I was visiting and there... behold my eyes, was a rack of brand spanking new bras for $6.99. Original Target price tags of $39.99 still attached. I tell you, those who look and wait an extra day are often happily rewarded!

So my lovely Blogland friends go and take a look at your local charity shops - there might be some brand new underwear in your size just waiting to help your body lift its game.

Are you willing to go looking in your local charity shop for that tiny bit of stretchy fabric?

To all ladies having to pay the extra costs for having extra flesh (like I do) I wish you luck on your hunt,

Stephanie @ Frugal Down Under.
(FB - Link)

Gift for Under $10

An ex-CouchSurfer of ours still lives in our hometown with with his partner, 6 months on. People often come to town as a pass through but end staying for years. It can be a great place to find work and live if you can stand the tropical balmy heat.

Anyway... lovely Stephen turned 40 last weekend and this is what we gave him for his big day.

Our Booty to Gift.

2 eggplants from our garden as he is vegetarian and loves all things veggie. The 80 hour lead free candle I purchased last weekend. (He burns candles most nights). And an interesting book on Aboriginal Healing in the Arnhem Region of Australia, which is not far from us. A great score as books like this are hard to come by in op shops. And this one is out of print.

Our gifts were eco secondhand of course, in the aim to reduce the demand for production of more stuff. Stephen is environmentally forward thinking and an activist. He cares about global warming and is careful about how he lives. He also LOVES books about plants and is interested in Aboriginal issues. This book talks about pointing the bone, resting when a snake bites and also the use of plants for healing. So I had no hesitation in giving him this secondhand book as I think he will really enjoy it.

Dolly and I made the card with half a sheet of A4 card paper purchased from the op shop last Saturday and a piece of white paper from junk mail. The brown wrapping paper came from the wrapping of some local art we purchased. The string Dolly found in the garden. And all decorated with shapes cut from Dolly's school art work.

Frugal and within budget? - Yes, candle was $4.00 and book was $4.00 = Total $8.00.
Eco? - Yes, all second hand or reused items. Preventing landfill this time around and the production of more stuff. (Except for the eggplant which came from my garden).

Do you gift second hand? I find it a bit hard still as the norm is to purchase someone something new and fancy. And I worry about what people think still but I only buy second hand for us so had to push myself to do the same for others. This blogger has been a great influence.

Saturday Op Shop Finds

Of course being the op shopper addict I am, I went for a quick 15 minute look in my local today for some quick thrifting. I'm searching for something in particular but have had no luck so far. Today is still one of those unlucky days. However I did find these other goodies.

This is what I got:

• Blue with Butterflies High Neck Sleeveless Dress (for Dolly) - $2.00
• 1 new packet of A4 brown card paper (12 sheets) (for crafting) - .50 cents
• 1 new packet of A4 blue card paper (12 sheets) (for a gift project) - 50 cents.
• 1 new packet of 5 sheets of pink tissue paper (was for a gift project but Dolly really wanted it) - 50 cents.
• 1 new packet of 3 handmade butterflies for crafts (for a gift project)- .50 cents
• Brand new cotton baby shoes - very sweet, (for gifting) - $2.00
• Beautifully illustrated book about roses (couldn't leave it - for crafting, gifting or enjoying) - .50 cents
• Fiction book for my bedtime relaxation - .50 cents
• Super fun and interesting book on Shoes (for gifting - I have my own copy) - $2.00

Mixed Lot Of Lovely Finds And Useful Find.

Total spent $9.00

And of course I followed with my new rule any new stuff means old stuff of the same quantity or bigger has to go. So this is what is leaving our home tomorrow.

• Some of Dolly's outgrown playing clothes for a toddler we love.
• 2 University readings on Conflict Resolution for a friend who is studying to be a mediator.
• 3 books for people at our garden plots working bee tomorrow and if no takers they will go to the free bookshelf at work or maybe Bookcrossed.

Mixed Lot To Go.

It's been a busy week and I have lots to talk about, so I'm going to try and post regularly this coming week. Plus I have My Memories Suite Software Giveaway starting tomorrow, so please pop back.

Did you buy any random second hand goodies this week? Or did you get anything off the side of the road? It's the yearly hard rubbish collection here tomorrow and there is some amazing stuff thrown out. I just don't get why people don't give to the op shop. One of my neighbours found a broken Burmese Teak chair he is going to restore. The amazing and expensive wood was just there, waiting to be placed into landfill. Why why why why why....

A Happy Yess $50

I completed my laundry, watered my 2 plots, had my market stall and menu planned. But I'm too knackered to do my food shopping, that will have to wait until Monday or Tuesday night.

So.. at The Happy Yess market I made $50 after taking out;

• $150 float, 
• $12 stall fee, 
• $25 stock costs 
• $7 for 24 coat hangers and 
• $8 lebanese food from a fellow stall holder for The Rambling Expat, Dolly and myself. 

This is less then last time, however I set up too late, missing the 1st influx of willing customers who found nothing at my stall to tempt them. And this is still a hobby. Me playing around, dreaming of the "what if's..."

Clothes Rack, Bookshelf and Card Table.

Dolly made $7 on a soft toy and a pair of outgrown shoes. She spent $2 on gingerbread men another stall holder was selling. Leaving her $5 to divide into 3 equal parts. As this would prove difficult I slipped an extra 10 cents into her pile of coins. And this is what my 4 year old did on her own with a brain foggy with exhaustion. (Proud Mama here.)

Dolly Positioning her Money.

$1.70 placed into each container;

• short term (spending, lollies, toys), 
• medium short term (horse?), 
• long term (home?).

And this is my $50 :-)

Let the Good Times Roll

• $25 will go into our travel fund (Borneo?)
• $25 into my garden plot jar as I need to purchase a timer for water irrigation.

I really wanted to try and squeeze another market in somewhere else last month but felt too shy. However another stall holder has given me her number and we may go together and cheer each other on. I just have to go and spend my $25 "stock money" on another op shopping spree to prepare my next stall.

Did you sell or swap anything this month?
What do you get your kids to do with their money?

I Spent Big For my Market Stall

I did a last Op-shop hunting for my market stall. I gave myself a budget of $20. But spent a whopping $62.50!!!

However in my finds I picked up, 17 Manga Comic Books for $2 each (they retail at $27 each).

Japanese Manga

And a soft toy for Dolly's little market stall at .50 cents and wrapped around its neck was this gorgeous tiny Wedgewood pendent (worth about $30 if sold on Ebay.) But could also be stashed in my gift box.

Wedgwood Pendent.

And this gorgeous book which was given as a Birthday gift to a lucky recipient in 1937!!! Picked up for $1 it was published in 1934. This edition usually sells for about $25 (maybe more with the dust jacket).

Published in 1934! Finding stuff like this in the tropics is rare indeed!

So I had a lucky day with amazing finds.

My shelf on the 1st photo, has some of my op-shop treasures and other lovely items from past years. A blue Moroccan glass I bought for 99 cents. My lovely white vase that I LOVE so much, purchased for only $2. The Rambling Expats beautiful Gothic Portraiture photography on the walls. My beautiful red vase I received from work colleagues filled with lush green leaves from the working bee at Dolly's preschool and my gardens. A glass coffee jar gifted from a work colleague. I am filling the jar with marbles I also found at the op-shop... when Mr T my neighbour returns them to me. He's having nostalgic moments with them, reminiscing about boyhood.

Found anything great lately on your thrifty secondhand hunts?

Saturday Op Shopping Finds

Hello Lovers of Thrift,

I went to my local Op shop with my 3 year old daughter and found some great goodies to feed my consumer wants and needs.

My Total Spend = $8.50.

I bought a Pumpkin Patch tracksuit for Dolly for $8.00, it's super soft and warm. This is a purchase for our trip to France. It will be so cold and winter! Due to us living in the tropics we don't own much warm clothing. I need to build up 3 sets of clothing for her. I am relying heavily on family in France to lend us other winter clothes when we arrive.

I also purchased a novel in Spanish to gift a Columbian friend for 50 cents. Bargain and unusual find.

Warm Tracksuit and Spanish Read.

My daughter Dolly also made a purchase with her own money: Total Spend $6.00

Dolly purchased a beautiful rocking unicorn for the inexpensive sum of $6.00. She should be able to flip this and get her money back once she had outgrown it.

Rock My Unicorn

I also picked up a couple books (Perfume), tops and vintage Dollies to flip on Ebay. I'll see if I have any luck.

Did you go op shopping (thrifting) recently? Any fun finds? Were they needs or wants?

In thrifty solidarity,

Stephanie @ Frugal Down Under.