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Confessions of a Homeschool Dad
Jul. 10, 2006
A Flash of Cheapness
As some of you may know, I'm becoming one of the cheapest, hate-to-spend-money guys around. Not in a bad way, of course. It's just that I hate wasting money more and more every day.
For instance, it doesn't make sense to me to spend $10 for a shirt, $20 for a skirt, and $30 for a dress for children that are going to outgrow these clothes in 3-6 months. As a result, we let other people spend all of that money and we buy the next-to-new clothes at the Thrift store for $0.50 - $4.00 per item.
And we're also helping out an organization that helps the needy. Save money on clothes and give money to an organization working out their salvation by helping people who need it. This seems like a no-lose situation to me.
THE MORE I'M CHEAP, THE MORE WAYS OF BEING CHEAP APPEAR
So, while being cheap (which sounds better if I call it "Being a Good Steward of God's Money"), I often start to see new ways of saving money. It's weird that I didn't see these things before, but I guess I just wasn't looking. Does that happen to you?
In any case, a while back, I got some old computer equipment that a large company couldn't use any more. They can't just throw it away because of the hazardous stuff inside (mercury in batteries and power supplies, for instance), so I hauled it off for free.
One of the pieces was a big printer that still worked, but it was older and the case was messed up. But it worked! I couldn't put it to use, but I found someone who could and gave it to them.
The other piece, however, was more of a challenge. Though it cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $20,000 when it was new (in 1997 or thereabouts), nobody could really use it today because it would only work under Windows 95.
A FLASH OF THE OBVIOUS
So, it sat taking up room (at it took a LOT of room up) for a long time
until, this weekend, it hit me what I really had on my hands.
What I really had was about a hundred screws (which I could use), a number of parts that I could sell on eBay (and make a couple of bucks per item), and scrap metal.
So, I disassembled everything yesterday and I'll be eBaying a bunch of computer parts today while trying to find a nearby scrap metal dealer.
In the end, this space-wasting hunk of old technology could make me somewhere between $200 and $500!
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go find more old, used, "junk" technology equipment!
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Jul. 10, 2006 - Untitled Comment
Good luck
Mrs. N