Yard Saling for Savings

January is a great month for resolutions and what better resolution could you have than to find new ways to save money for travel? This month's articles will focus on ways to help you conserve cash for that trip you'd like to take when the weather warms up.



Saving money is not the least bit painful; there's no discomfort because you will not have to make any sacrifices. Conserving your dollars involves spending intelligently, rather than haphazardly, so you can live below your means and bank the rest of your income for travel. You won't scrimp. It is possible to live well, even luxuriously, on far less than you might think.

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David and I seldom pay full price for anything. Only two items of furniture in our three-bedroom house were bought new. Most of our appliances, tools, garden and kitchen equipment came from consignment stores or estate/garage sales.

We have literally found everything—from professional cake-baking equipment to custom-made draperies—while pursuing our favorite Saturday morning hobby. If we don't locate what we're searching for on our regular weekend outings, we know we'll come across what we need eventually at an estate sale. Since we generally spend only pennies on the dollar for any item or get the item for free, our patience is always handsomely rewarded.

While I frequently shopped at consignment stores and occasionally went to a garage sale, David quickly made a yard sale zealot out of me. When we first moved in together, my two old file cabinets didn't survive the trip from Tucson. I went shopping for a new one but was appalled at the $150-$250 price tag. David suggested I