Apr 28, 2012

Learn the lingo

This is some sample jargon from the home I was raised in.
Like mother, like daughter...
In this case "sailing" is referring to the act of yard saling, a typical  morning endeavor  most commonly occurring on Saturdays.

Apr 24, 2012

Decide.com review: should I wait to buy?

I am a thrifter so naturally, I labor over all my purchase decisions...okay so maybe I'm also horrendously cheap but that's besides the point. It is not uncommon for me to spend long periods of time staring at an item in the store contemplating: Should I buy this? Do I really need this? Am I getting a good deal? Is this the right time to buy?

Thanks to apps like ShopySavvy for Android I can tell if I'm getting the best price on item at a particular store that given moment...but the app won't tell me if it's the best time to buy the product. Decide.com comes to the rescue.

Decide.com gives current product price predictions, advising consumers to wait to buy or buy it now. Predictions are based on past product price history, future model release dates, the typical product release cycle among other factors. Unfortunately for me, this means I will feel ripped off unless I am getting the lowest possible price...but I digress.

The site is equipped with a search bar that allows you to search for a product specifically or non-specifically. You can search "panasonic lumix", which will bring up every product model for you to select the one you want, or "panasonic lumix DMC-FH25K"to get exactly what you want...although in this case, I have to wait to get what I want. Just one of life's little irritating themes I guess.

Decide.com is one of the many sites I have listed in the Thrifting Resources section of my blog, a bank of thrifty, money-saving websites. Please let me know if you have one to share!

Apr 8, 2012

Spotify review

The best thing since Pandora, or iTunes, or whatever you're using to play music is out. It's called Spotify and it appeals to thrifty people like me, and like you.

I'll admit, I don't really buy music unless it's a desperate situation or unless I've been collecting the band's albums since I was 11, like Reliant K. The equation is generally: Not wanting to buy music + wanting to listen to music = Pandora. BUT what we all hate about Pandora is if you choose a song you want to listen to, they simply won't play it...maybe not for hours. And if you want to listen to a band, they'll play them, but you'll have to wait for every 4th song...but, wait no more.

Spotify allows you to choose an artist or band and then stream their albums right from their music player, which by the way, has many less ads than free Pandora, though it does require a download. You don't need to download any of the music though and you definitely don't need to pay for it. For instance, do you like The Shins? Type them into the search bar and up will pop 7 of their albums including their recently released album "Port of Morrow" and lots of songs that were featured in soundtracks and other singles throughout the band history. This saves you gobs of money on buying music, I mean, who does that anyway?

Did I mention it's free? Of course they don't have every song/album ever made but they sure do have a lot. Plus you can choose to upgrade the program for $10 a month and get the app and play music instantly anywhere ad free...but thrifters like us should probably just be happy with the free program. It's pretty darn good.


Unfortunately, a Thrift World dedicated reader pointed out an unfortunate clause within the Spotfy agreement that is worth mentioning: "The Spotify Service can be accessed (i) as an ad-supported free-to-the-user service having no monthly cap on listening hours or a cap on number of plays of a unique track during the first 6 months following creation of your Spotify account but thereafter a cap of 10 listening hours per month and a cap of 5 plays per unique track," per their Terms and Conditions. So pure Spotify freedom only lasts 6 months...but who says you can't just delete your account and create another one? We'll just have to see!
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