There are five – I can't narrow it down – all from thrift stores:
1) A brand new photographers vest (with tags) from Banana Republic, originally $89.95 – I paid $3.62
2) A rolling desk chair for my library, upholstered in a book pattern, for $1.81
3) A Coach handbag (near perfect condition) for $8.00
4) A convection oven for $5 that worked for more than five years.
5) A $500 Evan Picone suit for $18.00
Everything I can! Specifically: selling my husband's Mustang to eliminate a car payment; making shopping lists, so I don't spend impulsively and to cut back on trips to the store; shopping thrift stores less frequently, so as not to buy things I don't need; buying fewer books (I'm a dangerous bibliophile!); eating/taking out less than half as often as we used to; eating meat three to four times a week instead of seven; more home prep and less convenience foods (I bought a cookbook at the thrift store for $.40 of four-ingredient recipes); using the express cycle on the wash for most loads; using half the detergent; setting the dryer on permanent press, and letting clothes finish drying on a hanger; put away my film cameras for the time being and shoot only digital; let magazine print subscriptions expire and read online; stopped going to movies but watch them a little later on TiVO for a third of the cost of even a matinee ($20 for 2 adults and an eight-year-old to see "Hotel for Dogs" – what kind of deal is that?!); shop at IKEA for new household items because their prices beat ALL that we've seen; and of course, shopping at thrift stores about 90% of the time.
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