After a long break, (duly noted by Katy and Jaci ) I think I might be getting back into this whole xanga thing again. 

Today, I'd like to take a moment to celebrate the wonder of my favorite places for girl-on-a-budget.  I've had more time than usual to play recently, so I've been able to swap some time for fantastic deals... and basically, I just get really excited about that!

1) eBay.  Already I find it hard to remember life without it!  This week I dove back in with a passion, although from the other angle... trying to sell stuff this time.  I think I tried this once before and was pretty disappointed with the results.  This time, it's way better!  I've already made about $30 in the last week just for random stuff I had lying around my apartment.  Sweet!

2) Yard sales.  I've been hitting them with a fervor.  Not much else will get me out of bed at 8am on a Saturday, but (sadly) the prospect of some unique little find somewhere is pretty much what it takes.  Recently, I've been able to acquire a beautiful wood mission style cabinet, a space heater, three necklaces, a pair of earrings, a cute little wicker jewelry box, a shoe rack, a big package of cardstock for scrapbooking/making cards, Scrabble, and a wooden salad bowl with four matching smaller bowls, all for about $50.  The cabinet alone easily would have cost more than that new (maybe even double), and it's in excellent condition.

3) Craigslist.  Again, how did I live without this?  Oh yeah-- I remember, that's when I didn't have to worry about things like buying furniture.  I have bought and sold many things on craigslist and have never had a bad experience.  Plus, no better way to find out about all the yard sales (although driving through town the morning of can also be a good bet).  And the fact that it doesn't cost anything to post is a major bonus.  A little tidbit that I stored away in the back of my mind is that a lot of times people will sell gift cards on craigslist because they want the cash more than the card... so if you know you're going to buy something at a certain store, it's worth a look- most of the time they'll sell them for at least $10-20 less than they're worth at the store. 

4) Paperbackswap.com.  If you like books, this is a must.  I've already received 10-15 books through this system, and it's genius because you trade what you have but don't want for what you want but don't have, and all you pay is a buck or two for postage.  It's like a gigantic national library, only you get to keep the books. 

Now, I just have to make sure I still keep within my budget since there are so many good deals out there!