What Do I Do With All Of This Stuff?

I think it’s safe to say that I do A LOT of deals. I don’t do all of the deals I write about (who has the time for that??), but I do try to take advantage of the freebies and moneymakers at the stores I visit regularly. Unless things are really crazy, I do my best to visit Jewel, Dominick’s, CVS, and Walgreens at least once per week. That’s just me. I feel the need to shop the deals when I can – even when we don’t need any of the freebies.

What do I do with all of that stuff, you ask? A lot of things! My neighbors think it’s hilarious when I show up at their doors with various groceries. My local homes and homeless shelters get large donations every few months. My extended family has been instructed never to buy toothpaste again.

My personal philosophy is “Someone Can Use It.” Just because we don’t have a four-legged pet (our have fins) doesn’t mean that I can’t pick up free dog food and donate it to a shelter.

Speaking practically, the thing you have to watch out for with freebies that you don’t need is tax. Tax on toiletries/household goods in Chicago is 10.25%, so if I don’t need it, it’s got to be a really good deal. Luckily, good deals come up constantly!

So now that you have it, what do you do with it?

1. Donate stuff! There are so many people who can use things – particularly right now. If you can get it for free and give it to them, everybody wins! Not sure where to start? Talk to your Alderman’s office, your local park district, local churches or synagogues, your children’s school or The Department of Human Resources for your state (this is Illinois). All of these places should be able to point you in the right direction. Plus, you may have friends who are in a financial bind. Don’t for get about them!

2. Stockpile stuff! I suggest this only for the people who have the extra room, because it is a huge money-saver. If your family eats two boxes of cereal per week, it shouldn’t phase you to buy 15 boxes of cereal when you can get them for $.50 each. You WILL use it and you won’t have to pay $2.50/box later.

3. Share stuff! Become the crazy freebie person (like me) and give stuff to people when they visit you. You might get a shopping buddy out of it!

4. Sell stuff! There are some freebies that you will get that may not fall into any of the above categories very well. For example, I’ve always felt a little weird donating a bunch of air fresheners to a homeless shelter. I’ll donate a few for the shelter itself, but the rest… If you have anything that falls into this category, you might want to consider selling it on ebay or in your yearly garage sale. People at my garage sale bought all of this stuff up within the first two hours. I also sold the free Soy Joy bars for $.25 and donated whatever didn’t sell.

There are so many things that you can do with your deals! When you see moneymakers and freebies come up, think of all the options before deciding not to do it. Someone can use it!