Save Money: Even Celebrities Use Hand-Me-Downs
Avoid the misconception that only poor people live on hand-me-downs, and only spanking new purchases make you look and feel good. Believe it or not, even celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker grew up on hand-me-downs.
I got a PDA from a cousin who wanted a newer, fancier one. To me, I saved a hand-held electronic device from polluting landfills or from contaminating the environment of some developing country's poor who dismantle and extract metals from electronic waste.
Hand-me-downs can be anything. Clothing, cars, electronic goods, cutlery, kitchen wear, and much more.
When you face a need or desire for anything new, send out a few e-mails to friends and family asking if they are planning to get rid of anything that you need or want.
Beyond saving money, this approach is kinder to the environment because it reduces the pressure on manufacturers to produce more and more consumer goods.
If you'd rather not send out e-mails asking people you know if they have something they'd be getting rid of anyway, visit an excellent example of a hand-me-down site specifically for sporting goods that allows you to buy, trade, sell, or donate the sporting goods you children have out-grown, read about it, or visit it.
In time, as more and more people realize how much gently-used items are accumulating in their homes, items that they have out-grown but that are still perfectly useful, other sites might be created so that more people can trade for what they need or want. Like the above example, sites can be created to offer trades of books, videos, video games, DVDs, and just about anything else.
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