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Old 05-31-2016, 07:55 AM
 
Location: NC Piedmont
4,023 posts, read 3,780,654 times
Reputation: 6549

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On the idea of selling what you don't need for cash, I agree about that being a risky strategy to get into. My sister does garage sales to raise money from time to time. They used to live in a rural home with gas heat using the big back yard tank. They were short on cash when it ran out one winter and there was a major cold front coming. I offered to loan them money but they would not accept cash. I was worried about my young nephews, so I had a couple of high quality (safe, efficient and not cheap) ceramic space heaters overnighted to them as gifts. In the spring, they sold for $10 each. They haven't had such an urgent need again, but I have heard "I wish I still had" a couple of times. if it was a hint, I didn't bite...
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Old 05-31-2016, 08:59 AM
 
Location: TN/NC
34,834 posts, read 30,905,811 times
Reputation: 47128
Quote:
Originally Posted by ReachTheBeach View Post
On the idea of selling what you don't need for cash, I agree about that being a risky strategy to get into. My sister does garage sales to raise money from time to time. They used to live in a rural home with gas heat using the big back yard tank. They were short on cash when it ran out one winter and there was a major cold front coming. I offered to loan them money but they would not accept cash. I was worried about my young nephews, so I had a couple of high quality (safe, efficient and not cheap) ceramic space heaters overnighted to them as gifts. In the spring, they sold for $10 each. They haven't had such an urgent need again, but I have heard "I wish I still had" a couple of times. if it was a hint, I didn't bite...
A space heater is an item you're bound to need again. Selling something like that is just foolish.

I have some old electronics that are truly obsolete that I won't ever use again. Those need to be sold. I gave my parents my old TV and brought back an even older 32" LCD from 2007 yesterday that I ought to get rid of.

A $1000 was overly optimistic. Most of the stuff that I have that maybe worth something and isn't used is probably worth less.
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Old 05-31-2016, 10:19 AM
 
28,107 posts, read 63,410,741 times
Reputation: 23222
Old and outdated are relative if the device performs the task for which designed.

My Kenmore Avocado Laundry pair date from the 1960's... hand me downs from my grandparents and glad to get them... as I was for the 1967 Amana Freezer.

Kitchen is mostly GE from 1978

Amana Refrigerator is 1980

Zenith Console TV is 1982 and I have done streaming from the laptop when family came to visit... also used the VCR to play some old tapes the nieces found... I was the only one with a VCR

My neighbor got the first of her flatscreens and gave me her Toshiba picture in picture cinema series TV

Maybe I'm blessed in that those around me have had to replace appliances on a regular basis... the neighbor with the TV is now on her third flat screen... the first was replaced just before the warranty was over.

It really does seem there is a difference between wants and needs...

I still own the $800 car I bought in High School and drove daily for more than 20 years.
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Old 05-31-2016, 11:08 AM
 
Location: Forests of Maine
37,245 posts, read 60,976,905 times
Reputation: 30134
We almost had a flat screen once. My sister-in-law sent us her old one when she upgraded. As it turned out the old one was broken.
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Old 05-31-2016, 01:31 PM
 
28,107 posts, read 63,410,741 times
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As I see it a lot could be saved by focusing on discretionary spending on "Wants"

If my 45 year old washer/dryer pair are working... why change and pay money to boot?

To be honest... the dryer did stop working last summer... the belt had let go and the new belt was under $5...

Also, the 1980 Amana refrigerator condenser fan was getting noisy... no direct part available... so I bought a "Universal" fan kit for $25 and good to go.

So much of what I see tossed out is still working and even with "Broken" items it is often 99% good... if this makes sense.

When I was 9 I asked for a Reader's Digest fix it book... it was like someone had just shared the secrets of the universe with me... the next year I got a home repair book for Christmas...

Today, it is easier than ever with the Internet... need to replace a BMW window regulator... there are dozens on online videos showing you exactly how to do it.

My Grandfather was always good with sayings... like it is not what you earn... it's what you keep... another one is prosperity is earning a dollar and needing only 99 cents...

America does really well at meeting needs... it really is the land of plenty...

Where most get hung up is on wants...
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Old 05-31-2016, 01:56 PM
 
Location: Florida and the Rockies
1,962 posts, read 2,208,651 times
Reputation: 3299
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ultrarunner View Post
Old and outdated are relative if the device performs the task for which designed.

My Kenmore Avocado Laundry pair date from the 1960's... hand me downs from my grandparents and glad to get them... as I was for the 1967 Amana Freezer.

Kitchen is mostly GE from 1978

Amana Refrigerator is 1980
I admire your industry in keeping these older appliances operational. Please do check the electricity consumption of the old freezer and refrigerator. There were enormous efficiency gains made to these types of cooling appliances in the 1980s.

I remember when my father replaced a 1970s refrigerator with an early 1990s model, and his household electricity consumption dropped by more than half.
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Old 05-31-2016, 02:35 PM
 
Location: RVA
2,766 posts, read 2,067,366 times
Reputation: 6638
Was going to bring up the same point. Todays fridges can pay for themselves in a few years just on energy costs, especially if you downsize. Same with HVAC Equipment. Used working flatscreen tvs are dirt cheap, and besides no radiation from the old room heater tube tv, 1/10th the energy cost and HD to boot. Your high school car is an order of magnitde less safe and 10 times more polluting. I sure wouldn't be bragging about those choices if used regularly...
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Old 05-31-2016, 06:31 PM
 
6,438 posts, read 6,871,032 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by seasallyttle View Post
Yes, you are right. The mistake is mine. My only experience with this is helping people with disabilities get SSI so I apologize.
Accepted :-)
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Old 05-31-2016, 06:38 PM
 
28,107 posts, read 63,410,741 times
Reputation: 23222
Quote:
Originally Posted by westender View Post
I admire your industry in keeping these older appliances operational. Please do check the electricity consumption of the old freezer and refrigerator. There were enormous efficiency gains made to these types of cooling appliances in the 1980s.

I remember when my father replaced a 1970s refrigerator with an early 1990s model, and his household electricity consumption dropped by more than half.
I use 12 kWh per day average for the year... when PGE sends out the energy statements I'm always the least in the sampling.

No doubt a newer box would use less energy... but would it be reliable and/or even serviceable.

It kind of reminds me of the elderly widow that lived across the street... she had an old Buick from about 1985... not the big one but big enough... she went to church and grocery shopping.

Her Grand daughter never let up that old car... finally she talked Grams into buy a brand new Toyota Prius... 50 miles to a gallon and looks like a space ship according to my neighbor... thing is if you drive 20 miles a week does it really pay to spend 28k to go from 15 mpg to 50?

Last edited by Ultrarunner; 05-31-2016 at 06:50 PM..
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Old 05-31-2016, 06:45 PM
 
28,107 posts, read 63,410,741 times
Reputation: 23222
Quote:
Originally Posted by Perryinva View Post
Was going to bring up the same point. Todays fridges can pay for themselves in a few years just on energy costs, especially if you downsize. Same with HVAC Equipment. Used working flatscreen tvs are dirt cheap, and besides no radiation from the old room heater tube tv, 1/10th the energy cost and HD to boot. Your high school car is an order of magnitde less safe and 10 times more polluting. I sure wouldn't be bragging about those choices if used regularly...
This is where we differ... I not only brag I do so proudly... wear it like a badge of honor... I even restore old cars from 1905, 1911, 1929, etc. and put them back on the road

Too many people are quick to dismiss anything old so they can have bragging rights being "Green..." yet they totally ignore the cost to produce and dispose of items...

My 1972 Plymouth Valiant with a slant 6 giving an honest 20 mpg on the highway already exists... the ore has been mined and smelted... the steel pressed... the fabric made and sewed... and that goes for the glass, chrome, tires, etc.

Just referenced my widow neighbor and her 1985 Buick that was traded for a new Prius last year... there is no way you can tell me a person driving 20 miles per week in a paid for car that passes every smog test is doing worse for the environment that someone driving a Prius and racking up the miles... just the environmental cost of the battery pack should raise a red flag.

I'm an engineer and look at the total cost... cost to produce, operate, maintain and dispose... Grams was having trouble because the gas in her Prius was going stale... because her 20 miles each week wasn't burning through the gas fast enough...

Again... just how much will I save if my present use of electricity for my 2400 square foot home is 12 kWh per day?
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