It is still the season to get stuff cheap.

Generally I enter the holidays with a little extra cash tucked away just in case I want something. I generally scout around of places like Craigslist looking for deals.

Between mid December and the end of January is the best time to shop because December is when people let stuff go cheap to scrounge up Christmas money.

January is generally the time when a lot of people wind up paying for their Christmas purchases. I bought the Miata for $1200 early in January which was a steal.

I won't attribute the deal I got on the Miata to the previous owners paying needing the money, though. It was simply that Miatas are a summer car and they simply wanted to get rid of it.

I have gotten a few deals, though. Back in January, '85 I bought my sailboat and I'll attribute that to the previous owners both needing the money with being the middle of winter and hence not boating season. I got a pretty good deal.

It's not always the big ticket items that you can snag cheaply. I've seen a lot of things go on Craigslist for a song either because the seller needed the money or because the item was out of season.

Now, for example, is a pretty good time to pick up a lawn mower. There's always someone out there that bought one for $4-500 last sumer and is either moving to a condo come springtime or just plain needs the money that will let one go for $50-200. That ain't a bad deal.

The trick is to have a little bit of cash tucked away. Cash is king when deals come up. When someone wants to drum up money fast they will take $50 here and now instead of a promise to pay $200 next week.

Right now I'm looking at a headset that would cost me $300 new. Looks like I might be able to snag it for $25.

I will add to this I did get a $300  David Clark aviation headset for $25 off of Craigslist. There was a phone number on the ad so I called. I spoke with the seller and he sounded honest enough. Instead of driving all over hell I offered him another $15 to ship it. We agreed and I mailed him $40 and a couple of days later I received the headset.

Not a bad deal.


To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY