Best preparation buys ?

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What has been your best two preparation buys so far in terms of value for money and where have you bought them?

Mine has to be an almost new 4 ring propane gas cooker complete with oven for $38 US(still on sale in shops at $916 and a Coleman Hurricane Lamp minus its glass for $5 US.Replacement glass cost $28.Cost of lamp when new $204.

Both the above were bought at the local municipal "rubbish" dump an often overlooked place for bargains.Great for old handtools & water tanks.

-- One mean (griffen@globalnet.co.uk), June 14, 1999

Answers

1. Used 55 gallon drums purchased for pocket change at a local apple products manufacturer.

2. 8 lbs. of pea, bean & corn seed (packed for 1999) cost a grand total of one furschnagel plus tax from Zimmerman's in Bird-In-Hand, PA.

Gotta love a bargain - squeek, squeek!

-- Bingo1 (howe9@pop.shentel.net), June 14, 1999.


Two 6-gallon gasoline cans for a dollar each at a garage sale.

-- Rick (rick7@postmark.net), June 14, 1999.

1. 1 wood cookstove with an oven...built in 1910...at a junk dearer.

2. 160 boxes of canning lids @ .25 a box at a salvage company plus something called instant cast...enough to make 5 cast in case of broken bones. Paid 10.00 for all. I know that is really 3 things but they were a really good buy!!! :-)

-- Mary (timmary0@airmail.net), June 14, 1999.


Best Buy?

Spending my boss' dime to find this forum. Search for differing opinions and learn from them. Walking starts with the first crawl.

Occationally OT

-- MidwestMike_ (midwestmike_@hotmail.com), June 14, 1999.


50 lb of salt 50 lb of pinto beans 12 no 10 cans of pears 24 no 10 cans of instant potatos 50 lb of sugar 2 5lb gravy mix 1 case of 48 foil packs of tea 1 gal cooking oil several misc can/dry goods For $50.00. My DD had a summer job for a restauarnt supply house and they had an employee damaged/dented sale. This purchase got me started in preparing.

-- Carol (glear@usa.net), June 14, 1999.


Cast iron Dutch oven, chicken fryer, and large skillet for $3.00 at a garage sale. Camo pants for 10 cents.

-- Martha (2gkr14@usa.net), June 14, 1999.

Decent fire axe with a brand-new ash handle. $5 at a flea market. I am not into chain saws for Y2K. Need the exercise :)

-- Jeremiah Jetson (laterthan@uthink.y2k), June 14, 1999.

(1) 40-50 pounds of mangos...free. We are canning them (and a lot more as the season goes on) ourselves. In season, we also get papayas, passion fruit, and guavas, which can be used for jams and jellies. Bananas harder to find, but can be dried, as can papaya.

(2) Cage for 19 chickens. Professional, slanted to let the eggs roll to a basked outside the cage. Also free. Members of our church got several from an egg ranch which was going out of business.

(3) Steel 5 gallon cans, useful for gasoline. Originally contained paint stripper (from local carpentry shop). Free.

(4) Lead (alloy) wheel weights. Melt and make fishing lure heads, fishing sinkers, and dive weights. Free from the side of the road. (Easier to find on the mainland than in Hawaii).

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), June 15, 1999.


Buckets, buckets, and more buckets!!! 50 cents for small and 1.00 for large at Food Lion, have more than I will ever need; although I just don't seem to enjoy frosting on cake as much as I used to... everyone of them had frosting in them...

And my goats...Four does and two bucks, excellant milk records, show quality, calm, registered Toggenbergs for a price I would be ashamed to admit, folks moving and knew we would appreciate them. Can't describe how proud I am of them. :-)

-- Lilly (homesteader145@yahoo.com), June 15, 1999.


Several boons have come my way (Thank you, God!). I wish you all the same or better!

one cord of cured and split cherry and oak firewood (cost: $US 20, courtesy of the nuclear regulatory commision guy who had 25+ years of service, decided to retire early for some unknow reason, and moved out of my neighborhood to an undisclosed location in the countryside).

50 or more garden size packets and another 10 pounds of vegetable seeds that were packed for 1999 (cost: $US 6.00, courtesy of the ever popular Zimmerman's located in Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvannia.)

-- Stan Faryna (info@giglobal.com), June 15, 1999.



Pump-N-Seal for about $12. For vacuum sealing of jars. Any size jars with rubberized lids can be used - such as re-used pickle jars, artichoke heart jars, etc., or buy new jars. It creates a very strong seal, works great. Order it from Emergency Essentials and get the free instructional video that comes with it.

Have not tried it yet with plastic bags.

-- Debbie (dbspence@usa.net), June 15, 1999.


-free canning jars from a neighbor's recycling bin

-12 free 30 gallon water barrels from another church's pastor who knew we had apartments and that size would be best for us...

-mopbucket with wringer for $2 at a garage sale

-church member who showed up with a winch to pull stumps out of the new garden area

-- seraphima (seraphima@aol.com), June 15, 1999.


From all the replies so far the most effective money saving stategy seems to be frequenting garage sales & keep one's eyes & ears open for goods "surplus" to requirements.Identifying shops that have disposable packaging such as ice cream or frosting tubs & are prepared to give them away is also a good tactic. Auctions,both of domestic goods & agricultural machinery are also worth attending for tools & generators etc.

Here in the UK,we have charity shops(thrift shops?) operated by Oxfam etc & bargains can also be picked up there.

Has anybody got any other good tips about finding bargains ??

-- Chris (griffen@globalnet.co.uk), June 15, 1999.


The Hungarian and I have had amazing luck in, erm, dumpsters. Yup, the pair of us are dumpster-divers. Got a lovely haul from a used book store's throwaways last weekend--history and some fiction and a 10-inch stack of assorted albums. Unfortunately, some grinches padlock their dumpsters, in which case it helps to have long, thin arms and/or barbecue tongs. . .

We also had good luck when a local Kroger did some remodeling and chucked out a lot of useful containers and some usable shelving behind the store.

There's a cement-block manufacturer not far away and one of the items on my List of Things to Do is to see if they have any slightly imperfect blocks for use in building another raised bed on the back garden.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), June 15, 1999.


I have a page which lists suppliers for y2K supplies: solar powered items, food, buckets, etc. Go to:

http ://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/3959/y2ksurv.htm

-- Chuck (robertsc@accn.org), June 15, 1999.



An eighty foot well with hand pump. $387.00 NOTHING is better than this.

-- Doc Mortar (xit007@email.com), June 15, 1999.

Agreed!

Mind you,I got a husband for the price of a wedding licence!

-- Chris (griffen@globalnet.co.uk), June 15, 1999.


You paid too much.

-- Ms. X (marriedtoolong@hotmail.com), June 15, 1999.

Jury still out on that one!

However as part of the preps,I can say he will probably more useful than the dog..the dog may be able to run faster but he sure can't shoot.They both eat about the same & both snore.The dog has very good night vision & excellent hearing.Both can hunt for food but the dog is only really interested in small furry rodents & birds.Husband is more versatile & can be taught new tricks.

Both are affectionate but husband does not make a habit of sticking his nose up one's skirt & then sneezing.Husband doesn't dribble after a drink nor does he wipe his mouth on one's sleeve after eating. Husband is capable of earning money,the dog never.

The dog cost $530,the wedding licence $66.

-- Chris (griffen@globalnet.co.uk), June 15, 1999.


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