When it is time to buy your kids’ books, clothes, toys and other essential items, where do you go first? Think about some of the things that you buy for your family regularly. Could you get those things at Goodwill?
Thrifting is a way of life for me. I have five children that need to be fed and clothed. The first place that I will look when I go to buy most anything is at a Goodwill store. If you have ever been into one, you know that they are always loaded with good finds for both kids and adults!
It feels great to know that I not only save our family money but that I am able to help others in the process. Buying the essentials at a lower cost leaves room in our budget to invest in other areas. With what I am saving, I can invest in school and other enrichment activities for my kids such as splurging on fun school curriculum and taking field trips. And supporting Goodwill helps create job opportunities and job training. So it’s a total win/win.
Donating your items is a great way to provide others with things that they might need at a lesser cost. It simplifies my decluttering process – and what mom does not love something that helps simplify life a little big, right? I know lots of people earn the money by selling their second-hand stuff but can I be honest? I do NOT have time for that. It’s so much easier to take it all to Goodwill at one time and get a receipt and the calculate my earnings for my taxes at the end of the year.
You can even calculate how much your donation helps your local community by using Goodwill’s Donation Impact Calculator, a feature available within the Goodwill Locator App available for Android and iOS devices and at http://www.goodwill.org/ (click “Explore Our Map” on the homepage). Simply input the items you’re donating to calculate the number of hours of career counseling, on-the-job training, résumé preparation, financial planning classes, and other services you’ve helped provide people facing challenges finding employment. When jobs thrive, communities thrive.
Goodwill is a great place for you to get what you need and save money too! Next time you are out shopping, hit up Goodwill and see if they have something that you might otherwise pay a lot more for. And why not clean out a closet and take a bag of things that will bless another family. In the process you are saving money for other fun family activities, creating a sustainable community, while also helping to create jobs!
The pros of Goodwill shopping cannot be overstated. I have scored brand-new designer finds with original tags still attached on multiple occasions! Plus, when my kids were growing so fast that they changed sizes every month or so, the Goodwill was a Godsend.