Now you’re going to college and moving to your own space on a fixed income. Here’s a quick and easy lesson before you begin your venture: “it’s not what you have but what you give” that counts. There is no better time to apply this lesson than now with all the shopping you have to do. The furniture, appliances, computers, books, and clothes can all be purchased from places that not only offer discounts but also donate portions of the proceeds to charity groups. Here are some smart ways to “shop ‘til you drop,” and be an unsung hero to “strangers in need.”

There are a ton of Internet sites that you can use for shopping. A popular choice would be EBay, a product-bidding site where you could find anything you could want at usually lower than in-store prices. If you are looking for more specific items but don’t feel like going into a bidding war, try sites like Amazon Marketplace. There you could buy what you are looking for at lower prices than Amazon.com. A similar site is Half.com which is owned by EBay and only sells a few categories of items. This is the place to shop and sell if you are looking for textbooks, music, movies, books, video games, and video game systems. The only problem with these sites is that you are buying from sellers and not a company which means that you should only buy from sellers who have mainly positive ratings. It is tough to beat these sellers’ prices when you are searching for textbooks. If you are looking for computers, laptops, home audio, televisions, and electronic accessories, try Newegg.com. This site often has great deals on big named electronics and is pretty reliable. Sites like Bestbuy.com and Circuitcity.com contain different and often better sales than the ones in their stores. Your chances of getting your item on line are typically better than getting it in the store. Amazon.com Amazon.com has great prices and can compete with the store prices. Target.com has lesser known brands of electronics, but they will give you similar quality at lower prices. These sites are also affiliated with different charitable organizations so a portion of the proceeds from your purchases benefit people worldwide.

Some of the sites mentioned above have “brick and mortar” stores which are useful for those items where the shipping costs outweigh the discounted prices. Stores like Target are popular when shopping for large back to school items because of their great sales. For instance, Target offered mini-fridges for less than twenty dollars which was such a good deal that I couldn't pass it up. Target’s clothing is usually low-priced when on sale and some items are “buy 1, get one half off.” Some Target locations also offer grocery items, however their prices are not usually better than those found at standard grocery stores. Whether you’re shopping at Target directly or on-line, your purchases benefit the less fortunate.

Charitable organizations often use thrift stores as a way to receive funding and they are also great places to find used merchandise at low prices. Since I work at a nonprofit thrift store, Boley Centers’ Your Neighborhood Store, I know what you can expect to find and what the listed prices are. Clothing items like blouses and shirts cost $3.49, t-shirts cost $1.99, and pants and jeans cost $4.99 each. We also carry furniture, books, CD’s, DVD’s, tableware, plastic ware, toys, electronics, and much more. Everything is easy to find, reasonably priced and in good quality, and the clothes are sorted by size and color. There are items on sale everyday at 50%. The prices are color coded according to the sale. Most importantly, all proceeds help “people with disabilities, the homeless and youth” in your community.

I hope this information is beneficial for anybody who was not aware how their purchases can make positive differences worldwide and anybody who likes to “feed two birds with one seed.”