Essential or Extra?

When heading out to the store with my sister-in-law the other day, we passed a neighbor’s garage sale. (Yes, they are still a few garage sales and outdoor flea markets going on here, and the die-hards will be at it until it’s simply too cold for anyone to be interested.) I mentioned that while I’d seen a lot of traffic at the sale, it didn’t look like she had sold much.

Sis-in-law said it was probably because of the economy. “People probably feel as if they don’t have money for extras like garage sales,” she said.

I thought it was an odd comment, but the conversation turned to other topics and I didn’t pursue the subject further.

Later that evening I mentioned to Shane what his sister had said. He gave me a bewildered look and asked, “Don’t you think it’s just the opposite? That more people will start shopping at garage sales and thrift stores BECAUSE the economy is in a slump?”

That’s what I’d been thinking, too. Going to garage sales is a favorite weekend activity for us, but we aren’t looking only for “extras”. We’re looking for essentials, too. We look for such things as work clothes for Shane, needed kitchen paraphernalia, everyday clothing for me and school clothes for Kat. Shane’s job as an ironworker requires specialized tools, and the savings we’ve seen on these alone has made garage “saling” a lucrative pastime.

So, I’m curious what some of you think. Are you more likely to buy previously owned items now that the economy has headed south? Or do you, like my sister-in-law, think of buying used something you’d still only do as an “extra”, if at all?