When you are a single-income family, it pays to be thrifty. Some might skip eating meals out whenever possible and others try to cut corners, even when those corners are difficult to find.
There is also another side to being thrifty, and that’s recognizing the treasure in what many people see as trash. Ask Megan Godinez, a woman from Dallas, Texas, just how beneficial this side of thrifty can be.
Over the last three years, Megan has spent a lot of her spare time dumpster diving. According to Mail Online, she has dedicated as much as five hours every week to this hobby. It’s also a hobby that really pays off.
While dumpster diving, she comes across some beneficial items that she can take off of her shopping list – and sell to others for a discount! These include seasonal decorations and hygiene products. It works out well because she reduces waste, earns a little cash, and provides people items for a great price through her website.
Some of the items that she found in the trash include six treadmills, some coffee machines, shampoo, and food.
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According to Mail Online, she said: “It started out as a hobby at first after I watched a video of something similar on YouTube. I was intrigued to go and see if any of the big stores near where I lived had anything interesting in their bins. From there, I started rummaging through the bins of retail stores, bakeries, and clothes stores. I make sure to avoid restaurants and places like doctors’ offices.”
She went on to say that over the past three years, she has donated or sold about 75% of what she found but the other 25% she keeps for herself and her family.
She says that she takes what she needs but she doesn’t take too much. She knows that there is likely to be somebody coming behind her and since bins are full of useful things, she could leave with a lot of items and still have some left behind.
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She went on to talk about what happened at a local pet store: “A local pet store was selling soft toys for $5 and would donate money from each sale to a local shelter. A few weeks later, I went dumpster diving behind the store and the bins were full of the soft toys they were selling. It was awful, I literally filled the back of the truck with them and donated them to the shelter they were using the toys to donate, too.”
At first, she says that her family was on the fence about her activities but they are now supportive, considering how much waste the big corporations create.
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She also mentions that her husband is a little “grossed out” when she brings home snacks and biscuits that are perfectly wrapped. With a little encouragement, she says that he eats them.
In the end, she is documenting her finds and hopes that it leads to change. You can keep up with her dumpster diving adventures on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, and shop her finds for a massive discount on her online store!