Save a dollar; Help a Neighbor. Goodwill Manasota Retail Stores' New Year’s 50%-off Sale

Like most of you, our family spent a lot of time shopping for gifts this holiday season. We’d already decided to cut back on our spending this year. But we had no idea our thrift would come with such big rewards, and my husband and I would become holiday heroes to our 10-year-old son.

Some of you already know that I’m a huge fan of buying second-hand, especially from Goodwill because of the organization’s mission. Not the cheap stuff. Nope. I go for those retail store chin scratchers like high-end coffeemakers, office supplies, electronics, furniture, quality apparel and shoes, and those ridiculously expensive gadgets marketed to children.

Case in point, my kid loves all things buildable, all things robotics, and all things science--the kind of stuff that really breaks the bank. Fortunately, we picked up Lego Mindstorms and a ton of science stuff a couple of Goodwill 50-percent-off sale days ago.

This year we went all out and split our holiday shopping between a slew of big box stores and--you guessed it right--Goodwill.

You’d think my kid would baulk at getting “used” gifts. But he’s money-savvy, too. And, for him, a bargain means he gets exactly what he wants opposed to what we’re willing to spend in a retail situation.

Our kid is a Thomas The Train connoisseur.  He can name the engines, track types and cross reference them to their corresponding video episode number.

We’d stopped buying those pricy little rail demons retail a while back when we’d figured he’d outgrown them. But he hadn’t.

The kid has also taken an interest in Hot Wheels Wall Tracks. We refuse to pay full-price for those, too. Same thing for Erector and K’nex building kits.

But turns out, Goodwill had it all! Take a look at the pics. Here’s a partial list of what we picked up:

--Hot Wheels Wall Track Complete World W2815-9993

--K’nex Octopus Swirl

--Thomas the Train (34 engines, including steam, tracks, bridges, tunnels, and various depots).

I’m deliberately leaving out prices because they vary from store to store. And I don’t want to be responsible for any outbursts by disgruntled deal seekers against our beloved Goodwill employees.

But I will share this: everything you see in the photographs and more costs less than the price of the single new videogame we purchased for our son at our local big box store. Really.

New Year’s Day is the next 50-percent-off sale at Goodwill Manasota stores. Generally, furniture is not included, but this might vary from store to store.

If you’re heading over that day, remember to drop off a few things you’re not using. The good stuff only, please. Donations are tax deductable.

Remember, the Goodwill experience is one of give and take. We donate, we buy, and the organization takes the profits and puts them to use in a variety of ways that benefit people in need.

You can't use coupons on half-off days. But here's the Discover Goodwill link for savings on your next shopping trip.

Who knows, maybe we'll bump into each other!