Check Local Groups on Facebook, Craigslist or Freecycle

If people have a lot of leftover paint for a project, they’ll sometimes either sell it for a pittance on a local Facebook or Craigslist group or list it on Freecycle to be given away. Pay attention to those groups in the months and weeks leading up to a potential paint job, and you may wind up with plenty of paint for very little cost.

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2. Reselling Apps and Websites
Apps like LetGo and OfferUp allow shoppers to connect with local sellers who want to get rid of their excess stuff. You can find nearly any item imaginable, especially if you live in or near a big city, including furniture, housewares, and home décor items.

Similarly, Craigslist is still a popular option for people who want to sell items they no longer need, making it worth checking as well. Facebook also has thriving community marketplaces, usually hosted in groups focused on a location. If you need something and want a chance to get it for free, consider signing up at Freecycle as well as people are not allowed to charge for anything they offer up on the site.

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Karen Yoho of Greenbelt, Maryland, has had many pianos pass through her life. Communications director for the Salvation Army National Capital and Virginia Division, Yoho played piano as a child and acquired her first piano through Freecycle in 2008. She paid $100 to move it, hoping that she might take it up again and that her 6-year-old daughter Mary Alyce might show an interest. Neither happened, so in 2012, when Yoho saw a “piano wanted” posting on Freecycle, she gave it away. In 2015, her neighbor was offering a piano free to a good home, so Yoho and the neighbor split the $150 moving charge to roll it down the sidewalk. “I was hoping this piano would become a member of the family,” she says. But a year later, it was getting no love, so she gave it away.

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Karen Yoho of Greenbelt, Md., has had many pianos pass through her life. She played piano as a child and acquired her first piano through Freecycle in 2008. She paid $100 to move it, hoping that she might take it up again and that her 6-year-old daughter Mary Alyce might show an interest. Neither happened, so in 2012, when Yoho saw a “piano wanted” posting on Freecycle, she gave it away. In 2015, she picked up another free piano from her neighbor, splitting the $150 moving charge to roll it down the sidewalk. “I was hoping this piano would become a member of the family,” she says. But a year later, it was getting no love, so she gave it away.

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Other apps to familiarise yourself with include, freecycle a non-profit movement of people who give (and receive) stuff for free in their own neighbourhoods. Also check out homeexchange.com, trustedhousesitters.com and couchsurfing, all offering ways to travel without paying a cent.

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