Raoul’s Two Cents: May 2, 2025

Bargain Hunter

As you read this email, know that I am currently in Ventura County, California, accompanying my wife in one of her business trips. It’s the first time I’ve ever been here. I asked my good friend Ed (a travel aficionado) what Ventura County is famous for and he said “Thrift Shops.” Immediately, gold nuggets started pouring out of my eyes. I got excited because I love the bargain hunting game. It’s one of the simple joys of life.

Step into a thrift shop, and you’re not just shopping—you’re on a wild treasure hunt where the prizes range from “steal of the century” to “what even is this?” These secondhand havens are the chaotic lovechild of a garage sale and a time machine, offering everything from vintage Levi’s to a ceramic cat that stares into your soul.

Take some of my thrift adventures: a bunch of paint brushes that I use for my paintings (like that one I shared last week), easels, a steel safe for $12, T-shirts for $3, a mahjong set for $10, a $200 electronic recorder for $20, etc. Indeed, one man’s junk can be another man’s treasure. But perhaps my most prized possession is a $1,200 acoustic guitar which I bought for $500.

My biggest regret is passing off a section full of carpets in a Thrift Shop in Pasadena. I wasn’t into carpets so I walked passed the liter. Later on that week, the local news said someone had found a real treasure in a Pasadena thrift shop. Someone bought carpets that contained original Italian paintings priced at least a thousand dollars each rolled up in each carpet. That’s the ULTIMATE BARGAIN that got away!

Thrift shops are also the ultimate equalizer. Hipsters hunt for retro tees, grandmas rifle for Pyrex, and that guy in the corner is definitely buying a used drum set to “start a band.” The air smells faintly of mothballs and dreams, and every item has a story—probably involving a bad breakup or a failed hobby.

The real thrill? You never know what you’ll find. A designer dress for pennies? Sure. A haunted lamp that flickers ominously? Maybe. Thrift shops are where wallets rejoice and impulse buys reign supreme. So grab a cart, dodge the creepy mannequin, and dive in—just don’t blame me if you leave with a sequined fanny pack you’ll never wear.

But this is just silly ol’ me. TGIF people!

“A bargain is something you have to find a use for once you have bought it.” — Benjamin Franklin

“The price of freedom is responsibility, but it’s a bargain, because freedom is priceless.” — Hugh Downs

“When I bought my farm, I did not know what a bargain I had in the bluebirds, daffodils and thrushes; as little did I know what sublime mornings and sunsets I was buying.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” — Matthew 6:19-21

JOKE OF THE WEEK

Thanks to Cheryl of Arcadia, California

Parting Shots

Thanks to Juan of San Diego

Thanks to Tom of Pasadena, CA

Thanks to Colleen of Washington State

Thanks to Art of Sierra Madre, CA

Thanks to Jordan of Kentucky

Thanks to Norm of Encino, CA

Thanks to Bob of Placentia, CA

I found these:

My good friend (and jokester) Terry and I came up with these.

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