I became a member of PaperBackSwap a few months ago.  While the selection isn’t the best, it has supplemented what I’m able to find at my local library.  However, I recently discovered another swapping site.  Referred to as “the eBay of Swap,” Swaptree.com gives consumers the option to trade in books, CDs, DVDs and video games they already have for items they actually want for just the cost of shipping – typically under $3.

The site is extremely easy to use, and anyone can register for free to set up a “have” list and a “want” list. Then, the site’s two- and three-way trade algorithms instantly find all of the items members (Swappers) can receive in exchange for those items they “have.”

Unlike traditional online trading websites, which typically focus on one type of media, Swaptree.com allows for cross-media trades. So, you can trade in your summer reads for a Madden NFl game for Playstation or a Wii Fit game.

I haven’t registered yet but it looks promising.  Has anyone tried this site?

I’ve been busy lately so I haven’t had time to update. We finally closed on our refi on August 25th. I was bit bothered back the fact that we didn’t receive the HUD-1 (which details closing costs) until the day before closing. Because property tax for our county is due next month, we had to pay that whole amount upfront, which we were NOT expecting. We also had to pay all the homeowners insurance upfront since that payment is due in November. So needless to say, we had to come up with THOUSANDS of dollars that we weren’t expecting to. Thankfully we had the necessary funds but we pretty much drained our local accounts. The old mortgages and property tax were promptly paid. However, we’re still waiting for the escrow to be refunded from the old mortage company. Then we can replenish our savings.

In the meantime, both cupholders (and I only have two) in my car broke along with the radio/navigation display unit. Our mechanic quoted $100+ for EACH cupholder so I don’t even want to know how much fixing the display unit will cost. I think I found the cupholder parts online so Mr. Savvy may be able to fix that for me. I can’t figure out what’s wrong with the display unit though and I really don’t want to pay big bucks to have it fixed. However, I hate driving around in a raggedy car.

On the bright side, we’re not traveling for Thanksgiving this year so that will save us some money.  We’re inviting people to have dinner at our place.  We’ll provide the main dishes (turkey, dressing, etc.) and ask people to bring the side dishes.  Is anyone else having a frugal Thanksgiving?