There has been a lot of response to Northwest Airlines giving employees they laid off a list of 101 ways to save money. This list insulted a few (many) of these ex-employees especially in regards to suggestions such as “46. Don’t be shy about pulling something you like out of the trash.” Thus, there was an uproar about how could Northwest tell these employees to go dumpster diving.

Well, I have never gone dumpster diving; however, I brought this up to friends during dinner Saturday night and found out that my friends had gotten great finds for nothing. One friend’s son picked up a great barbeque which he used to learn how to grill for the family. They also picked up a broken boom box that only needed its CD laser reader cleaned with alcohol to restore it to good as new condition. Another friend found Little Tyke toys.

We typically dismiss dumpster diving as beneath us because we do not deserve trash. Yet, in the age of consumerism, it is sometimes easier to buy a new item than have it fixed. With the cost of fixing electronics starting at $25-$50, does it make sense to try to fix something that breaks down or buy a brand new electronic gadget for $100? Thus, there can be valuable finds that people are throwing away. The CD boom box was a great find that my friend stumbled upon when looking just for old electronics to take apart as a way to show his son about electronics. Thus, someone handy with fixing things up can find great finds that others discard due to not wanting to bother with it.

Also, dumpster diving is a way of giving back to the universe for your good fortune. The friend who found Little Tyke toys is putting out a wood headboard and footboard in her front yard for someone who enjoys restoring old furniture. To her, the furniture is useless (may make $10 if she went through the effort of a garage sale including buying a permit and advertising). Yet, to the right person, the furniture can be the perfect item that they are looking for. We get so caught up on making a few dollars on everything we have. A remember a story of a woman who sold used Dockers pants on eBay for more than she bought them new for. Yet, in doing so, we are creating a reality of materialism coming before helping your brother in a time of need. For me, creating a community of kindness and giving (whether to charity or out to the front yard) is more important than making a few dollars because if I give to others in a time of need, others will return the favor in my time of need. If we are always trying to make a dollar off someone, then someone will always be trying to make a dollar off of us (including our employer). Thus, how we treat others is how we will be treated.

It is interesting how people dismiss an idea that was meant to be a brainstorming of ideas. How often do we nix an idea because it offends us? Think a decade ago how many people avoided Kmart or Wal-Mart because they seemed too blue-collar? Now look at how popular these stores and Target are for many income groups. So the new idea of how to save money may sound awful, yet given a chance the idea may pay-off in the long run. One man’s trash may make someone else a millionaire. As I was thinking about writing about dumpster diving, MSNBC wrote a story of how a man found a million dollar lottery ticket in the trash. For the chance to win a million dollars, I may even look through a few garbage pails.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 29th, 2006 at 9:36 am and is filed under Prosperity. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.