Lancaster is one of the best places in the country to live on less. Not because it’s cheap, but because the opportunities for saving money here are unlike anywhere else. Most of us know about one or two of these things, but very few people know about all of them.
So I asked more than 100 Lancastrians, “What are your best money-saving tips?” This guide is the result:
1. Use the Lancaster Library for More Than Books
If you’re only using your Lancaster County library card for books, you’re leaving a lot on the table. The Library System of Lancaster County offers a whole universe of stuff you can borrow for free, and most people have no idea.
The library system partners with museums across the county to offer free family passes that typically admit four people. You can check them out just like a book. Participating museums include: the Science Factory, the Railroad Museum, Wheatland, Rockford Plantation, the Demuth Museum, the Lancaster Museum of Art, and more. Just request a pass through the library catalog or ask at the circulation desk.
Lancaster Public Library also lends out board games, outdoor games, American Girl dolls, specialty baking pans, and you can even borrow a harp from the Mountville Branch.
Between e-books, audiobooks, DVDs, digital resources, and all of the above, a free library card might be the single best deal in Lancaster.
Pro tip: Museum passes are popular and often have waitlists. Plan ahead, request early, and check multiple library branches. Some passes are available at certain locations sooner than others.
2. Join a Lancaster Buy Nothing or Freecycle Group
Lancaster County has an active network of groups where people give away things they no longer need, and you can ask for things you do need, all completely free.
The two main options are Buy Nothing groups and Freecycle groups. Buy Nothing operates through both Facebook groups and the Buy Nothing app. You can find a local group by searching “Buy Nothing” plus your town or neighborhood on Facebook, or by downloading the Buy Nothing app and signing up based on your location. Lancaster County has multiple groups broken down by area. Freecycle operates similarly.
The kids buy / sell nothing group has been really helpful as a parent, otherwise shopping BJs has saved us a lot on groceries & gas. I am looking forward to hear what others suggest too.
The Lancaster County, PA FreeCycle group on Facebook and the Freecycle website are both good places to start. People regularly give away furniture, kids’ clothes, kitchen appliances, books, sporting equipment, and building materials that would otherwise go to waste.
Etiquette tips for new members: Don’t just take. Participate by giving things away, too. When you claim an item, follow through and pick it up on time. If you can’t make it, let the person know. Don’t haggle or ask for delivery. A quick “thank you” goes a long way.
3. Buy Your Produce at Local Markets and Roadside Stands
If you’re buying all your fruits and vegetables at a big chain grocery store, you’re almost certainly overpaying, especially during the growing season.
Root’s Country Market in Manheim is open every Tuesday year-round, with more than 200 stand holders selling everything from produce and meats to baked goods and antiques. Green Dragon in Ephrata runs on Fridays with more than 400 vendors.
Root’s also runs a produce auction every Tuesday afternoon where you can buy in bulk at wholesale-level prices. I’ll cover auctions in more detail later in this article.
But some of the best deals are at the smaller roadside stands scattered across the county. Places like Lapp’s Farm Market near Strasburg and the Corn Wagon near Millersville offer great prices on produce that was picked the same day. When sweet corn, tomatoes, and peaches are in season, you’ll often find prices well below grocery store levels.
If you hit Green Dragon in the afternoon, some stands will do crazy deals on produce because they’re trying to get rid of it.
4. Don’t Miss Consignment Sales and Swap Events
Lancaster County has some excellent consignment events where you can buy gently used kids’ clothing, toys, gear, and equipment at a fraction of retail prices.
The big one is WeeUsables (weeusablesevent.com), a pop-up consignment sale that runs events in Lancaster, York, and Harrisburg throughout the year. Many of the people I talked to save 50-90% off retail prices on kids’ clothing and other family items. The Lancaster sale typically runs in March, with a holiday sale in November. You can shop for free during public hours or buy an early-access ticket. If you’ve got stuff to sell, consignors keep 60% of their sales.
Another large consignment event is Just Between Friends (jbfsale.com), which holds pop-up sales at Spooky Nook twice a year. JBF has kids’ and teens’ clothing, maternity clothing, toys, books, games, baby equipment, and even craft supplies. All items are inspected for quality and safety. The savings and vendor payouts are similar to WeeUsables. The Lancaster JBF sale also supports local charities.
The kids’ consignment sales (Weeusables and JBF) are where I stock up for my kids for a whole season.
Beyond WeeUsables and JBF, there are church and school consignment sales, which pop up throughout the year, especially in spring and fall. Several local MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) groups and PTOs also run seasonal clothing swaps.
For gardeners, Lancaster County has a tradition of plant swaps and sales each spring. The Lititz Historical Foundation and Lititz Garden Club host an annual plant exchange. The Conestoga Herb Guild runs a plant and seed exchange. And the Lancaster County Master Gardeners hold a large plant sale each May.
5. Watch Out for Community and Neighborhood Yard Sales
Lancaster County yard sale season runs roughly from April through October, and people around here take it seriously.
The Penn Medicine Park Community Yard Sale and the IU13 Community Yard Sale are two of the biggest. Individual neighborhoods and boroughs also organize multi-family sales.
Tips for finding the best sales:
- Follow Lancaster County Yard Sales on Facebook. This is the single best local resource for finding sales in your area. People post listings throughout the week.
- Use apps like Yard Sale Treasure Map to map out sales near you and plan a route. Both have Lancaster-specific listings.
- Go early for the best selection, but go late (last hour) for the best prices. Sellers often slash prices near the end.
6. Shop at Habitat for Humanity ReStore
One person I talked to said: “Buy tools, home improvement stuff from Habitat ReStore. They have a lot of stuff!”
The Lancaster Lebanon Habitat for Humanity ReStore is a nonprofit home improvement store that sells new and gently used furniture, appliances, building materials, home goods at a fraction of retail prices. The inventory changes daily because everything is donated, so it pays to stop in regularly.
The money from your purchases go directly to support Habitat for Humanity’s mission of building and rehabbing affordable homes in Lancaster and Lebanon Counties. So you save money and support your community.
Hours and info: Visit lancasterlebanonhabitat.org/restore-shop or call (717) 293-0250.
7. Volunteer at Blessings of Hope
This is one of Lancaster County’s best-kept secrets for saving on groceries. Blessings of Hope is a food-rescue nonprofit headquartered in Leola that rescues surplus food from more than 200 suppliers (grocery stores, restaurants, and food manufacturers) and distributes it to communities in need. But there is always an abundance of food, so they share the excess food with volunteers for an incredibly low price.
When you volunteer for a shift, you’ll receive a voucher to shop at their Ministry Selection Center. The center is a massive facility stocked with dry goods, refrigerated items, and frozen foods. Volunteers pay about 65 cents per pound for everything they purchase.
The inventory changes constantly and includes essentials like produce, dairy products, and bread. They also often have specialty items like dark chocolate, vegan snacks, and coffee.
To get started, fill out a volunteer application on blessingsofhope.com/volunteer (one per household), then schedule a shift. Shifts are about 2.5 hours and involve sorting, repackaging, or shelving donated food.
8. Check Out a Consignment Auction
Every week, there are estate auctions, consignment auctions, and specialty sales happening across the county. If you’ve never been to one, you’re missing one of the most fun and Lancaster-specific ways to save money.
An easy place to start is Horst Auction Center in Ephrata (50 Durlach Road, at the corner of Route 322). The Horst family has been in the auction business for more than 100 years. They run a consignment auction every Wednesday starting at 1:00 PM, featuring antiques, collectibles, household goods, and tools.
Renninger’s in Adamstown (2500 North Reading Road, Denver) hosts consignment auctions every Monday starting at 10:00 AM that run until everything is sold. The Sunday antique market is also worth a trip, with close to 300 indoor vendors and up to 300 more outdoors. Get there early for the best finds.
I mentioned his one earlier: Root’s Country Market in Manheim runs produce auctions and poultry/equipment auctions every Tuesday. The produce auction starts at 1:00 PM, flowers at 4:00 PM, and shrubs at 6:00 PM. If you’re willing to buy in bulk, the per-unit prices can be dramatically lower than retail.
9. Take Advantage of Free Events
Over the last 6 months of writing for the Lancaster Review, I’ve been continually impressed with the number of great, free events in Lancaster. We feature one in the newsletter every week, and we’re usually choosing from four or five options.
The city’s parks host free concerts, movie nights, and festivals throughout the summer months. Overlook Park’s Earth Day Festival, the free summer concert series at Longs Park, and community movie nights at Penn Medicine Park are just a few examples.
Library events, including author readings, kids’ programs, and workshops, are free across all branches.
10. Leverage Local Gas Point Rewards
Gas prices are rising, but if you’re willing to play the points game, you can leverage grocery and fuel purchases to save money. The good news is that most major local chains offer some version of fuel savings, and the programs are free to join. Here’s how to save the most.
Giant Food Stores runs the Choice Rewards program through its BonusCard. You earn one point for every dollar you spend on groceries. Hit 100 points, and you unlock 10 cents off per gallon at any Giant fuel station (up to 25 gallons). There’s no limit to how many points you can earn, and Giant regularly runs bonus point promotions on specific products throughout the year. Points earned in one month must be redeemed by the end of the following month, so don’t let them expire. Giant has fuel stations at many of their Lancaster County locations. If your nearest store doesn’t have one, your points are good at any Giant pump in the area. The real hack here is timing your bigger grocery trips, things like holiday meals, back-to-school shopping, or stocking up on pantry staples, to max out your points before filling up. A $300 grocery run followed by a 25-gallon fill-up at 30 cents off saves you $7.50 in one stop.
Sheetz operates the My Sheetz Rewardz program, and it works a little differently. When you first sign up, you get an automatic 3 cents off per gallon on every fill-up, every day, no purchase required. On top of that, you earn 5 points for every dollar spent on most in-store purchases. Once you hit 250 points, you can start redeeming for free food, drinks, or additional fuel discounts. You get the top award at 1,500 points when you unlock 50 cents off per gallon (up to 25 gallons). These fuel redemptions stack on top of the automatic 3-cent discount, so you could save 53 cents per gallon on a single fill-up. One more thing: you can link multiple physical cards to a single household account, so your whole family earns points into the same pool.
Weis Markets runs a Preferred Shoppers Club Card program that pairs with Sheetz to redeem fuel. You earn one point per dollar spent on groceries at Weis. During Gas Rewards promotional periods, a $50 grocery purchase earns 10 cents off per gallon (up to 20 gallons) at Weis Gas N’ Go stations or participating Sheetz locations. A $100 purchase gets 20 cents off, $200 gets 40 cents off, and there’s no discount limit. You can also accumulate points across multiple shopping trips during a promotional period. Seniors 60 and older get an additional 10% off Weis brand items every Tuesday.
Pro tip: You can get the most value out of a reward program by setting a reminder on your phone the day before your points expire. That way you maximize your points for that term, without worrying about forgetting to redeem your points.
11. Form a Bulk Buying Group
A lot of the ideas in this article (e.g., produce auctions and discount stores) involve buying food in bulk. There are other options we haven’t discussed, like wholesale club stores, buying a whole cow from a farmer, and bulk food stores. The downside of all these options is that you are left with an obscene number of individual items. Nobody wants to be stuck with 50 boxes of Cheerios.
You can still benefit from these savings and have fun with your friends by forming a buyers group. With a simple text group, you can share the best deals and share the savings.
12. Shop at Thrift Stores and Grocery Discount Stores
We have some of the best thrift stores and discount grocery outlets in the state. From charity-run thrift shops with high-quality items to grocery stores that routinely sell name-brand products at steep discounts, there are dozens of options across the county.
This one is a bit of a teaser. Next week, we will be releasing our list of the top thrift shops and discount stores in Lancaster, PA.
I would just note re thrift stores that most are half off on Wednesdays, so you can save even more
Have a money-saving tip I missed? Reply to this email and let us know. We’ll keep updating this guide as the community shares more.