The flat economy is leaving a lot of people flat broke. Hard times can mean a lower standard of living, but making ends meet can be done with less pain than you might think.

Making do doesn't have to mean going without, and adopting a shoestring budget doesn't mean your lifestyle has to seem cheap, either.

To cope with their shrinking budgets, more people are discovering the advantages of second-hand goods.

Baby and toddler's clothing has traditionally been handed down from parent to parent, and private garage sales have provided a boom market for used goods.

But there are a variety of commercial businesses which do their best to prove that second hand doesn't have to mean second rate.

There used to be only two options for purchasing building materials -- either paying full price at retail outlets or depending on an imperfect system of scavenging junk yards and friends to keep an eye out for the things you need.

For Harry Bohna, there's nothing like good used building materials to help the bottom line. That's why he decided to open Happy Harry's Used Building Materials, located on Archibald Street in St. Boniface.

"This was an idea I had four years ago," says Bohna who has spent 17 years as a landlord and contractor. "There wasn't any existing in town when I started. I approached a few people with the idea and got a 'nah-nah' response. (But) it was just something I felt there was a need for. So I started it with expectations that it would do well, and it's met those expectations.

Bohna's original plan called for both new as well as used building materials at Happy Harry's, but he soon realized his customers "were all buying the used stuff, so I started to concentrate on that."

A row of porcelain potties stand waiting to be bought. The price? "If (people) went to Beaver Lumber or someplace like that, they's probably pay $20 or more just for parts," Bohna says. "Here, I'd sell them the whole thing for $20."

In addition to the toilets, Bohna has hundreds of windows and doors in stock, along with odds and ends of all varieties.

In business for a year now, Bohna sees a bright future for Happy Harry's. "Oh, definitely. I know I'll be in business for many years."

Copyright 2006 Happy Harry's Used Building Materials. All rights reserved