I was just thinking over all of the things I have gotten for free lately (hand-me-downs, freebies, Freecycle, etc.) and wanted to start tracking it. I'm not sure how to quantify it, since a lot of these things I would not have bought for myself, so it's not really money saved. However, they are items of value that I now own. Maybe I'll give a conservative estimate on how much the item would have cost new, followed by what the item would have cost me if I had bought it (presumably used).
I'll start by backtracking over the last month.
-1 large garbage bag of boys clothing, sizes 4-7, from friend
estimated new value: conservatively, $500 - tons of brand name Disney, Gap, etc. clothes
my value: $150 used
-1 bag pears, value $3, from co-worker
-1 pair of children's shoes, worn once, from a co-worker
new value: $40
my value: $2
-a box of used children's games, from a Freecycle in return for items I gave to her
new value: $30
my value: $6
-a bag of silk ties for DH to wear while teaching, from DH's cousin who is a teacher but doesn't wear them anymore
new value: $100
my value: $20
-clothes from DH's cousin, about 5 shirts, 3 pants (needed shortening which was done by my MIL), one pair of shoes
new value: all brand name, probably $200
my value: $50
-clothes for DH from my brother, several shirts
new value: $50
my value: $15

That's all I can remember for now. For me, it's simply a matter of letting people know you are interested. One co-worker, who brought me the children's shoes yesterday, had never brought me anything before (despite thinking about it) as she thought I might be offended. Now that she saw how happy I was to accept them, she said she will keep me in mind for the future. I am willing to bet I will receive clothes from her in the next 6 months.
So, an estimate of what the above would have cost me, new: $923
What would I have spent to get the above? $246. That's money in my pocket, just for saying yes!