Challenge Savings Month #9: $4,485.22

What up, y’all! The Challenge Everything Mission continues! Banking $387.83 more to the pile this month and making our total balance now $4,485.22 after just 9 months…

challenge savings total usaaA few months more and we’ll reach our goal of hitting the amount needed to max out an IRA – woo! For barely that much effort too… And another side effect? Less STUFF in our house, and our mind, as well.

Over the month I also created a page to track all the items we’ve sold since starting this mission, and it’s really helped me step up my game on Craigslist again just so I can keep adding to it :) You can find it here, as well as in the nav bar now: Craigslist $$$ Tracker

And here are some fun facts so far over the 9 months:

  • Total items sold: 22
  • Lowest item sold: $5.00
  • Highest item sold: $225.00
  • Avg sale item: $40.41
  • Amount of extra money received because buyer’s didn’t bring exact amounts: $12.00
  • Amount of time it takes to find/take pics/list/offload each item from start to finish: 1 hour
  • Longest time it took to sell an item: 6 months
  • Quickest time it took to sell an item: 6 hours :)
  • Total money made so far: $889.00 

Oh, and last month I also had my first scare off CL too. I was texting back and forth with a chick for an item, but when I got to the meeting place (because I never meet at my own house – specifically for reasons like this!) some large ass tattooed guy rolled up, jumped out of the car and within seconds was in my face asking about my items for sale. I was so caught off guard I just stood there for what seemed like hours, imagining all the ways I’m about to die from a $10 item, haha…

Eventually I came to my senses and all was fine, though it was the first meetup where a deal actually fell through. The whole situation was just real creepy and weird and overall confusing. But it did get me to be more careful of my surroundings and to pay attention to my instincts more. After a two week hiatus I was back to selling again and figured I was overreacting as the odds someone would hurt/rob me off a $10 item was pretty low :) Hopefully that proves true!

Anyways, a great month of selling stuff with $110 racked up, and we’re back to our weekly listing again! I’ve included another line of questioning in my “what to sell next?” decision making process too, which has resulted in box fulls of more stuff to offload.

The new question I ask myself now is,

Would you take this with you if you’re moving in two weeks?

It’s amazing how effective this is at giving you an answer once and for all :) Just the *idea* of packing stuff up you’re on the fence about makes you want to shiver, haha… And it’s a great last line of defense if the first two questions don’t work too:

#1) Would you rather have this or cash?

#2) Would you go out and buy this again?

Between the 3 I’d say it helps nix a good 90% of the stuff I’d normally keep around that I just really like. That’s the hardest part to get past, really, once you’ve gotten rid of the stuff you could care less about. You have to then start questioning the stuff you love but rarely use anymore! Which logically tells you it’s time to let them go, but emotionally it’s a whole different story… Though it does get easier as you keep going.

Another interesting thing with all this selling is that I treat that $$$ so much differently than other income streams I get. I think because so much thought and time goes into selling each of the items that I don’t want the $$ received to go to waste. Thus, pouring it all into its own separate savings account so I can watch all the effort and money build up! Which becomes a fun motivational game as well – especially now that we have the Craigslist Tracker going.

Anyways, that’s life in Craigslist land :)

Here’s how the whole mission went down in May:

challenge savings may - 2015

Cell Phones ($112.58) — Still just soaking up the $$$ after switching to Republic Wireless last year! $100+ bones every month without lifting a finger!

Cable/Internet/Phone ($79.72) — Same with this guy here too – a few changes made and we start saving money each month going forward… Though I did just get a calendar item pop up telling me it’s time already to call up and make sure I lock in future discounts so they don’t reset! Which the industry is known to do every few months it seems! Ugh…

Car Insurance ($30.59) — Nothing new in this category either – just banking the $30 each month until it’s time to switch/drop cars off the docket… FrankenCaddy still continues to ride smooth though!

Found Change This Month ($0.59) — We have a new record of found change this month with a whopping 4 pennies, 1 nickel and 2 whole quarters – woo! Most of which found on the same walk and within blocks of each other! People just throwing money out left and right, those dummies…. :)

Ebates “Big Fat” Check ($50.35) — This is the same check I mentioned in our weekly recap the other week where my wife keeps getting back cash back rewards from shopping through Ebates. It takes a while to get a nice chunk like that (usually months), but when it comes it brightens our day :) You mash that up with our Paribus app and you’re on your way to maximized savings yo!

Found $$$ in My Shorts Pocket ($4.00) — I pulled out some shorts from last year, and was greeted with four crisp dollar bills in my pockets :) How I could leave my poor babies behind like that is beyond me, but rest assured they’re now sleeping peacefully with their brothers and sisters in the bank.

dub zero air jordans

Sold Jordans ($50.00) — I finally sold these after 6 months of trying! I guess people didn’t think they were as cool as I did when I first picked them up last year :) As much as I loved the way they looked though (and having my first ever pair of Jordans! Something I wasn’t allowed to have growing up because they cost so much money and my mom was trying to retire early ;)), they just felt uncomfortable as $hit. And I’m not one to rock something if it pains me with every step… So off they go to their new owner who’s promptly going to re-sell them to his own list of clients who collect such things – hah. Maybe he’ll be able to squeeze more money out of them than I did.

redskins jersey taylor 21

Sold My Redskins Jersey ($15.00) — Gasp! This was another item I was holding onto just because I loved it so much but it had literally been 5 years since I last put it on. So as much as I felt like a disgrace selling it as I’m a HUGE ‘Skins fan, I had to let it go to a new home… And what a new home it went to! The guy who picked it up said he’s framing it along next to his other 50+ jerseys where he has a massive NFL shrine going on in his house, haha… along with hundreds of other dolls and collectibles apparently. You meet all types of people on CL!

speaker stands

Sold Speaker Stands ($20.00) — These were my favorites to sell this month because not only where they pretty bulky compared to modern day stands, but I actually got $5.00 more than I was supposed to for them because the buyer didn’t bring the exact amount owed! Which marks the 3rd time this has happened so far and just blows my mind. It’s not like you don’t know what something costs ahead of time! I should stop bringing cash to all the meetups to take advantage of this even more, haha… Two other times they “only had a $20” but fortunately for them I had change. Doofuses…

aussie koala 7900 grill

Sold Old Grill and Accessories ($25.00) — We’ve had this sitting at our house here in VA untouched for two years, and then prior in MD for an additional three years (I’m a disgrace to the male race with grilling). So without even knowing if it worked anymore, I launched it out on CL for $50 to see what would happen. And, well, nothing happened haha… So I continued to drop it until we started getting some nibbles and eventually got it out the door at $25.00. Which was probably a helluva steal (provided that it worked), but BOY what a nice big thing to get rid of! The “would you keep this if you’re moving” trick helped out immensely here, I’ll tell you what. One less thing taking up space!

And that’s May’s money!

I hope you all are finding ways to earn more and cut back too :) It’s kinda annoying at times, but once you get going and watch the money pile up it’s a totally different game. I knew *in theory* that if I started banking all this extra $$ it would go into the thousands later, but SEEING IT in your bank account is a whole other story! With a happy ending too!

So I highly advise separating out this extra money you earn as well so you can watch it grow over time. If you never touch it, it can only go up!

mc hammer - cant touch this
——
PS: You can find all our monthly updates here: Challenge Everything Mission

[Photo credit: www.gotcredit.com]

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65 Comments

  1. Dee @ Color Me Frugal June 17, 2015 at 7:29 AM

    We are now putting about $300 per month in our own quasi- “Challenge Everything” account after I went over our bills with a fine tooth comb over the course of the last six months and saved us a ton of money! We are now saving money on our phone bill, cable bill (gone), trash bill, hubby’s life insurance, nixed Hulu, and a few other things as well. Feels great!! Keep up the good work there!!!

    Reply
    1. J. Money June 17, 2015 at 10:11 AM

      Hell yeah! $300/mo is no joke – well done!

      Reply
  2. Hannah June 17, 2015 at 7:33 AM

    Would I keep this if I moved is a great question. Of course, the answer depends on if I’m in the meticulous cleaning, organizing and packing phase, or the just throw it in a box we will deal with it when we arrive phase :)

    Reply
    1. J. Money June 17, 2015 at 10:12 AM

      Haha yes, better to do it when you’re in more of a “I’m tired of moving this junk from place to place” type mood :)

      Reply
  3. Brian @ Debt Discipline June 17, 2015 at 7:51 AM

    Please don’t handle your money like Hammer. :) Killing it as also J$. Nicely done. I have a collection of stuff I’m getting ready to list on e-bay.

    Reply
    1. J. Money June 17, 2015 at 10:13 AM

      MC is going to be the first guest I try to get onto our Podcast whenever it goes live :) I bet he has a ton of gems to share!

      Reply
  4. Kalie June 17, 2015 at 8:00 AM

    Great savings, and I love how you make it all fun, especially with the Craigslist tracker. I have been trying to think along the lines of the “Would I keep this if I was moving?” question for decluttering, too. There’s a lot that I don’t think is worth selling so we donated it to a fundraiser garage sale. But we are selling a car on CL that we bought for $200, barely did any work to, and listed for $2500. I’m sure we’ll get less than that but its sale is bound to be profitable.

    Reply
    1. J. Money June 17, 2015 at 10:22 AM

      Very nice! It’s much more fun offloading large – and more valuable – items than random junk around your house, haha… And takes almost the same amount of effort too :)

      Reply
  5. John @ Frugal Rules June 17, 2015 at 8:24 AM

    My wife and I were actually just having the “would we want this if we’re moving” discussion the other night and it’s crazy to see how that can change your mindset on just how much crap you have around the house you simply don’t need or could offload for some cash. We finally left Verizon last week for Cricket, netting us just over $100/month for us and starting to look real serious at that cable bill too.

    Reply
    1. J. Money June 17, 2015 at 10:54 AM

      Nice work, son! Now the question is – what will you be doing with the savings?? :)

      Reply
  6. Elise @ Simply Scaled Down June 17, 2015 at 8:25 AM

    Awesome job! I am so impressed! We have saved $1300ish from our challenge everything savings and its going towards a vacation to the Dominican Republic! Woot!!

    You have also motivated me to sell more of the crap around here. I have been slacking in that department (mostly due to time) but now is the perfect time to get rid of all that stuff collecting dust in the basement (and get some cash out them!)

    Reply
    1. J. Money June 17, 2015 at 10:55 AM

      $1300 ain’t bad at all!

      Just take the selling part one thing at a time. It really isn’t that hard to do once a week and pace yourself so you don’t burn out :)

      Reply
  7. Mrs. Budgets June 17, 2015 at 9:11 AM

    Weekly listing is a great idea. I am currently trying to sell my wedding dress on eBay fingers crossed someone bites.

    Reply
    1. J. Money June 17, 2015 at 10:56 AM

      Oooh I like that! I was just wondering what my wife was going to do with hers now that we have it back at our house (for some reason it was left in my mother-in-law’s for years) but I’m afraid to broach the topic, haha… I feel like I’ll get an eye roll the second I mention Craigslist :)

      Reply
  8. M/M Kash June 17, 2015 at 9:12 AM

    That’s awesome…love that you track it. We do something similar and I stay motivated by turning it into some sort of game or challenge…I’m just a little competitive (even with myself). My goal is to hit $100 per month by unloading our crapola. I actually found a quarter yesterday and thought of you….found money .25… :). Now that Kash, Jr. is on board, we try to list one item a week for him…it’s an easily achievable goal for a 12 year old and he’s rockin’ it. He’s talking about buying stocks….I love that he’s thinking that way. Cheers!!

    Reply
    1. J. Money June 17, 2015 at 10:56 AM

      Woahhhh!!! Smart kid! He knows how much smarter it is to INVEST it than let it sit alone doing nothing in a savings account! haha… maybe I need tips from him ;)

      Reply
      1. M/M Kash June 17, 2015 at 11:15 AM

        Got to tell you….our local Bank Manager came out and met with Kash, Jr. when we opened up his savings account (just like he was an adult customer), but she sat down with him and explained compound interest and how your money should work for you. He was really impressed and so was I. She was awesome. I think it’s also really important for him to make deposits, log them, etc. He’s picked out 4 stocks that interest him and he’s ready to rock ‘n roll. Maybe he’ll eventually be one of your youngest millionaires. :)

        Reply
        1. J. Money June 17, 2015 at 11:27 AM

          Best thing I’ve heard all day! You tell him he’s welcome to join my Millionaire Club any time he’d like :) And if he’d like to share any of his words of wisdom with $$, I’d be happy to feature the note on my site too. I wish I was as smart as he was at 12!

          Reply
  9. Mr. SSC June 17, 2015 at 9:25 AM

    We do a twice a year “70 in 7” challenge where we find 10 items a day for 7 days, to donate, sell, or trash, but most end up donated or sold. This has really pared down the clutter and excess we had around the house. After doing this for 2 years, this last one was pretty challenging!
    Our biggest saving question though is, “Do I WANT this or do I NEED this?”
    We also ask ourselves all the time, “Have we used this in the past year? Will we need this in the next year? If we buy this, will we still need it/use it in 3 years?”
    This has cut out a lot of “on the fence” purchases.

    Reply
    1. J. Money June 17, 2015 at 10:59 AM

      Oh wow, that’s hardcore. And I love everything about it :) I keep telling myself I’d like to spend an entire work day just going through the rest of my basement and killing it all at the same time, but for some reason “work” gets in my way, haha… Your idea seems more do-able.

      Reply
  10. PK June 17, 2015 at 10:03 AM

    Glad your commercial discussions with your tattooed counterpart provided nothing worse than a bit of excitement! But still a great time to recalculate your risk / reward.

    Where is your meeting place? The police in a lot of places have been vocal about Craigslist folks coming to the police station (or at least the parking lot) to transact. Cameras and a boatload of cops nearby might shift the risk equation further in your favor…

    Reply
    1. J. Money June 17, 2015 at 11:01 AM

      Oh wow – that’s actually a damn good idea! Haha… I’d think they *wouldn’t* want random people showing up all day long in their lots, but if it cuts down on crime or calls? Could be fairly effective. I like it.

      Reply
  11. Nate June 17, 2015 at 10:53 AM

    Dang, not the Redskin jersey! I’m a huge Redskin fan too. That’s a Sean Taylor too, which made it a steal being that he has passed away. Would have been hard to let that one go. Nice to see the Roth IRA number has almost been achieved.

    Reply
    1. J. Money June 17, 2015 at 11:03 AM

      I know! I was originally going to hang onto it in case it became a more sought after jersey or collectible down the road, but I just couldn’t do it in the end… and every time I saw it I wanted to wear it but then when I did I would take it off in fear of getting it dirty. Isn’t that funny? So I had to get rid of it instead, haha… $15 closer to maxing out that IRA though :)

      Reply
  12. Clarisse @ Make Money Your Way June 17, 2015 at 10:56 AM

    I love your Jordan shoes! :) I think, I should start picking my unused things and try to sell it on garage sale.

    Reply
    1. J. Money June 17, 2015 at 11:05 AM

      do it! it’s fun to meet a lot of people too – besides the creepers :)

      Reply
  13. JennieKR June 17, 2015 at 11:25 AM

    We are two weeks from our first open house, so the question about whether we’d move things is pretty pertinent. We did a huge cleanout over last winter and put a bunch of what we wanted to keep in storage. (FREE storage!) Our listing got delayed for repairs so we’re going on 6 months without all that stuff. So far I’ve missed about 3 things! What the heck? I’m guessing that at least half of what’s stored is stuff we’ll be ready to get rid of…

    Reply
    1. J. Money June 17, 2015 at 11:28 AM

      wowww yes! there’s the proof that you don’t need a ton of stuff right there! great way to find out like that… time to make some $$$! :)

      Reply
  14. Alexander @ Cash Flow Diaries June 17, 2015 at 11:32 AM

    I love selling stuff on craigslist also. In the past month I have sold a wakeboard, old laptop, and an electric guitar. All items i havent used in years. Made decent money too!

    Now Im trying to sell my xbox 360 but im not getting any hits. Sucks!

    haha, those jordans are an eye sore man! I do love the old school jordans though from back in the day.

    Reply
    1. J. Money June 18, 2015 at 4:35 PM

      Oh man, you’re getting rid of a lot of high ticketed items – that’s great!

      Reply
  15. Lauren June 17, 2015 at 11:57 AM

    Meet-ups can be scary deals sometimes! Our local police station has designated the parking lot as a safe space for Craigslist sale meet ups, which I think Is so smart. I always meet in public, well lit areas I know well. Have you tried any of the online Yardsale pages through Facebook? We have a ton around here.

    Reply
    1. J. Money June 18, 2015 at 4:37 PM

      Yeah, I always meet in day time and usually well populated parking lots. Def. smart to do.

      I keep hearing about FB yard sales but I’ve killed my personal FB account years ago so I can’t check them out, haha… Probably for the best though :)

      Reply
  16. middle class June 17, 2015 at 12:15 PM

    I can’t believe you describe that CL woman as a “chick”! My husband tends to do that, too, so I’m not offended. I just think it would be weird if I was dealing with you on CL and you thought of me as a “chick”! I’m definitely not a spring chicken.

    Reply
  17. Mrs. Frugalwoods June 17, 2015 at 12:43 PM

    Love hearing your updates on the challenge! Your Craigslist selling is downright inspirational. And, it’s so true that you’ll eventually hit on a price that’ll bring people flocking. Our latest accomplishment was finally getting our Internet bill lowered–no easy feat since we don’t have a landline or cable. I think they were tired of Mr. FW calling them every month… I think he just wore them down :).

    Reply
    1. J. Money June 18, 2015 at 4:40 PM

      HAH! That does the trick too!

      Reply
  18. Fervent Finance June 17, 2015 at 1:11 PM

    I hate when chicks on the other side of a text turn into a large tattooed man :) Great job on the CL hustling.

    Reply
  19. Jules June 17, 2015 at 1:16 PM

    Love your updates and your blog. You are like a breath of fresh air.

    I have been doing Craigslist recently and have sold a ton of stuff, PLUS I had a garage (rummage) sale in May, PLUS I sold some books to a local Half-Price Book store that buys book and resells them, PLUS I traded in some gold and silver jewelry that I no longer wanted, PLUS I am taking some brand name clothes to a local place that pays for clothes and then resells them. I’m trying to think of more things to sell all of the time! Thanks for lighting a fire under my a$$.

    Reply
    1. J. Money June 18, 2015 at 4:41 PM

      Wow, you’re doing great! Keep going! Thanks for all the kind words – you totally made my day :)

      Reply
  20. maria@moneyprinciple June 17, 2015 at 4:50 PM

    Sounds good, Jay; reading all this, I’m thinking to join you. Next month it will be ‘challenge everything’ for me :).

    Reply
  21. Justin June 17, 2015 at 4:53 PM

    You sold your Sean Taylor jersey for $15?!? I would have bought it for $20! In all seriousness, I can imagine how hard it is to sell certain items even if you haven’t used them for a long while. Kudos to you man.

    Reply
    1. J. Money June 18, 2015 at 4:43 PM

      but then I would have had to mail it! :) which is why I stick to CL and not eBay – too much work…

      Reply
  22. Jason @ Islands of Investing June 17, 2015 at 5:10 PM

    Wow, seeing nearly $4.5k in the bank is crazy! I’ve just been re-organising some of my accounts and money flows, and this is one I definitely need to get set up sooner rather than later. Great stuff J Money – consistency is the key!

    Reply
  23. Dillon June 17, 2015 at 5:24 PM

    Some police stations actually allow you to meet up for Craig’s List sales in their lobby or chaperon a certain area outside the station a few times per week. Worth looking into in your area for people who are concerned with the safety factor of selling on CL.

    Reply
    1. J. Money June 18, 2015 at 4:42 PM

      yeah, that’s what I’ve been hearing today – really cool idea, never thought of it before!

      Reply
  24. Nick June 17, 2015 at 6:11 PM

    Awesome stuff J. About to get my Craigslist hustle on as well. There’s a RC in the garage that’s got dollars written all over it.

    Reply
  25. Vicki June 17, 2015 at 9:13 PM

    Hi J,

    I think it was here recently or somewhere in the blogosphere where people were talking about the pros and cons of Ebay. I started selling things I buy at thrift stores and yard sales in May and June and have made some decent side coin for very little effort ( besides the admin time and photos which can be a time suck but I can do it in my PJ’s if I want). I like Ebay because I never have to interact with anyone except via email and my experience has been positive for the most part. The worst part is those people who really haggle on the Best Offer part of things to the point of wanting it for almost free. I do not do the auction but put a FAIR ( not exorbitant) price on things as a fixed price and they sell fairly well. I find on Ebay unless it is a rare treasure then most people overprice and get no traffic. We do not have C/L in small town Oz but we do have loads of elderly people with houses kitted out like it is 1975 so I find vintage/retro pyrex and salt and pepper shakers sell well on Ebay. The other thing I find is do not attach myself to items but let them go. Of course I could keep every groovy vintage pyrex dish and be a cool kid with a retro kitchen but at the end of the day there are more out there and once they are gone I forget what they looked like anyway. One hint I can give if mailing things is to ask the post office if they have any special bubble wrap or the likes. The woman at my post office gives me all sorts of special packaging materials for free when she gets it from deliveries which saves me money and gets my items there in good condition.Produce stores same things, apples etc always come in bubble wrap. Keep up the good work J! Oh and as you highlight with the Air Jordans patience is key because eventually one day someone will want that thing you cannot move.

    Reply
    1. J. Money June 18, 2015 at 4:53 PM

      Great idea w/ getting “in” with people at the post office!

      I def. think you get more $$$$$ rockin’ eBay for sure. I just don’t have the patience to wrap stuff up and mail it and even go through the process of posting through their system. Though I’m sure it’s different/better than it was 10 years ago when I was doing more of that.

      I actually do like meeting people face to face usually, cuz I get to ask about their story and why they’re picking up XYZ item, but this last guy really threw me for a loop, haha… I guess you’re bound to come across some sketchier people the more you sell.

      Thx for stopping by and sharing :)

      Reply
  26. Pengepugeren June 18, 2015 at 4:46 AM

    Your CL experience reminded me of when I sold my previous car.
    I had posted an add on a local equivalent of CL and got a call from a guy who really, really wanted to make a deal NOW and we agreed to meet at my place. After a while, he called back and said his friend´s car had broken down and that we should meet at a place in the middle of nowhere. It all seemed a bit suspicious so I brought a friend with me. When we arrived, it was two very large, bald and tattooed guys.

    Turned out their car really had broken down and they were pretty decent guys. They paid several thousands in cash, signed the papers and went on their way :)

    Reply
    1. J. Money June 18, 2015 at 4:54 PM

      Hah! Good call w/ bringing a friend :) I’m sure people who meet me probably think I’m a bit of a sketchball too considering I rock a ‘hawk, but I always make sure to smile a lot and sometimes even wear a hat just to not scare away anyone… :)

      Reply
  27. Betsy June 18, 2015 at 11:27 AM

    Great job. I’ve never sold on Craigslist (yet) — I tend to either bring my clothes to a consignment store, and my house stuff (kitchenware, jewelry (not good stuff), decorative stuff) to another consignment store that sells that kind of thing.

    I know I’m making less since the store getting a nice cut, but sooo easy.

    Jmoney– Have you ever regretted selling something because you get caught up in the “sell sell sell” and then realize, man I really liked that. The grill doesn’t apply. :) I haven’t yet — I haven’t sold anything yet that I loved but haven’t used in awhile.

    Reply
    1. J. Money June 18, 2015 at 5:00 PM

      Clothes are the next thing on my list I’d like to try selling more of instead of donating right away, so we’ll see how they do on CL. Hopefully it’s not a 6 mo thing like my shoes or else it’ll be winter! :)

      RE: Have I regretted anything? That’s a great question actually… I’d have to say that no, I do not regret any of them. There are a couple that I still really REALLY like (like my old knife and especially my Chinese wooden dragon) but since I still have a ton of other things I like – and am keeping – I’m totally cool with having them be outta here. Especially since I got cold hard cash in return :)

      All I keep reminding myself is that I’d much rather be retired early than later with more stuff. And if I could, I’d get rid of EVERYTHING and retire right now – hah! But sadly I don’t have that much worth of value ;)

      Glad you’re not having regrets either!

      Reply
  28. Aleta June 18, 2015 at 10:46 PM

    When you switched to Republic Wireless, do you have to purchase a new phone? I looked at their site and that’s what it looks like. I have an iPhone 4 that’s fine.

    Reply
    1. J. Money June 19, 2015 at 10:28 AM

      Yeah – that’s the main drawback. Have to buy a new phone (or a used one that’s compatible online) but then you don’t have any contracts or anything to worry about which helps the sting a little :) Unfort. iPhones don’t work with them, but you can try Ting Wireless? They rock ’em and have similar budget conscious plans.

      Reply
  29. Prudence Debtfree June 18, 2015 at 10:58 PM

    I love those questions to ask yourself when deciding whether or not to keep something. Getting rid of clutter is a real challenge for me. (Did someone really pay $25 for that bar-b-que? No offence, but …)

    Reply
    1. J. Money June 19, 2015 at 10:28 AM

      Haha… it was a $200 bbq back in the day! :)

      Reply
  30. Zina at Debt Free After Three June 18, 2015 at 11:32 PM

    I think I’m going to have to steal this, “Would you take this with you if you’re moving in two weeks?” We’ll be moving cross-country in a few months and I’m dreading the packing process. A few weeks ago I went into a frenzy and threw away two garbage bins full of stuff. I can’t wait to start fresh – that’s the only good part of a move!

    Love these updates!

    Reply
    1. Debbi June 19, 2015 at 5:16 AM

      I listed 2 items on C/L 2 months ago. No bites. This post motivated me to relist them & I immediately heard from someone wanting to meet today. Bye Bye Christmas Sleigh, LOL not many buy Xmas stuff in the summer but C/L is free so it doesn’t hurt to try. Now if only I could sell my husband’s pre-historic golf clubs! Will dig out more junk…I mean, treasures…out of the attic/garage this weekend to list on C/L. Thanx for the inspiration J$.

      Reply
      1. J. Money June 19, 2015 at 10:30 AM

        Work it, Debbi! That’s awesome! :)

        @Zina – you’re absolutely right – it’s a perfect time to reevaluate stuff and start fresh somewhere else. Moving is one of my all-time fave things :) I wish you nothing but a smooth – and exciting – transition!

        Reply
  31. EJ June 19, 2015 at 8:22 PM

    HI J Money!

    We are doing exactly this at the moment with a good declutter and hustle. I picked up an oil painting at a garage sale 12 months ago for $5 and kept listing it on ebay with no success until last week when I sold it for $40! When I saw it at the garage sale i just knew that it would be harder to move but i also knew i could get a lot more for it when i did. We are doing the savings goal backwards. Our first goal is ten thousand to sink into our mortgage to get out of something we have in Australia called Lenders Mortgage insurance. If your house is mortgaged at more than 80% of its bank value you have to pay the LMI on top. We only need to put $10,000 now in mortgage to be out of that. I set the goal of $10,000 and then each time i sell something i subtract the profit. It’s been a less overwhelming way to do it and I love seeing the balance drop!
    PS I think those Jordans are awesome :) I think ill have to keep my eye out for some for the other half’s birthday next year!

    Reply
    1. J. Money June 19, 2015 at 10:14 PM

      Hah! I would have saved them for you :)

      We have something similar to your mortgage stuff called PMI – private mortgage insurance. Also for stuff over 80%. I don’t know how but we ended up with two mortgages when we bought 8 years ago – one for 80% and one for 20%. Also with no money down at all. Which is probably how we all got in trouble here w/ the housing crash, ugh…

      Anyways, I like your $10,000 plan :) And that you look for stuff to flip from garage sales too! Those are fun!

      Reply
  32. Debbi June 20, 2015 at 5:47 AM

    UPDATE: I tore into the garage searching for items to sell. Lo & behold…hiding in a corner, a set of 3 trunks I can sell. Ah, but what about the treasures hidden inside those trunks? Old family pics, the hard copy type before we had computers & printers….oh my, look how young we all were, LOL. Value? worthless but priceless, LOL then a bag of jewelry I never use. Will check a pawn shop as to value. But wait, folded up in the bottom of the bag is a $2 bill I saved from 1995 just knowing it would increase in value. Surely by now, 20 years later it will be worth a cool $4? So I googled it. No such luck. It’s worth $2, LOL so much for that pipe dream but I added the $2 to my new savings jar! And I found more treasures (cough cough) to sell on C/L. Had to add the 11 cents I found in the parking lot of Aldi too! Thanx again for all the ideas J$

    Reply
    1. J. Money June 24, 2015 at 10:42 AM

      haha, you are too much over there – I love it.

      I found a ton of frames w/ pics in them too in my basement last month and didn’t know what to do with them cuz didn’t want to get rid of them all but they also take up so much room! Then it just hit me – “take out the pics, you dummy, and put them in an album!” So that’s what I’m doing now :) Takes up much less space and now can sell/get rid of the frames!

      Funny about your $2 bill too. It’s a commonly thought thing though, so don’t worry about it :) A lot of people don’t even know they’re real currency and can be used to buy stuff! Every now and then you hear stories of people getting the cops called on them when they go to use them at the supermarket, haha…

      Reply
  33. Chris Muller June 28, 2015 at 10:20 AM

    Dude is that a Sean Taylor jersey? #RIP

    That must have been tough to let go of. I’ll be honest, I’m a little skittish when it comes to selling on Craigslist. I’m worried I’ll get some totally sketchy dude showing up at my house. Seems like you’ve had pretty good experiences though. You should totally do a story about any of the weird experiences you’ve had with Craigslist-folk though.

    Anyways, congrats on a strong month. I forgot about eBates – I think I have $1.57 pending in my account. Does your wife buy stuff she normally would anyways, but uses eBates? Or does she buy stuff just to get the cash back? I found myself doing the latter – I was so determined to get a rebate check I was buying crap I didn’t even need, lol.

    Reply
    1. J. Money June 28, 2015 at 3:04 PM

      Hah – yeah, she only buys what we need. Which is why it takes us forever to get the ebate checks :)

      I tell all the interesting stories w/ CL meetups each time I do one of these reviews. Nothing too crazy has happened outside of this last guy that gave me a quick scare. It is fun to ask them why they’re picking up each of the items though, as sometimes there’s an interesting back story and makes you feel good about selling to them. I’ve mainly had all positive experiences.

      Reply

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