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How I Have Saved Cash for the Holidays

November 6th, 2008 at 04:32 pm

I did a quick budget to see how much cash I would need for the holidays...about $750!! I have been saving since September and have accumulated about $450 so far. Here's where the money has come from:

1) Garage sale proceeds $60

2) Craigslist proceeds $10

3) Ebay sales $237

4) Debit card rewards $50

5) Target gift card $10

6) Survey points redeemed $30

7) Money market interest $35

8) Misc cash $18
I pulled a few dollars here and there from my purse and DH's wallet. Smile

Now I still need another $300. I am trying to find this money outside our regular budget when possible. Last night I found several more high quality items to sell on ebay. Those will be up and running on Sunday.

If I can't accumulate it outside our regular budget...I will dip in, but I'm sure not ready to dip in yet!! I'm also going to be looking for bargains...maybe I won't need to spend $750. That would make me very happy!!

5 Responses to “How I Have Saved Cash for the Holidays”

  1. mom-from-missouri Says:
    1225990602

    Just an FYI, but if next year you can tuck back $14.50 a week, you will have it by Christmas. If you were to put that into a special savings account, you could even earn a few more pennies in interest.
    When I was working I started taking my own lunches and snacks, then at the end of the week if I had "behaved", them money that I saved from not going into the vending and pop machines I put into my account also.

  2. creditcardfree Says:
    1225992005

    Mom...You make a great point!! With DH's raise in January, I may just add holiday spending to our escrow account.

  3. lizajane Says:
    1225993254

    Do you find Sunday works best for ending ebay items (assuming you run a 7-day auction)? Or is that just the only day you have time to list? I've started doing a lot of 30-day fixed price listings, since it's 35 cents for 30 days. I price them low, just so I make a buck or two off them since I figure that's all I'd make at a yard sale anyhow. I'm up to $75 for the month just doing that, and I'm clearing some of the clutter!

  4. creditcardfree Says:
    1225994481

    lizajane...yes ending the auctions on a Sunday evening does seem to work well. I get the most people interested then. It's nice to mail most of them out the next day, too. I've done a few of the fixed 30 day auctions, but only if I know the price the item will go for. I want the higgest possible price, sometimes the only way to get that is to put it put for auction to the highest bidder.

    I just found two fall clothing items with tags on them in my closet...they are going up on ebay, too!!

  5. Snoopycool Says:
    1225999345

    If you google when to end an eBay auction you should find a guy who has done extensive research and has a calendar which tells you when to begin and end auctions. I'd post the link but I can't find it right now. Sorry.

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