Just a quick check in. I'm still here. Busy week with family visiting. Nice thing is spending has been kept to a minimum.

I'm waiting for a payment on an ebay auction. Not sure if I'll get the money. It is a ebay newbie with no feedback. Ugh! I will report if needed.

I used my World Markets rewards yesterday to buy a mini strainer, a chocolate bar, Mrs. Meyers hand soap and two advent calendars with chocolate. My total after the $10 reward: 90 cents!!

Any good deals on your end?

I made another half.com sale last night. The person bought three of our books! They are in the mailbox and ready to go. Net profit: $4.44. I already added this to my ebay challenge totals.

I have 7 items on ebay that end tomorrow. Only two with bids, but a few watchers on the others. I don't expect them all to sell, but will keep relisting while the listing and buy it now options are free. I do have two items I need to add to my listings.

I have earned another $5 amazon gift card on swagbucks. I'm definitely shopping on amazon for a few holiday gifts this year, so it will help lower the balance.

It's cold and rainy here. I think we'll stay inside and bake. That makes today a no spend day!

I sold three of the six items I had listed for a total of $37.99. No complaints here. The one item I had purchased at a garage sale for $1, sold for $20.50!

I relisted the other three and hope to put up a couple more items on Tuesday as five day listings. Right now it is free to list items at any starting price and include a buy it now option for free also! So why not keep putting it out there for someone to see.

I think some craigslist items I listed a month ago are expiring off the site. Time to relist those, too. Maybe a lower price is needed also.

My ebay sales end today. I have six items listed. Half have bids. The other three are being watched. If I sell all at current bids and the other at the original price, I make $44! Here's hoping.

If I get to it, I might add a couple more items to start tonight. I've noticed my mind is definitely consumed with Christmas shopping. Hunting for deals, trying to earn more reward cards, pre shopping online for ideas...but so far I've only purchased a couple gifts.

I bought two wood puzzles for a neice at Target using a gift card I earned. I also purchased some stationary items for a couple of friends and a teacher online. Those should arrive this week. Nice to cross off several people. My girls are getting ideas for their lists. The earlier the list, the easier it is to buy.

Are you already Christmas hunting? Is anyone done?

I had enough points with MySurveys to collect $20. I will receive it in my paypal account in about 10 days.

I also received a $10 Rewards, because it is my birthday month, from World Market. I actually went there today, but could not decide what to buy, so I didn't buy anything. Crazy, huh?

Panera now has a rewards card. I signed up a couple weeks ago. I have a free pastry or sweet available to me just for signing up. You can bet I will pick that up sometime this holiday season when I'm out shopping.

I'm getting closer to another Amazon gift card from Swagbucks. I don't seem to rack up the points as fast as some of you. I have limits on things I will sign up for. And I don't use the search too often. I can usually get about 10 points a day. I did start watching some videos for points.

I was paid today for a pinecone survey. Another $3 in my paypal account is always nice.

How are you racking up small bits of cash? Or big bits?

Wow! It seems there are several good financial things happening this week. They are small, but fun!

Our water bill arrived this week. I was almost $9 less than usual. Cool.

Today we went clothes shopping for the girls. We bought needs only. First we bought a pair of ballet flats at Payless Shoes for $13.24. My daughter will wear these for band performances.

At JC Penney we bought a black pair of pants (band), dress (vocal performance), white pajama top, and a package of silly band rings. The total for those four items, with tax, $16.45!! I had a coupon for $10 off a $25 purchase. I actually had to buy the silly bands $1.99) just to get my total above $25! The dress was on clearance for $7.97, after the discount was applied it cost me only $4.85. I'm thrilled with the deal.

And to top it off one of the items I'm selling on ebay has a bid. I bought the item at a garage sale for $1 a couple weeks ago. I knew it would sell on ebay. So far the bid is up to $10.50!! Nice return.

And can I just say it is nice to see the stock market moving up, too! What good financial things are happening in your world?

I made a half.com sale today. They always surprise me a bit since I don't sell the books that often. In fact, I may only have four listed now.

Profit: $1.77

I was adding ebay listings at the time I noticed the sale. I found six items to list this week. I made them 5 day listings since I prefer to end them on Sunday evenings. I will try to have a few more items ready to post for Sunday.

I'm way behind on my challenge for ebay. I was hoping for an average of $100 per month. So far, I'm under $80. Of course, no complaints. I'll take what I can get accomplished!

I wanted to update our van loan balance to reflect our regular payment, but the online balance isn't showing our payment yet. It has been deducted from our checking account. Customer service isn't open again until Monday. Darn.

So...I'll just say that our balance has to be under $8,200 with our regular payment. Yip. Ee.

I'll update the sidebar and post again when it is confirmed online.

On a side note, I think I need to get back to my ebay challenge this week. I have several things that would be good to sell now. And the cash would be nice.

I have never been great about saving ahead for Christmas. Surprising. It comes at the same time every year. I save for other yearly expenses on a monthly basis, but not Christmas or Birthdays.

I might change. I might not. I usually just spend what I have on hand. Can't go wrong there. I also start shopping for some things early.

Right now I actually have a little stash that I have accumulated for Christmas:

Target Gift Cards $80
Cash $160
Paypal $19.61
Cash Rewards $75
Amazon Gift Card $5

Total = $339.61

I'm guessing I need another $400, which can easily come out of cash on hand as I buy. I plan to keep earning rewards and holding on to the paypal balance. It will all help take the sting out of the Christmas spending. Oh and I do intend to scale back a bit on gifts. I'm thinking some homemade items are in order!

After three days of selling, my profit was $217. I do wish we had skipped Saturday, just because the time spent was cold and not overly productive. However, I like all $217!!

Here are the updated challenge numbers:

2010 Ebay Challenge Totals
January: $201.89
February: $46.40
March: $55.50
April: $4.74
May: $265.99
June: $0
July: $0
August: $3.04
September:$23.95
October: $217.00
Monthly average: $81.85

I have a little ways to go to get my average to $100 per month. A few nice things didn't sell, so I will try craigslist or ebay.

Day one of our garage sale has been a success. We did get traffic, although it seems a little lighter than some years. We will be open tomorrow and possibly on Saturday, too. We really want to sell this stuff!!

The total for the group was $538. My total, which includes a few items from my sister and daughters, looks to be about $138. Maybe the next two days can bring me over $200! That would sure bring up my ebay challenge average.

for the car sale. No. I'm not cheating on my husband! I expect my neice and her parents to come to get the car October 16th. That is only three weeks away. I'm excited. She's excited. I'm going to make her a key chain for her new key and give her a gift card for gas. That part is her birthday present.

The car proceeds of $2500 will go to the emergency fund. I also realized that I can cancel the auto insurance on it also. I will have just paid the premium on it 12 days prior, so I will get most of that money, around $200, back.

Our car registrations are due in October also. I will only renew the van and save the money for the car registration, which is about $117. Actually, I'm allocating this money to the increase in home owner's insurance this year. Joy.

I sold an item on ebay for $8.95! I just put it up last night with a Buy It Now option...and sure enough it was sold when I looked this morning. Those are the kind of sales I like.

I will add this sale money to the ebay challenge. Look for an update on that soon.

I am having a garage sale at the end of this month. I have just about everything priced! I might go looking for more items, but I think I have found all I can part with for now.

I added $215 to our emergency fund goal today. Our balance is now over $3K! Yipee.

New Balance = $3,169.36

We are getting closer to the halfway point of the goal of $7,000.

On a side note, I did sell a pair of jazz shoes for $15 on Monday night to another dance mom. Easy!

I've been in the middle of a master bedroom makeover. It's seems to be a tradition while DH is overseas! I picked up three gallons of paint from Lowe's this week to paint the bedroom and master bathroom. Each gallon is eligible for a $5 rebate. After the rebate and the 10% military discount, I paid about $17 per gallon. Right now, I don't know when I'm going to paint, but the weather is cooling down!

I already received the $25 Target gift card I requested with Best Western Rewards about a week ago. That was fast! I think I'm saving it to buy Christmas gifts, or to buy groceries when I'm spending money other places.

I made a large principal payment to the van yesterday. Apparently, I checked way too early this morning because it was not showing up any where. Yikes! I sent $1011 in electronically, so you can imagine the little scare I put myself through. I decided to trust that it would appear. Sure enough, a few hours later it is recorded.

Our new van loan balance is now under $12K, with a balance of $11,582!!

Other exciting news: I was sent an email by Best Western Rewards that we have points to spend. I don't think we have stayed in one of their hotels for over 4 years. Because of the email, I decided to cash out some points for a $25 gift card to Target. Yipee! I will use the money for Christmas or groceries in December.

Wow! I wasn't expecting it. I made a sale on half.com. I listed the book in January. Profit is minimal at $3.04, but I'll take it.

I'm not sure that I will get to it in August, but I can feel the need to start listing on ebay and craigslist after labor day. And I'm pretty sure we'll have a garage sale in September. Fun, fun!!

I also completed a Pinecone survey and should receive a payment tomorrow. They are so quick with the paypal payments.

A look at some of our point accumulations reveal the following:

Debit card points: $75 worth that can redeemed for cash or a gift card at various stores.

My Points: Approximately 150 point shy of a $50 gift card to Target!! I also already have enough for $50 to Home Depot or Lowe's. I need even less of my point for a $50 gift card to Old Navy. I shop at Target much more often...so I need to figure out which card makes sense for me.

I mentioned a few days ago that I earned $5 at Amazon through the swagbucks program. I have yet to spend that. I will likely use towards Christmas gifts!

I like free money. If you like free money and would like to join MyPoints, please post your email with your first intial and last name (it can be a fake name if you want) . You will receive an invite to my points. I receive 25 points if you join! I will delete your email asap.

Obviously, summer is not a good time for me to invest my time in selling on ebay. For two straight months now, I have not earned a single penny towards this goal. I will have to try to make up for it once my girls get back to school, which is late August. This likely means August will be a bust also. However, maybe I'll surprise myself and get something sold.

2010 Ebay Challenge Totals
January: $201.89
February: $46.40
March: $55.50
April: $4.74
May: $265.99
June: $0
July: $0

Monthly average: $82.07

I went shopping at Walmart today. I bought annual flowers to put in the pots on my porch and deck. Flowers always make me happy when I see them. I will put one near my kitchen window where I can see them while I wash dishes.

I bought 5 six packs, two accent plants and a bag of potting soil. I had a $5 gift card that I received in the mail from Walmart, because they remodeled the store. I spent $11! I figure money well spent since it will be a nice treat all summer long.

I also received a $3 payment from Pinecone Research today as well. Yipee for extra cash!

My last post was about the ebay challenge, too. However, since that post I have sold an item on ebay and one book on half.com!!

New sales = $5.72

Not big bucks, but the little amounts do add up!

2010 Ebay Challenge Totals
January: $201.89
February: $46.40
March: $55.50
April: $4.74
May: $265.99

Monthly average: $114.90

Unless I make a sale on half.com, I expect that will be the final total for May. I'm only $25.48 away from meeting my minimum for June. I think I can do it!!

I added $14.72 this week for a sale made on half.com and a sale made on ebay (that I hope to be paid for soon). The new totals are below:

2010 Ebay Challenge Totals
January: $201.89
February: $46.40
March: $55.50
April: $4.74
May: $260.27

Monthly average: $113.76

I'm still meeting my monthly goal!

The dance and tumbling recital for the girls was last weekend. Today, it was time for preregistration. Yikes!

I paid in full for each of them to take a 30 minute class each week for the next school year. Only set me back $808. They waived the $90 recital fee with full payment. That is a 10% savings. And I don't have to think about money for that activity again for quite some time.

In other money news, I received my second Pinecone survey payment this week and made one small sale on half.com. I will net only $1.70 on the sale, but it is $0.70 more than if I had sold this item at the garage sale! I will add this to my ebay challenge totals at the end of the month.

Today is a mow and sew day here at my house. I'm only sharing because I really plan to do both of these things and they rhyme!

I mentioned in my last post that I was looking to sell some books for cash. I found three that could be sold. The rest of the online companies were not buying what I had, so they are listed on half.com in hopes someone may want them.

I am selling each book to a different company! They are paying the shipping. I expect to receive a total of $6.29 in my paypal account once they are received and processed. It's not a lot, but it is something towards my ebay challenge goal. I will add it to my totals once the cash is received.

Here's are the companies I used this time:

I put one item on ebay Sunday and it already has two bids. If it sells at its current price, I will be happy, but I expect it will go up a little bit. So...even happier!!

I received a $3 Pinecone Payment in my paypal account. I love how fast that is. There are no fees to receive the cash!!

My sister brought quite a few books to our garage sale. Some sold, but there are plenty left. I'm going to check today if any of them can be sold online for cash. I will also take them to the used book store if needed. She said I could have the money!!

My sister also had quite a few clothes that didn't sell, but are very nice. I'm going to try a few on. Maybe I'll get a new wardrobe! If they don't work for me, I will also consider putting them on ebay for some cash.

I'm happy to report that our garage sale was a success. We did really, really well on the first day even though it was cold and rainy. We still had good traffic today as well, however, the sales were not as brisk!

I did this sale with two of my neighbors. They brought in more than I did. Our combined total for the two day sale was $914.80!

My sales, which will be added to by ebay challenge goal, equaled $245.55. I'm thrilled! I was hoping for over $200. I made that goal and then some.

2010 Ebay Challenge Totals
January: $201.89
February: $46.40
March: $55.50
April: $4.74
May: $245.55

My average is now $110.82 per month. I'm exceeding my $100 average per month goal.

Okay...here are two photos of our garage sale set up. I took them pretty quickly, so they really may not do the sale and all my talk of organizing it justice.

Here they are:





We had lots of traffic. I'm not sure what our totals are yet and we have another day to go! I think we are suppose to have sun all day tomorrow...which should bring out some more people.

The garage sale begins tomorrow. We are all set. The three of us are almost pros at setting these things up!

It is raining like crazy here today. We will likely have rain in the morning, but it should clear off a couple hours into our sale. Somehow we packed it all into a three car garage. A few things can be pulled out into the rain if needed. Friday we expect a full day of sun!!

The free craigslist ad is up and running. Bring on the buyers!

I've been busy with out of town guests, school performances and not feeling quite up to par. No spending the last two days!

It's going to be a cool and rainy week here. I think the garage sale is still on! There is plenty to do this week. I'll check in when I can.

I have priced nearly all of our garage sale items! I have about 12 boxes worth of stuff. I have been finding a few more items each day as well.

Garage Sale Tip #4: Keep the change

We start our sales with $60-70 worth of change, in quarters, ones and fives. Five to ten dollars in quarters, and $25-30 in ones and fives.

Many people use a cash box for change, but this is actually a bit dangerous unless someone is able to literally sit by the money the entire time. We use a fanny pack! One of us gals wears it around our waist, so that the cash is with us even if we need to help a buyer with something. It can be so easy to get distracted and walk away from the money opening yourself up to possibility of it being stolen. As the cash accumulates from the sale, we pull the large bills out every so often and put them inside the house.

We also try to keep the bills in order inside the fanny pack, so that it is easier to make change. Ones in front, 20's in back and change on the bottom. It works for us!