I made another sale on half.com! I actually sold two dvd's to one customer. My net proceeds were $6.13.

2010 Ebay Challenge Total
January: $178.22

What is up with half.com's notification of sales? I actually went to the site early this morning and it didn't show any new sales. Then around 11am today, I receive an email about the sales that was stamped 3:44am! What? Half.com could you improve your notification, please!!

I sold a CD on Half.com today. My net profit after the commission and shipping is $1.28. Can't complain, right?

Ebay Challenge Totals:
January $172.09

I already have a bid on one of my ebay items this week. I also have people watching two of the other three. The auctions still have six more days to go, so I'm very pleased.

Last night all three of my auctions sold!! I'm amazed sometimes at what people will pay for things. It is always a nice surprise.

My total sales were $46.49. I sold four items between the three auctions. Much better than a garage sale!

Ebay Challenge Totals:
January $170.81

I have another set of 4 auctions up for this week. They are primarily books. I will spend some of my time this week, getting auctions ready to start on Sunday. I might as well keep going, since it is going so well.

On Tuesday, I listed 36 items on half.com. It was a little tedious getting everything listed, but I did it.

I already made one sale! It was for a children's book that I listed for $0.99. Funny thing too. There was only one book listed of this same title. It was listed for over $300! Crazy. I guess I'm a little more reasonable. This was not more than a $4 book from Scholastic. Ours was in good shape, except for a cut on the cover which I disclosed.

Half.com reimburses for shipping at the media mail rate. I was able to ship this very small paperback book first class for less. I netted $1.56. I bet I would have only received a quarter at a garage sale.

Small sale, but they do all add up. Who else has books listed on half.com? It doesn't cost anything to list. If they don't sell, you are not out anything. I have a book that has been listed for at least 6 months and still hasn't sold!

Check out my previous posts you may have missed while the servers were down.

I sold 15 books to Powells.com last night for $17.25. Most of these were children's books. This is the first site I have found to accept these types of books for cash. Yipee!

They didn't accept all of the books I have, so I will be listing quite a few on half.com until the garage sale comes around.

2010 Ebay Challenge Total
Jan: $122.76

New Purge Point Total: 114

Wow! I'm already ahead of my self imposed goal of $100 for the ebay challenge.

I sold 15 cd's for cash earlier this week for $57.56. I am still waiting on the checks, of course.

Last night, I had 5 of 7 listings sell on ebay. The sales were $47.95! Three people have paid. I'm waiting on the other two. I relisted one item and added two new items that will end this Sunday. (For the purge: the 5 listings were equal to 8 items)

2010 Ebay Challenge Total
Jan: $105.51

I'm going to keep working on this challenge hard now, while I'm motivated, since I'm working toward an average of $100 per month for the whole year.

Purge Points
Previous Total 45
New Total 69

I might have mentioned that we went through our movies and music recently. I finally got around to selling 15 CD's to two different companies that buy them. My total is $57.56! I'm getting a good start on my sales challenge.

The best deal was for a copy of Annie, the original motion picture soundtrack. The company is paying me $22.64!! Ebay recently sold one for $46. I thought about selling ours that way, but as time went on they were selling for less and less, so I decided this was the best way to guarantee a decent amount of cash! Seriously. Check and see what your stuff sells for online, you may be surprised.

I sold our discs to secondspin and preplayeddiscs.

Purge Points: 45

I'm off to recycle about 80 other compact discs (at Best Buy) that were back ups for various things. Quite a few were TV shows DH's brother copied for him last time he was overseas. I guess no desire to rewatch!

I have 7 auctions ready to start this evening on ebay. If all items sell, I will have sent 11 items on their way. Yipee for decluttering!

I've been indecisive about my ebay challenge goal for 2010. Last year, my goal was to average $100/month with sales on ebay, craigslist and garage sales. I fell short with an average near $60 per month. The real question is: can I earn another $40 per month over last year?

I think I will try again. Same goal. It may be a stretch, but stretching is good! If I fall short, so be it. I really will try to meet this goal. I may have to get to a few garage sales looking for items to resell, but I'm okay with that!

Does anyone have a bigger goal for the ebay challenge of 2010?

It turns out you can sign up at Kohls.com with your email address to receive a $5 coupon. The coupon is valid on a minimum purchase of $5. It does take several days before it shows up in your email. I think I'm going to buy some socks with mine!!

I took a survey with American Consumer Opinion tonight. At the end, it reminded me that my account would be credited with the $4 in a few days. I checked my account afterwards, and I have $4 in my account already for a survey I took in February!! I will cash out my account, with $8, once my most recent survey posts. It is fun to find money you didn't realize you had.

Yesterday, on a bit of a whim, I signed up with TaxAct for tax filing. We won't qualify for a free version, but it it appears we can e file and print both federal and state for under $18. That I can handle.

Last year, I entered information as it came in the mail or was available online. I could already add in our donations and real estate taxes. I even looked back to see that our state refund was returned to us on January 30 and our federal was returned February 8. Fast!!

I have estimated our total refund to be $768. I'm looking forward to seeing how accurate I was. If the refund is in that ballpark, it will be less than half of what was returned to us last year. It's not because our income or withholding changed either! The government was withholding too much state income tax per the withholding tables. They finally corrected it earlier this year.

One last miscellaneous item: I redeemed our debit card points today for $25. It's always nice to have a little extra cash. I also need to redeem some mypoints soon.

Yipee!! I made another craigslist sale today in the amount of $25. I sold our other rodent cage and accessories.

I challenged myself this year to make $100 per month on ebay, craigslist or garage sales. I did fall short. Here are the final numbers:

Dec Total = $50.00
Oct Total = $87.96
Sept Total = $110.00
June Total = $55.25
May Total = $197.75
April Total = $22.22
March Total = $83.13
February Total = $66.50
January Total = $4.95

Total for 2009: $677.76
Average per month: $56.48

I think I will continue the challenge in 2010. The truth is we don't have a lot of excess junk. So what should my goal be? An improvement over this year? $60 per month? I could keep it the same and really stretch myself. I might have been able to reach it this year, but there was a lack of motivation at times.

I'll decide my goal at the first of the year, but any thoughts and input are appreciated.

Yipee!! I just made a craigslist sale.

I was browsing the craigslist site a couple hours ago and saw someone wanted a cage for a hamster. I responded to their ad with the cage and accessories we had available. I included a picture and named my price.

The whole timeframe was three hours from my response to their pick up of the cage and accessories. My take: $25!!

So...forget my previous post. We are in the black again.

Dec Total = $25
Oct Total = $87.96
Sept Total = $110.00
June Total = $55.25
May Total = $197.75
April Total = $22.22
March Total = $83.13
February Total = $66.50
January Total = $4.95

I sold 7 of the 8 items I listed last Sunday on ebay for $35.96. The total isn't great, but it is better than a garage sale! I also sold two more Halloween costumes Sunday morning that were listed on craigslist for $10.

Here are my new Ebay Challenge totals:

Oct Total = $87.96 (so far!)
Sept Total = $110.00
June Total = $55.25
May Total = $197.75
April Total = $22.22
March Total = $83.13
February Total = $66.50
January Total = $4.95

Yipee!!

I did sell one item as a Buy It Now, earlier this week. Right now I have 4 items with bids out of 7 listings! The listings end on Sunday, so I will give you a final update early next week.

I have already thought of a few more items I could list! Not sure when I'll get them up though. Do you have unused items around your house you could sell? Go check a drawer or a closet and see what you find!

My youngest daughter has been home since Friday with a cold virus. The fever is mild, but just won't go away. There is coughing, too. No aching, so I don't think its the flu. She's been up and around everyday, but feels low on energy. So...tomorrow we are going to the doctor.

I'm hoping for an antibiotic. I don't usually like them, but this thing is holding on too long. I guess I'm impatient! What me?

The good news: I have one bid on an ebay items and some watchers on a couple others. I priced low and with exact shipping, so my items are attactive for bids!!

I'm also glad the stock market had an UP day. Here's to more of those to come.

I finally listed some items on ebay. Eight items to be exact. Now I have my fingers crossed for 8 sales!

I've been away from ebay for awhile. I think my craigslist success brought back my motivation. That and the upcoming holidays!

While I'm here I will update my Ebay Challenge Sales:

Oct Total = $42 (so far!)
Sept Total = $110.00
June Total = $55.25
May Total = $197.75
April Total = $22.22
March Total = $83.13
February Total = $66.50
January Total = $4.95

A woman picked up a couple Barbie cars this morning for $5. That was a craigslist posting from last week. Nice to start the weekend with a sale.

My youngest daughter has decided to use a costume we already have or her dance costume from last year for Halloween. That means I don't need to buy anything!! Love it. (The older daughter is done with the trick or treating.)

I think I'm going to get some items up on ebay this weekend. Craigslist works, but it is slower.

Good news!

I received $10 in the mail today from mysurvey.com. I'm popping that money in the second checking account. It needs a little cushion.

The DOW ended up over 10,000 for the first time in over a year. Experts don't seem to think it will stick in the long term. It was fun to watch. I was working in the mutual fund industry back in 1999 when it reached 10,000 for the first time ever. Pretty cool!

Tomorrow is payday...so I'll have a few financial updates!

Well, those craigslist postings are beginning to work!!

I sold all of the girls Polly Pockets for $10 around 9:15 this morning. I left for the gym right after.

Another woman was scheduled to arrive at 1pm, but showed up in the driveway as I pulled in from the gym. I sold her a pair of ballet shoes for $7!

Quick and easy. That's how it should work. I hope I get a couple more sales today.

I just spent over an hour listing a few more items on craigslist. It is kind of tedius. The pictures took awhile to upload. I finally changed the settings on the camera!!

I didn't sell anything since the halloween costume last week. A woman said she would buy one this weekend, but I didn't hear from her. Yet.

I have some nice things to sell...just not enough for a garage sale. And it seems to be too cold for those now!

I listed 4 Halloween costumes on craigslist on Saturday. I'm only asking $5 each, since they are used and only bought at Target and Walmart.

I sold the first one tonight!! That's another $5 in our pocket. Thanks sale fairy. It would be nice to have a few more of those sell this week.

Borrowed books at the library.

Six hour sale at the local grocery store. Stocked up on quite a few things. Only spent $32.

Found 10 things to sell. Listed them on craigslist. With pictures. Hoping for some quick sales.

Crockpot smells of something good to eat for dinner. Will throw together a salad. Easy!

Funny. No mail for us today. No bills, no junk. No complaints here!

Yesterday, we received our Verizon rebate of $50 in the form of a Visa debit card. I guess I'll have to incorporate this to be used as part of our spending money. More money in our pocket is always a good thing!

I was hoping for the Army to pay my husband's travel voucher today. I checked and it is not there. It may be delayed because the travel was for last fiscal year and now we are in new fiscal year. My fingers crossed for Monday!

It's getting to be a bit comical, how many sales can I make on craiglist this week? Today makes 3!

First the ugly couch sold on Sunday for $100. Then Monday night, I sold a wall shelf for $10. Today, I sold a pair of tap shoes for $10!

The interesting thing about the tap shoes is that I gave them away to my neighbor last year. I even thought her daughter was wearing them last season. No. Last year they were too big for her daughter. This year they are too small. So, she returned them to me! Her daughter IS wearing the ballet shoes I gave her.

This week I heart craigslist. Hmm...I wonder if I will sell any more. Right now, there is only one item left.

I put three items up for sale on craiglists on Saturday after we purchased our new sofa. As you know, I sold the couch yesterday for $100.

This evening a woman paid $10 cash for an oak wood wall shelf. Yipee! I love cash in my pocket.

Two items down, one more to go. The final one, I'm actually torn about selling. I have it listed a little high. If and when I get an inquiry, I'll make the call about whether to sell it. I have it listed for $150. The cash would be nice. We still like the item. It just doesn't really match anything any longer, so I suspect it will end up in the basement pretty soon.

Umm...I think someone is on my side today. I sold the ugly couch!! For $100. The cool thing is it is going to a college kid who is colorblind...he doesn't care that the colors are outdated! Perfect.

Turns out Wii game systems are on sale this week. I bought ours at Target. They dropped their price by $50! Since this is the only thing the girls want for Christmas, I jumped on it.

So a very spendy weekend in some respects. However, our spending money for the remainder of September sits at $200, which is awesome for us. I think I can use the most of this toward paying back the EF for the braces later this week.

It's all working out...even if the plan has changed a bit along the way!

Finally, I am pleased to report that I redeemed 1000 points with Global Test Marketing for $50!

This company begins payouts at 1000 points. And it seems to take quite awhile to get there. However, I do enjoy a $50 check once in awhile!

The check will take at least four weeks to arrive. Again, one must really have patience to work with this company.

The weekend has been great as far as keeping spending to a minimum. We have $32 left in the checking account and payday is Tuesday. I completely expect tomorrow to be a no spend day!! I must say it feels good to be in control of the money.

Yesterday, we picked up $17 worth of items at Walmart. Only $8 of that was an unnessary eyeglass case for our youngest daughter. It is a hard case with a magnetic closure and she'll have it for a long time. The free one given with the eyeglasses is soft and has a open side. Not the best kind for a child!

Today, I ran to SuperTarget and bought minimum groceries to get us through the next two days. Much of it will cover lunches for the remainder of the week, too! I spent $18.

On Tuesday...I will make a much bigger grocery run. I think I will aim for buying for about 10 days. I guess I need to start writing a meal plan and grocery list!

Right now, I'm off to make mini loaves of banana bread and jello in case the kids need a snack! After that, I'm thinking about finding some items to list on ebay. I'm dreading that though.

I'm one of those people that does pretty good about getting rid of our excess stuff/clutter. In the past, I have held garage sales, sold on ebay, listed on half.com, taken clothes to consignment sales and stores. I've sold used books, and old cell phones. But right now...

I'm unmotivated.

And the truth, I have stuff to sell. The girls are always growing out of their clothes and shoes. They've recently decided to give up Barbies, Polly Pockets and Bratz. There's an extra coat in the closet. There are movies we won't watch again. There is real stuff to sell.

Right now is when I SHOULD be motivated. I have braces to pay my emergency fund back for, and a home equity loan that I want desperately to go away!!

But for now...I'm not motivated. I'm just being honest! Maybe I'll think about it more tomorrow....

As I mentioned in a previous post, we changed our homeowner's insurance deductible. Specifically, we increased it to $1000. It seems we will most likely get a refund. If I'm reading our online statement correctly, the refund will be equal to $68.53!!

That is money I can use towards those braces!! Things did go well today. She's in minimal pain with Advil every four hours. Our orthodontist even called to see how she is doing!! I wasn't expecting that. He even offered his home phone number which I took down. I love this guy!! He's one of those people that you can tell really loves his work. We should all be so lucky.

I completed a Pinecone survey today, so I expect so see an additional $3 in our bank account soon. Our checking account has about $35 left until Monday. So, we hope to have a very limited spending weekend. I think we can do it!!

Once payday arrives, I have to buy new jazz shoes for one daughter and a leotard for the other. Turns out they both grew over the summer!!