*This was one of my most popular posts from my now-defunct finance blog that I had a request to re-post. Don't worry, this is not a permanent thing!*
During the great financial
meltdown of 2008 (that’s what I’m calling it at least), I was working at a law
firm that was about to lay off 95% of its employees. There I was – five weeks
into the job and I had just used every last dime of savings I had to pay off a
credit card. This. Was. Not. Good. Instead of selling my body to science (yeah,
that’s what we’ll call it), I decided to get creative in making more money. I
already had two jobs and a side gig, what more could I do? After having another
book fall on my foot from my rinky-dink shelf I realized I needed to sell,
sell, sell. Looking around my apartment, there was so much crap I had but
didn’t use.
• Books – this was way before Kindle and even then I
was questioning why I had kept my college accounting book. We always say that
we’ll “use these for reference someday” but that day never comes gang. Put old
textbooks and any book you haven’t read in the past two years online (Amazon or
Google "used textbook sales"). Or donate them to your local library
or Goodwill – you’ll get a tax write off.
• Cd’s/Movies – when was the last time you watched
that favorite movie of yours? How many times have you burned that Depeche Mode
CD on to your computer? If it’s not on your tablet or laptop, how important is
it to you really? Put it online or try to sell it to your local record store.
You don’t know how much that Pixies album is worth until you check it out.
• Clothes – I had a ton of good condition suits and
nice shoes I bought for conquering the corporate world. Oops, damn college
student hope. I was able to sell my suits to Buffalo Exchange and some other
local thrift stores. eBay is always an option but I find they take so much in
fees that it’s not worth it. If you have something with the tags still on,
that’s the way to go. If you’re not finding any luck and could use some good
karma, donate any business wear to Goodwill or Dress for Success to someone who
could use it.
• Large furniture – oversized dressers, armoires,
coffee tables, random Ikea furniture left by old roommates – put it on
Craigslist and make some money. Make sure to take clear pictures from different
angles, provide measurements and always say in the ad that they need to pick it
up. People are so transient here that I always check Craigslist before I go to
Ikea – someone’s three-month old bed frame could be my discount remodel piece.
I’ve also sold bikes, exercise equipment, cookware and video-game systems on
Craigslist. Just be prepared to haggle, only let people pick up in the daytime
and deal with cash only.
• Get rid of your vehicle. This is very extreme but
if you live in a place with good public transportation or are a couple who can
carpool, the savings are insane. Getting rid of my lemon of a car was the
single smartest economic decision I did. The amount of money I saved put a huge
dent in my debt.
Hopefully by the end of
this you’ll be a little more organized, have some extra money in your pocket
and have some space to do yoga or set up your beer-pong table.
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