Money is Hiding in Your House

You have money. Money that you don't even realize that you have...it's hiding right in your house! In fact, it might not be hiding, it might be laying there, right out in the open! Take a look around you. Are there things that you have that you haven't used in a while, and that if you are honest with yourself, you probably won't use anytime soon (if ever.) That thing, could be turned into money. Why not make the most of it?

So, how do you turn things into money? Ebay comes to mind. As do garage sales, consignment shops, and free ads that are offered online ~ I've sold a lot of unused items on Craigslist. If you have the desire, you can turn your "stuff" into cash. You can then take that cash and use it to help tame your Debt Beast.

If you don't need or want to turn your items into immediate cash, you can always donate them and use the wrtie off on your taxes.  With the deductions guidelines you might be surprised at how those clothes you never wear add up.  Plus ~ think about all the extra closet space you'll have:)  According to the IRS you need to itemize your taxes and you need to have receipts or proof of donation to a charitable organization.  Example: when I drop off  clothing and household items are my local community thrift store, which is similar to Goodwill, I receive a donation slip with the date.  It is up to me to determine the "fair market value" of the items I donated.  Typically, I will mark down what I would pay at a garage sale, thrift store or consignment shop, since that's where I do a lot of my shopping anyway.  The thrift store has conveniently listed some typical price points for donated items right on the donation slip so I can just make a quick tally ~ place the slip in my tax file for retrieval come tax time. (You can check out the IRS pub 561 if you have large items, stocks or other items to donate at http://www.irs.gov/ The items do need to be in good saleable condition. )

Here are some examples of amounts you can deduct as listed by my local thrift store (Family Pathways):

Clothing Description               Adult             Child/Infant
Wedding/Formal Wear      $10 - 200           $4 -25
Footwear                           $2 -20                $1-6
Hat, Mitten, Gloves            $.50 - 8              $.50 - 5
Jeans                                  $3.50-15.00      $2 -6
Hoodie                               $4-15                $3-6
Outerwear/jacket/coat        $5 - 80               $2-25
Pant, Skirt, Shorts              $2 - 10               $1.50-5
Sleepwear                          $2-6                   $1-3
Swimwear                          $2-6                   $1-4
Two-piece suit/Dress          $4 - 25               $3-8
Top, blouse, skirt, sweater  $2 - 6                 $1 - 3

Household Items                                             Furniture                            
Bakeware                          $1 - 5                    Bookshelf           $8 -20
Bedspread/Quilt                 $3-20                    China Cabinet     $45 -200
Blanket                               $3- 8                     Coffee Table      $8 -45
Coffeemaker                       $4 - 8                    Crib w/mattress  $15 - 65
Curtain/Drape                     $2 - 20                  Desk                  $25 - 140
Glass/cup                           $.50 - 1.50             Dining Room Set $25 - 140
Kitchen utensil                    $ .50 - 1.50            Dresser w/mirror $15 - 55
Lamp                                 $4 - 25                   End Table            $8 -35
Mixer/Blender                    $5 - 15                   Kitchen Chair       $2.50 - 15
Picture/painting                   $3 - 50                   Kitchen Set          $35 - 200
Plate                                   $.50 -3.00              Sofa                    $35 - 200
Pot/pan                              $1 - 5                      Trunk                  $8 - 70
Sheet Set                            $5 - 10                   Upholstered chair  $15 - 100

Just to give you an idea.  You can look up other items online. Or consult with your tax advisor.

Take the plunge! You may find it refreshing to free up some space and make some cash or save some money come tax time!

What tips do you have?

If Time is Money...

So, here's a concept. If time is money, and you have a lot of time, then theoretically speaking, you actually have a lot of money ~ you just haven't converted it yet.

What do you do if you have lots of time and no money? Well, if you don't want to get a job, how about these options:

1. Sell your time.

a. Do jobs/errands for family, friends and aquaintances that they don't have time to do. (Sounds suspiciously like a job to me:) but you are setting your own rates and hours.

b. Babysit ~ do you know how hard it is to find a good sitter these days? (especially if Mom and Dad want to go for the weekend or on an overnight)

c. Set up a garage sale for someone who doesn't have time to and share the profits.

d. Sell Future Use of Your Time Coupons ~ Maybe people don't need you right now, but they will use you later, and by having them purchase a coupon, you have money in hand now. (Kind of like the retainer fees charged by lawyers.)

2. Leverage your time.

a. Start a business with the time you have on your hands. Consider something service oriented so that you keep your overhead next to nothing. (Are you an organization freak? You have a valuable gift you can share with others:)

b. Explore ways to make money on the internet ~ check out the links in the sidebar on this page ~ I will write a more complete explanation of how to make money on the internet in another post. People do make money on the internet legitimately.
c. Consider info-preneuring ~ another internet money maker where you sell information. What do you know about that other people may be interested in? Leverage services such as ClickBank (see links in sidebar: Make Money or Sell and Make Money for info on affiliate programs and selling online respectively.)

3. Experiment with time/money concepts. Try not to think in a dollars/hour paradigm, which is what most of us are trained in ~ you work an hour, get paid an hour. How about dollars per project ~ regardless of how long or short a time it takes? How about return on investment of your time, meaning consider things like creating residual income, which may require an investment of time up front, but may lead to money and time freedom later on. There are lots of interesting money philosophies out there, try one on for size!

What have you done that's worked for you?

Jean

The Land of Debt

Many of us, whether we realize it or not, live in The Land of Debt. I suppose you could say that once you get used to it, it's not an entirely bad place, it has its' creature comforts ~ but at what cost?

We in the United States, seem to think that debt is normal. That the stress of debt is normal and that this is just the way life is. I would like to say, "Let's stop the insanity!" It's no fun playing the too much month at the end of the money game, yet month after month, year after year thousands continue to play. Let's get off the hamster wheel long enough to see that we aren't going anywhere, and we aren't going there fast. Then, let's disassemble the silly thing, and create a vehicle of our own making that will get us where we want to go! The choice is ours.

I hope you read the ebook, "The Money Master." It was written with you in mind. You can download your copy at  http://www.themoneymaster.net/Resources.html  If you enjoy the book and want to leverage my efforts, click on the Make Money link to the left, you can make money when you send others to buy the book! Part of what I want to do here is help you make money! So when you promote the book, you'll receive a commission. Just follow the link to clickbank, where you can sign up as an affiliate for free! A free way to make money...and when you pass your link along to your friends they can make money too! (Plus there are all sorts of other e-products you can promote:)

I want to create a win-win-win for all my blog readers ~ I sincerely hope this helps!

Jean

Definition of insanity: to keep doing the same thing over and over expecting different results!

Keep More of Your Hard Earned Money

Hello!   I was referred to this site by a frugal friend of mine who embarked on a coupon adventure earlier this year.  I have to say, I'm impressed!  I've been using it since Spring and I've consistently saved money by using the weekly sales/coupon combos Carrie (the site originator) posts. My biggest savings to date was $78 on one grocery outing ~ I actually paid less than what I saved which got a reaction from the cashier:)  Gotta love that!  And it took me a little less than an hour to go through the site and organize my coupons in order to do it! Well worth the effort, especially since it was one of those rare occasions that I actually sat down to watch TV. (That doesn't happen often in my world.)  So, I multitasked and not only got to watch a show, but got my coupons together and saved $78 bucks in the process! Gotta love that!  So go to http://www.pocketyourdollars.com/ and see what you think. 

I am researching some other money saving sites as well.  Let me know if you know of some that you like! 

Saving and Making Money with You:)

Jean

Welcome to the Money Hunter!

Why "The Money Hunter?" A friend said to me, "Rather than worry about making money, let's concentrate on helping people." With that in mind I wrote the book "The Money Master." But when I went to set up the blog, that name wasn't available...so, I decided to call the blog The Money Hunter, because not only will we be mastering money, we'll be hunting for it too.


The book, "The Money Master, "simply poured out of what I knew and what I felt would be beneficial to all. But it's not just a book...it's a book on a mission to make YOU money. If you read it and promote it to your contacts you will make money! Remember this is about helping others, so not only can you share with them, they can share with others and make money as well. Viral marketing at it's finest ~ and making you/us (I'm making something from the sales too.) money to boot:)

What is a Money Master/Hunter? Maybe you'll have to read the book to find out:) You can get your copy at: http://www.themoneymaster.net/Resources.html

With You in Success!

Jean