So this year I thought i'd try to blog about ways to save money.
As most of you know I started couponing because my husband lost his job 18 months ago. Our only source of income for 3 months was my maternity pay, and so when life becomes tough you find ways to scrimp by, make money and pinch pennies. I've become really good at it and the thought occurred to me that I should share some of the ways I make extra 'moo-lah' to get by or buy those things that I really want.
January is one of my favorite times of year. In with the New Year and out with the old. This is the time of year that many people make New Years Resolutions in the hopes of starting something to make their life better. I don't make New Years Resolutions, probably because I never stick with them past a week and then it just seems like i'm failing at life 1 week into a New Year - how depressing. Instead I choose to purge. Yup January is PURGE month for me...you get new stuff at Christmas so why not get rid of the old stuff that you no longer use.
The one thing I find fascinating is how much 'stuff' people collect. You can ask my mom (yes I know you are reading this :))...I have never been one to keep things UNLESS it is sentimental. I used to throw out pieces of paper, artwork, etc that I know longer needed and it would drive my mother bonkers when I was younger. I'm still that way today. I do keep a lot of things; pictures, art, a nativity set my mom bought me, baby blankets, cards, letters, photo albums...etc. Think about what the things you would gather up and take if your house were on fire; those are the sentimental things. Then you have your everyday things; clothes, a hair dryer, the toaster...they are useful, but they probably wouldn't be the first things you grab if you had to. Then there are the 'other' things; all of us have things in our houses that either just sit on a shelf collecting dust or aren't functional anymore or maybe we got a new one and the old one now sits in the corner somewhere.
One of our families biggest sources of income is selling that last kind of item. Last year alone I think I made $500 selling odds and ends that we no longer used; clothing, a coffee table, extra couch, toys, tools, etc. We replaced things we got for free, such as a couch and a coffee table with a beautiful new sectional. We made a $200 profit on those 2 items that were acquired for free!
This week I want to encourage you to take a look around your house...are there clothes you don't wear anymore, shoes perhaps? Linens that are worn out that you could get $5 for or some appliances in your kitchen you no longer use? Furniture? Try selling them on swap sites, in the paper or hold an indoor garage sale. That extra income could be used to pay down debt, to buy this week's groceries or even be put towards that year end vacation you are saving for this year.
Every man's junk is another man's treasure!
YTD Grocery Total: $88.53
Coupons To Date: $24.03
% Savings to Date: 21%
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