Resolution Idea 2012 – #6

 

Sell gold jewelry.

 

Wearable or even broken pieces can be worth several hundred dollars. It is at a high right now. I just did it and got over $800 for jewlery I will never wear.    Cash in loose coins you are collecting but use it to pay directly to the principle of a debit. $100-$1000.

Resolution Idea 2012 – #5

 

Change your “current housing situation”

 

Sell or rent your home to someone else, then you rent a spare bedroom in someone else’s home for $500 a month.  Can you imagine having your entire monthly housing expenses reduced to just $500 or less? Use someone elses cable, electric and pots and pans.  Now you can focus on your career or it gives you freedom to travel.

 

If you have a 2 or 3 bedroom home,  rent your spare bedrooms for $500 a month each. You could move into a smaller bedroom and get more money for renting the master bedroom. You will be interviewing your “roomates”, so choose someone whose habits are like your own. It doesn’t have to be forever. Try it for 6 months or a year. You may even find a new life long friend.

 

Rent your garage for $100 a month to a friend or neighbor who has a classic car or motorcycle.  Park your own car in the drive way.  If you live in a condo or apartment, rent your assigned, close up parking space to another tenant and you park in guest parking. The extra walking is good for you.

 

New found income: 1 bedroom $500 a month, 2nd room $500, garage, $100  TOTAL  $1100 a month.  Now that is reducing DEBT FAST !!

Resolution Ideas 2012 #4

 

Clean out all closets, garage, attic, and basement and sell your unwanted stuff.

Turn your unwanted household stuff into cash.  Use it, lose it, sell it or donate it.  There are others with a greater need than you.

 

Have a multi-family yard sale with some friends at another location if your community doesn’t allow them. It will be more fun and you can share placing the ad, getting tables and putting out signage.

 

Consign designer clothes or expensive jewelry.  Sell values and collections on Ebay or Craigslist.  Remember, we are collecting experiences, not stuff.  One woman downsized just her master walk-in closet and made $1000 selling clothes, purses and shoes and found an old uncashed check for over $500 and she was able to recover the funds. 

 

Use the “new cash” to pay directly toward the principal of a debt you are trying to eliminate. Don’t blend it in with other household  money.                                          

 

Resolution Ideas for 2012 – #3

 

Stop all reoccurring monthly charges

 

In order to stop the treadmill of money in – money out every month, let’s focus on where that money is going and do really “need” or even want the “reocurring” lifestyle you have created.  Yes, you “can” have anything your want, but at what cost?  Think about how we remember “the good old days and how simple everything was.”

 

Too many choices = sense of overwhelm

Too many choices = less or no appreciation

Too many choices = less or no productivity

 

Do as much of the physical labor yourself as possible like mowing your own grass and cleaning your house, pool and car. Physical labor outside is wonderful for the mind and body.  You can work-out at home, perhaps with your family, using DVDs so you can cut your gym membership and one more drive in the car at the same time. Stop magazine and newspaper subscriptions and buy one occasionally if you really want one.

 

Reduce your cable TV to just basis, save $50 a month and break the habit of mindless watching while replacing it with “selected” viewing like documentaries or on-line learning.  Better yet, turn on some music and interact with your   family by playing a board game, cooking or baking together.

 

The point is to be acutely aware of how you have “set up” your lifestyle and what tweaks you can make to jump off the treadmill and go back to the basics.  Everyone has the same amount of time.  The key is to “build in the good stuff” otherwise, life finds a way of using up all our time. Make a quick weekly schedule of how you are currently spending your time by blocking it into chunks of time and then make a new one of how you “could” spend it and gain satisfaction while saving money.

Resolution Ideas in 2012 – #2

 

Buy Nothing. Use up household stuff you have on hand. Stay out of the stores. 

 

Physical clutter causes mental clutter and keeps you going in a circle rather than moving forward.  Strive for lean, clean and streamline.  This will open up time, space and lighten your to-do list giving you an opportunity to focus on other area of your life.

 

Rampant Consumerism is a waste of time, energy, money and is bad for our earth.  No one’s willpower is stronger than the power of American marketing. Don’t get sucked into consumerism. If you don’t know it existed, you won’t want to buy it. Things bring only temperary satisfaction.  Get to the good stuff -joy, bliss, relationships, self discover, adventure, nature and learning.

 

Shop with a list and only as needed, not just for 1 or 2 items. Do not shop for entertainment. Use up all the items in your pantry, freezer, garage, bathroom, bar and wine cellar.  Buy only perishables in small quantities.  Make it a game to find new recipes to use up whatever you have on hand until every can and dry good is used. Try www.Kraft.com.  

Shopping less saves you money. Spend $10 a week on bread and fruit rather than $100 and save $360 a month.

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