Posted by M.S. on June 5, 2009
Do you want to build wealth and have financial independence? Well, do you?
Then every day, with every financial decision you make, remind yourself that there are 2 main methods to achieving that goal.
It is a simple concept: Make more (revenue) and spend less (costs). The more money you accumulate, the more you have to invest, which increases your wealth and helps you get rich.
We learned a long time ago, that with some effort, we could save 50% of our meager incomes in order to save money for a down payment on an investment property or to add to our investment accounts.
You may ask, what does that have to do with this great bread machine?
As regular readers of this blog know, I LOVE bargains and believe you can get pretty much everything at reduced prices if you search for them.
The less you spend- the more you have to save and invest!
Long ago, I discovered the gold mine of estate sales and garage sales! I have been amazed at what people have sold and the fantastic stuff I have been able to buy for a song.
Recently, I spotted this brand new, never used Williams-Sonoma bread machine at a garage sale.
The woman running the sale said her husband had given it to her as a Christmas gift several years ago and she had never used it! She no longer had the box or the instruction book, and that’s why she had it priced at $10!
I asked her if she would take $5 and she happily said Yes! This terrific Williams-Sonoma item probably sells for $100 or more!
After I paid her, I asked her “If you didn’t want it, why didn’t you take it back, get the money and buy something else?” She said, “Oh I didn’t want to hurt his feelings.”
I said “The money he spent belonged to both of you–doesn’t that seem nuts to basically throw away $100?” She said “Yeah, I guess so.”
So, thanks to her and her husband I now have a brand new bread machine! There are bargains like this everywhere!
At another yard sale, all books were priced at 50¢ and I found this terrific Bread Machine book!
So now for the cost of one loaf of gourmet bread--I have a terrific machine that will make me countless loaves of fresh bread!
The money I save will be invested in appreciating assets that will build wealth!
The savings all add up!
A loaf is baking right now! Yummm!
Posted by M.S. on May 8, 2009
Do you think it is possible for a garden of wildflowers to help you gain enormous wealth? Well, that is just what happened to me many years ago when one Spring I planted a cutting garden. A magazine article had piqued my interest about the ease of using seeds of this type to plant a garden that would give me an abundance of free flowers. These colorful bouquets would add color and fragrance throughout our home.
Each year I see ads for flower packet seeds for 10 cents a piece, so I knew that it wouldn’t cost much to get started. After preparing the soil a bit, I raked in the seeds and within weeks–flowers began to bloom.
One marvelous characteristic of wildflowers that you may not know is that the more you cut them- the more they bloom! Soon, my home was overflowing with fragrant bouquets! I began to ponder who would enjoy the abundance of these fabulous flowers as much as I did. Then I had an inspiration!
My dad had suffered a stroke and was living in a nursing home in another city far away from where I lived, in another country at the time. I had learned how much he valued his visits from friends and family and I decided since I couldn’t visit him as often as I would like, I would take flowers to folks at a local nursing home! I decided to purchase inexpensive vases at garage sales which I would leave in individual resident’s rooms, and re-fill them with fresh flowers each week.
What an impact that simple act of kindness had on folks that really could use a distraction! I quickly learned how much they cherished our weekly visits, even more than the fresh bouquets. What the elderly folks wanted more than anything was to have someone listen to their stories and whatever was on their minds. For the entire week, the vase of flowers was a reminder to them that someone was thinking of them.
The powerful lesson I learned in this experience is that kindness is FREE, yet priceless, and that all the money in the world does not replace the value of human interaction and compassion.
Each week as I walked out of the nursing home, I reflected on the real wealth I had.
I had a marvelous family, I was healthy, I could walk, I could talk, and I had the extreme good fortune of living in the United States– the place where people would crawl on cut glass, just for the opportunity to live in this great country!
Any of the residents at the nursing home would have traded all the money in the world for what I had for FREE!
It is good to remember that having money is great, but true wealth is the abundance of blessings you have in your life now! Maybe in these tough times, a cutting garden could help your perspective too!
Get Started on Your Garden Here
Posted by M.S. on April 25, 2009
During the early years of my money journey, I discovered a virtual gold mine. That gold mine was garage sales–which I now absolutely LOVE!
I had the extreme good fortune of having a very creative and fun mother-in-law, who happened to LOVE going to garage sales with her friends for cheap entertainment and to get GREAT bargains.
The impression I had of garage sales at the time was not favorable–alright, I admit it–I had a very negative image of them. I thought the stuff was all JUNK no one wanted. Boy was I wrong! (Although there is almost always some junk in each garage sale.)
My negativity evaporated when my mother in law pulled out the cool items she had purchased on her latest rounds of “rummaging” trips. I was floored at what she could buy for a nickel, 25 or 50 cents! She had items from Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn and Williams-Sonoma that looked BARELY used and she had paid 25 cents for them! She snagged high-end clothing items for herself and grandchildren that were 50 or 75 cents! She had a wide variety of stuff she had gotten for practically NO money–and I was intrigued! I had to find out what this was all about!
I started to tag along on her treasure hunts and was delighted to learn I could get all the furniture and accessories I needed to decorate and upgrade our duplexes at garage sales! I got an even better deal because I drove up in my older, unassuming “ugly” car- so it looked like I needed a super cheap deal, driving this old car (see earlier post).
Remember—we were trying to aggressively save—so every PENNY mattered! The less we spent—the more we saved and the more we could invest!
Tables, lamps, dishes, clothing—you name it–they are all available at garage and estate sales for practically NO money! I was HOOKED!
Over the years, these treasures increased the comfort and value of our personal home, as well as the rental real estate. Soon, my overflowing home loaded with frugal treasures caught the eye of the Discovery Channel and they featured a tour of our home on their top ranked Decorating Show. They even flew me to Hollywood, where I demonstrated my frugal decorating techniques in their studio!
In 1998, I discovered eBay as the perfect place to sell the overflow of my accumulated treasures, and I have operated a successful eBay business ever since as a stay at home Mom, making money, generating over 4,000 Positive Feedbacks and shipping goodies all over the world.
I continue to sell on eBay and am now one of the top ranked Education Specialists in the U.S., trained by eBay, as I teach other people how to sell on eBay! eBay is a terrific business for me and it is for YOU too!
Garage sales were a super deal back then–and they STILL are a fabulous source for great stuff for almost NO money! And you are being kind to the environment by recycling!
Spring is here! Get going to the garage sales!
I’ll see you there!
