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 June 2, 2009
Have you been looking for a way to raise some extra cash? You have come to the right place!
Let me give you a heads up on several categories where eBay is offering discounted listing fees right now! You can make some money while you work from home!
Starting today and going through June 15, Fixed Price Insertion Fees on eBay will be just 5¢ for golf clubs, cameras, cell phones and other similar type items.
All listings must be created with the Product Details feature (Pre-filled Item Information). Product Details automatically fills in your listing with the item information and a stock photo. How much easier can you get?
Don’t have any of those items laying around? Go to some yard sales! I see this kind of stuff there all the time!
Another fabulous deal on right now is for collectible books. From May 27 – June 9th, you can list books for in the categories of Books—Antiquarian & Collectible and Antiques—Books & Manuscripts. This promotion is good for both Auction-style and Fixed Price listings.
eBay Motors is having a listing sale from June 1 through June 8, Insertion Fees in select Parts & Accessories categories. These listing fees will be just 35¢
Included are Fixed Price and Auction style listings in Apparel and Merchandise, ATV Parts, Aviation Parts, Boat Parts, Motorcycle Parts, Personal Watercraft Parts, and Other Vehicle Parts.
The sooner you list some items to sell on eBay, the sooner you will be making some money!
Get Going!
Posted by M.S. on May 28, 2009
This morning I came across a very interesting article in the online edition of the New York Times called Design on a Shoestring. I am always searching for articles about decorating to maximize both the comfort and value of my home and investment properties, so this one caught my eye.
The article was about a couple that had completely redone a one bedroom apartment near London and featured a wonderful photo gallery of their great ideas. I was floored when I read they had spent over $10,300 — to re-do a 1,200-square-foot apartment! HOW MUCH??
That’s alot to spend on a 1,200 square foot property! I believe you can achieve the same results for much less money–and we have done it!
When we started buying investment properties 32 years ago, we realized very quickly that if we fixed up the interior and decorated it a bit–we could raise the rents and attract a better quality of tenant!
The amazing thing was- after we were finished living in this property–we were able to rent it FURNISHED for 2 years- and we received $200 more PER MONTH in rent than what we would have gotten for it unfurnished!
That’s almost $ 5,000 extra rent! What a great return on our investment!
Take a look at what elbow grease and almost ALL secondhand furniture and accessories created in this furnished townhome! You can use these ideas for a rental property or to stage your home to sell in this tough economy!
The least expensive and most effective method we found to accomplish that effect was with paint! You can create a warm and inviting mood with a soft neutral (not white) paint color.
Here we painted the living room a soft tan color.
In one bedroom, we used a greyish shade of green, which is also a soft neutral, to give us a fabulous warm romantic feel.
The fabulous custom made upholstered window treatment hanging over the bed was purchased at a Salvation Army store for $10! It matched perfectly!
In another bedroom, we used the same soft tan color that looks marvelous with the elegant duvet cover we bought at TJ Maxx. All the furniture, lamps, headboard, pictures etc in this room were purchased secondhand for practically NO money!
After our tenant of 2 years moved out, we decided to take everything out of the property and rent it unfurnished.
Because we have been so very blessed, we decided that rather than have a big sale and make some money–we gave away every single thing to a charity that donates to people that cannot even afford to buy their items at a Goodwill type store!
They sent a large empty truck and we filled it to the brim!
How cool is that–to be able to share the wealth? I still wonder who is sitting on those chairs now and sleeping in those beds!
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!
