I have a lot of excess things, to the point where I think I am a hoarder. What I don't have a lot of is money. I think a lot of us might be in that kind of boat.
I was thinking the best way to turn stuff into cash might be via goal setting. For example, I want enough money to cover a trip to go backpacking in Europe for a few months. That's a pretty big goal. I don't even know how much money I need for something like that. I can certainly start researching any time now...
In the meantime, just flights alone, from San Diego to London, for example, cost over a grand. So giving myself a starter goal of earning my plane ticket seems reasonable.
Since I do better with specific goals than nebulous ones, I can set aside a jar, or pretty box, or secret envelope, just to put money in for this plane ticket. I can put a picture of Paris on it for extra motivation. I could even make a Vision Board and attach it to the top of a cardboard box where they money will go.
My next step would be selling things to make that thousand dollar goal, and putting all the cash in this box/jar/thing.
So my steps here are:
1. make a goal
2. research that goal and price it out
3. make a container for the money and maybe make it special
4. decide what to sell/how to earn that amount
5. sell stuff (or do stuff)
Number 5, selling stuff, is the hard one for me. I don't like selling. I find it hard to give things up, and hard to talk to strangers. This is where an active goal would help nudge me along.
Looking at my things, I could start to list them. I have: an older generation iphone, an ipod touch, an unused pedometer system, a magellan GPS unit, a lot of cat and dog grooming supplies (the good stuff, from when i was a groomer),furniture, tools, several microwave ovens, fans and space heaters, antiques and collectibles, hundreds of books, some land parcels, housewares, an extra jeep and a vintage camping trailer, costume jewelry, nice jewelry, clothes, shoes, leather belts, wigs, ten inches of my hair in a ponytail, misc other electronics and some silverplate serviceware. There are more things, but i think this is
plenty to think on right now.
I'm not even including services I can render, since I have so much stuff I'd rather unload.
In other threads i am describing ways to sell various possessions people might have. Please feel free to join in with your ideas, what you have done, and what you suggest I do!
