Money you might not know you have

Ahhh so here’s an interesting post for you…. Money you might not even know is siting around your house! Mr. Not So Paleo and I have sometimes {ok a lot of times} had to get creative with how we buy things and how we make money in some cases. So here are some of my ideas on how you can make a few extra dollars {which always comes in handy 🙂 especially this time of year }

Idea #1: Clothing – How many of us are holding onto to clothes we’ll never wear again? If it’s been in your closet for 6+ months without you even knowing it’s there…. it’s probably time to let it go {unless it’s you know formal wear / that super cute little black dress saved for special occasions…}.  Or maybe the kids have just outgrown their clothes and you’ve got a bag of it sitting in some random place. You’ve got a few options:
A.) Put it in a big lot and post it to Craigslist for how ever much you think it’s worth {It’s not going to be worth what you spent on it…sadly.. be realistic about it if the Jeans are three or four years old and worn out they might be worth $5-$10}. This is a good option if you’re looking to get rid of a big bag of clothes at once. Just Pop it up on Craigslist list, say something like “bag of clothes sizes M-L, Blank items in bag, sold as-is. Cash Only for $___ or Best Offer contact for details}. ** I always up the price by $5-$10 that way when someone tries to offer me a lower price I actually hit the price mark I wanted originally! Add a few pictures in and boom, you’re done. I never put up my real email address on Craigslist, I use one of their server generated ones…and I do not add my phone number or give it out. And I only meet at public places to do the transaction and always have someone with me { Staying safe = #1 priority }

B.) Sell each item individually …. this is the best method if you have a few nice pieces of stuff like maybe a pair of uber expensive Abercrombie Jeans that your kid wore 3 times… It’s worth it’s own listing, you’ll make more money that way.. same rules as above apply!

C.) You can always go to a re-sale clothing store near you and ask them to make you an offer for the lot or just a few items. This is a good idea if you need something ASAP and can’t wait for someone to answer an Ad

Idea #2: Big Bulky items you’ll never use again: We all have them… we had an ez-pop up tent at one point because I was convinced craft fairs would help me make money…. {that goes down as one of Liz’s worst ideas}. Maybe you’ve had that lawn mower forever….and you really just want a new one… Craigslist that bad boy. Don’t bother eBaying stuff that big…It’s not worth it. The shipping will cost too much for something that heavy and people might try to haggle that with you.

Another option with items like that is seeing what your friends have…maybe someone needs a pop-up tent but the don’t need <insert random object> and are willing to trade. Or maybe your friend is in some sort of trade business and you could lets say barter a hair cut for said pop-up tent. That to me is as good as cash!

Idea #3: High-End Items – I’m talking about designer bags, even things like Ugg Brand, BCBG, etc go on eBay. Why? Because you’ll have a bigger market. Those things are normally smaller in size, ship easily and everyone wants them. Make sure you set up your listing right…. Have it end on a Sunday Night when everyone’s home… Don’t let it run for too long {I like 5 days} and offer free shipping…you’ll get more money bid-wise if it’s free! {just remember if you do E-bay it there are E-Bay Fees + Pay-Pal fees…but it’s better than letting items collect dust in your house 🙂 }

Idea#4: Is the same as Idea #3 BUT it’s for electronics. Even if you have a computer with a broken screen… eBay that sucker. You never know who could fix it… you might only make $50.00 on it…but erm.. It’s better than taking up space in our house! If you do sell an electronic device that stores information make sure it’s wiped clean and back to factory settings….we don’t want people with your personal information!

Idea #5: Professional / Similar Group Items -This is my newest one… {And oh-boy did it work!} items that you have a lot of that apply to maybe a type of job, schooling, sport, etc can sometimes be sold to a company who sells that gear used {Think Pawn Shop but not really}.
Example: We have a ton of camera gear …. but we’ve upgraded A LOT of gear the last two years and we found ourselves with too many lenses that we won’t use again. So I contacted a big  online camera store that buys used gear to sell it to them. They paid the shipping to them, evaluated it, gave me a quote and sent me a check for 70% of the fair market value for the items {and we made more than I was expecting… woohoo!}. {And if I chose not to accept their offer and wanted my stuff back they paid the shipping back to me}.

Wondering why I didn’t eBay it? We were going too..but things like camera gear or anything that deals with a profession makes people ten times more picky {and rightfully so}. I personally didn’t want to deal with all the questions and the possibility of listing something wrong and having someone leave a bad review for us on eBay… Not to mention the store paid the shipping which saved me money, I didn’t have to find a million boxes and bubble wrap {we sold something like 5 lenses and a camera body}. I didn’t pay an eBay or Pay-Pal fee, so it was quick and painless!

And these  are by no means the only options of hidden cash you might have, but hopefully it’s given you a wee bit of inspiration! Just remember to be realistic about the value of the items and if you’re wondering what is actually worth check out what past auctions on eBay went for for that item! That’ll give you a great idea on what your item is worth! {It’s how we gauge the value of most of our items when selling them!}

And truth be told when you get rid of that old bag of clothes you’re selling or that extra gear or whatever it is, it feels good. You’re de-cluttering your home / life and you’re a bit more secure financially this month… So to me, it’s a win-win!