Cash in your pocket!

Jewel 5
As February rolls in, the last thing on your mind is Black Friday. Right now its Valentine’s for your kids’ classroom, or doing something nice for your honey. Jaime heard a radio commercial that says Valentine’s Day isn’t about “I love you”, but rather “I love us.”

We loved this thought – it takes a team effort. Black Friday shopping is similar. Going by yourself involves exhausting trips to stores, standing in long, unwavering lines, and endless searching for that “perfect gift.” Shopping with friends takes the edge and pressure off of the “find” because it has become just a fun time out with the girls. Ignore the stereotypical media bash you hear about Black Friday, just come out, laugh with the rest of us in line and enjoying saving money!

Saving the money is the key. Aren’t you tired of hearing “in this economy...” What a downer. We're tired of hearing about “12 easy ways to lighten your budget” or other cheesy clichés that have goofy advice like, use less laundry soap, which will add up to a savings over the course of a year. Seriously? WTH? Use less laundry soap? We suppose it’s a good idea, but it’s certainly not going to be any cash into our pocket right now!

Therefore, we’ve developed a few ideas that might actually put cash in your pocket BEFORE the end of this month. At this point, you’ve already done your budget and have a good idea of how much money you need to save each month.  (If you haven’t already done your budget, do so now!) These tips will help you meet this monthly goal without taxing your regular budget.

In January & August – These months are great for selling used textbooks online.  Classes start in these months and you can generally get a decent price. Try amazon.com to sell your books. OR, they even have a program now that allows you to sell your books to a 3rd party vendor anytime of the year (at a cheaper price that you might earn yourself though).

Anytime is a good time to sell something online. Dig through your kitchen cabinets, closets and see what you want to get rid of. As well as helping clean out your stuff, you might find things of value that you are ready to give up – take a picture and put an ad up on Ebay, Craigslist or whatever local sales website you have. Take a few hours to set this up – and over the course of the next few months, you could make a few dollars without a lot of hard work. This is hardly a get rich quick scheme, but rather just an idea to create some of your Black Friday budget.

Think about what you are good at: Are you really good in Math? English? Dancing? Painting? Consider making some flyers and leaving them at schools to be a tutor. Pass the word with friends in your area. Or, hey, take an ad out in the paper, post it online…blah blah blah, you get the drift.  Even in tough times, we take care of our kids. A child could take lessons or receive tutoring from you: Make your prices reasonable-you want people to come back more than once!

Crafting: If you are good at one of these (scrapbooking, crocheting, hair bow making card-making WHATEVER) consider putting together a few bundles of things and selling them to friends/family or online for holidays (Valentine’s, St. Patrick’s, Easter, Summer, 4th of July, etc).

If you have more ideas, post them here! Or send us an email at moneysavingjewels@gmail.com