Successful yard sales are one of my favorite ways to earn extra cash. What other money-making scheme allows me to clear my house of clutter, to teach my kids about being entrepreneurs, and to get enough money to pay for some of our summer fun? You can’t just gather a bunch of stuff in the front yard, though, and announce that you’re having a yard sale. In order to have a successful yard sale, try following these five tips.
Organize your merchandise. Do you like to shop in a store that’s a mess? Of course, you don’t; that’s too much like work. Well, your yard sale customers feel the same way. Try to organize your sale into sections based upon what you have to sell. You’ll want to make sure that large ticket items are visible from the road. This organization will make your yard sale more attractive and encourage drive by traffic to stop.
Price your merchandise. Many people hate having to find someone to ask about prices at yard sales. Often, the lack of price information will result in the prospective buyer simply putting the item back and walking away. Spend an evening or two before the sale making sure that everything has a price tag on it. With large items, you may even want to hang larger, decorative signs. Finally, small items that are too plentiful to price (boxes of children’s books or McDonald’s toys are great examples) individually, should be placed into boxes or crates that have price signs.
Advertise your sale. If your neighborhood is having a “Neighborhood Sale” day, you can probably get away with a sign or two placed around the neighborhood. If you are having a stand-alone sale, though, you’re going to have to do a little more work. You can list your sale on Craigslist for free. If your city has a local bulletin board on the web, you can probably list there, too. If all else fails, you can always hang real signs up around your area. Just make sure that you get the word out about your sale somehow.
Join forces. If your kids’ outgrown clothes are the only thing you have to sell, you may have a hard time drawing a large customer base to your yard sale. That doesn’t mean, though, that your sale will be a flop. Instead, why not invite another family or two to join in with you? You can use different colored price stickers to help you separate your sales from your friends’ sales. You also get the benefit of having helpers on sale day.
Be prepared. Once sale day arrives, the important thing is to be prepared to facilitate your customers’ needs during the sale. What things did you wish you had with you the last time you went to a yard sale? Have an extension cord plugged in at the house or garage so customers can test electrical items. Make sure that you have a well-stocked change box, too. Once someone shows that they are interested in a particular item, you don’t want anything to deter them from making their purchase.
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Tags: General Finance
Webkinz Pets are a big hit here in our household. In case you don’t know, Webkinz pets are stuffed animals that come with a code so you can play on the Webkinz virtual site. They are very popular with kids. The stuffed animals typically run anywhere from $7 or $8 for the smaller ones to as much as $15 or $16 for the larger pets or the new Webkinz. Anyway, last Summer we just happened to stumble upon a store that carries Webkinz (all the toys, clothes for them, and accessories too). It’s called “Justice For Girls” and is a very popular clothing store chain for pre-teen girls. They are usually located in a mall or other big shopping center. Several times throughout the year, the store will have a big 40% off sale which includes all the Webkinz stuff. Currently they are running the 40% off sale from July 1 through July 13 so if you are a Webkinz Fan, see if there is a “Justice For Girls” store in your area and check it out! If you sign up for their mailing list, you will get a catalog notifying you when the sales are going on. Also last year at Christmas time the store had a 50% off sale which made the deals even better.
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Are you ready to do some bargain shopping? Although you won’t find everything on sale in July, you will certainly find some good buys in some departments. Check out these potential bargains to see if their on you prospective shopping list
Computers – New models will be coming out in a month or two, so this may be a great time to purchase last year’s models at discounted prices. If you’re in the market for a new computer or laptop, you should start shopping slowly by getting familiar with the available models and their prices. Then, as the prices drop, you’ll recognize the good buys.
Cookout Supplies – Whether you’re looking for new grill accessories or fun, outdoor plates to serve your cookout grub on, you’ll find plenty of options in your favorite store’s bargains aisles in July. Just wait until the 4th of July has passed and get ready to shop.
New Cars – Although you should never buy a new car simply because you can get a good price, you won’t find better prices than the ones available in late July. The new year’s models start showing up late in the summer, so dealers need to start selling the current models now. In addition, the current economic situation has made many dealers desperate to make a sale.
Finally, one of the economic stimulus packages passed by Congress has made the sales tax paid on new cars tax deductible.
Plants – Now that the rush for spring planting has passed, many hardware store and home improvement centers are left with excess stock in their landscaping departments. Typically, for instance, one store in my area offers discounts as high as 75% off of the original price for bedding plants.
Swimsuits – By the time July arrives, you can bet that swim apparel for the whole family will be migrating to the clearance sections of your favorite stores. If your family is fortunate enough to get to spend a lot of time at a pool or beach, July is the perfect time to stock up on an extra suit for yourself or the kids. Don’t forget to check out beach towels, too.
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Tags: Saving Money
You may have heard me mention before that one way to save money on groceries is to have a meatless meal or two each week. Since meat is always one of the most expensive items on my grocery list, it stands to reason that eating less meat will help you cut your grocery bill. Now, you just have to find a few recipes for meatless meals.
Macaroni and Cheese – Although I probably wouldn’t serve this for dinner, macaroni and cheese makes a great lunch. I wait for it to be on sale before I buy it, and then I buy tons of it. It’s easy to make and the kids love it.
Grilled Cheese – This is another option that I would probably only use at lunch, but my family loves grilled cheese sandwiches. In almost no time I can make a mound of these sandwiches. Then, I cut them into quarters to make them more manageable for the kids. This is a great way to salvage bread that is starting to get a little stale, too.
Pasta and Sauce – For a light dinner, pasta is always a popular choice. Choose any shape of pasta that you like, boil it, and top it with your favorite sauce. We prefer marinara sauce, but you may prefer Alfredo sauce.
Baked Potatoes – For a fun dinner treat, we try to create our own baked potato bar in our kitchen. I bake potatoes for everyone and then set out an assortment of toppings. The kids love getting to build their own dinners and baking the potatoes is super easy.
Waffles or Pancakes – My favorite frugal breakfast has to be waffles, but when time is short, pancakes are always easier to make. Either option, though, is a warm and filling breakfast that gets our day started off on the right foot.
Salad – When I’m in the mood for a light lunch, a salad can be just the right lunch food. I tend to buy the large bags of salad mix from the grocery store (unless I have time to prep lots of different veggies). Then, I add extras like slivers of almonds or shredded cheese. Top it with your favorite dressing and lunch is ready.
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Coupon clipping and planning your meals are a great way to cut your grocery expenses. Unfortunately, both of those activities can take a lot of time. What should you do if you need to reduce your grocery budget but don’t have a lot of time to invest? Following these five quick tips can help you keep your grocery costs down in a hurry.
Skip the soda. Carbonated beverages are almost never economical. Even when they are on sale, they are much more expensive than drink mixes like Kool-Aid. In addition, they offer no nutritional value for your family. If you can avoid buying soda at all, you will certainly save money.
Shop the outer edges of the grocery store. Raw foods like fresh vegetables and dairy products are located on the edges of most grocery stores. You will need to invest more time in preparing these foods, but you can also prepare much more nutritional meals by using these foods.
Shop alone. Shopping with the kids can be really trying. As you are shopping, little hands often start grabbing things and adding them to the mix. The easiest way to avoid this is to leave the kids at home if you can. You can concentrate on making wise food choices if you are on your own.
Look for discounted meats. If you pay careful attention, you will notice that the meat department in your favorite grocery store marks down their price of packages of meat as they approach their “sale by” dates. There is nothing wrong with these meats; they just need to be sold and used soon. You can get a great cut of meat for a discounted price by looking for these reduced price stickers.
Check out discount stores like Aldi’s. If you don’t mind shopping without the frills of your local grocery store, you can cut a pretty big chunk out of your grocery budget. Green shoppers who already bring their own bags won’t mind. Others, though, may not like the idea of having to pay for the store’s bags. Most of the products at Aldi’s are generic brands, so don’t expect to find your favorite name brands there. You can expect, though, to save a lot.
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Paying off a loan ahead of schedule is a great feeling. It means that you now have the freedom to spend that payment amount each month however you want. You can use it to pay down other debt, or even better, save it towards something else you want or need. How cool is that?
Before you get to experience that heady feeling, however, you have to pay off that loan. Paying a loan off early is easy; you just have to pay more than you are required to pay. Okay, maybe it’s not so easy. You’ll have to have a little discipline as you make those extra payments, but you can make it simpler by using one of these techniques to make your payments.
Round your monthly payment up a little. If your payment is supposed to be $321 each month, try sending a check for $330 each month. You won’t miss the extra $9, but over time that extra money will add up.
Automate your monthly payment at a slightly higher amount. Online bill payment makes it easy to send pre-determined amounts to your lender without having to write a check. Now you won’t be tempted to keep the extra portion of your payment if money is a little tight one month.
Pledge to send windfall amounts to the lender. Rebate checks, tax returns, and garage sale proceeds are all great sources of “found” money. Since you weren’t expecting this money, you won’t need it to pay your regular expenses. If it just feels too rigid to apply your entire windfall to the lender, send half. You can do something fun with the half you keep and still make some headway towards paying off your loan.
Make payments more often than you are required to make them. Check with your lender to make sure you can make frequent payments. If you can, divide your monthly payment by four and remit that amount weekly. Since four months out of the year have five weeks in them, you’ll end up making an extra payment every year.
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Finding activities to keep the kids busy is an important part of my family’s summer plans. The last thing I want is to have the kids starting at me saying, “Mom, I’m bored.” Boredom doesn’t lead to a fun summer for anyone.
Before summer gets underway, I’ve learned to identify different activities that the kids can take part in that won’t break the bank. My hope is always that if I have a list of ideas prepared, I won’t get caught scrambling to find something fun for the kids to do. What kinds of activities make the list? These are some of my favorites:
Story Time at the Library – I work hard to foster a love of books in all of my kids, so it’s not a big surprise that we go to the library a lot. Little kids love story hour at the library. If your kids are older, though, don’t overlook summer reading programs that allow your kids to earn books as a reward for reading.
Michael’s Craft Projects – Michael’s craft stores offer children’s craft programs once a month or so. For little or no cost, you can take your kids into the store and let them make something new. This month, the project was a Father’s Day gift idea. Joann’s craft centers have programs like these sometimes, too, so don’t forget to check out their website.
Trips to the Zoo – Does your area’s zoo have a “free” day? If it does, why not take advantage of it? We go to the zoo three or four times during the summer months. We don’t try to see everything in one day, so we don’t experience as many cranky moments as some other families. We pack lunches too, to save on food costs.
Sidewalk Art – Once or twice a summer, we have a sidewalk art fair. Granted, this idea isn’t captivating enough to pass the entire summer, but used sparingly it can provide enough entertainment to pass an afternoon. We buy sidewalk chalk at our local dollar store. Then, when it’s sidewalk art day, we spend the afternoon drawing designs all over the sidewalk leading up to our front door. The kids get so excited as they imagine how impressed my husband will be when he gets home from work and sees their designs. Sometimes, we even write notes for him in the artwork.
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