This is Part Four of my series outlining our plan for paying off our second mortgage in the next year. Part One is here.
If you’ve been following along on my series, it’s quite possible you find yourself in a similar situation to mine: you spent a lot of years accumulating stuff you don’t need or want anymore.
The good news is that surprisingly, some of your stash may still have value. And while one item may only be worth $10 or even $50, together all your unused valuables could equal a couple mortgage payments.
You might be surprised at how much “junk” you have sitting around, taking up space, which is of value to someone. Whether you use a garage sale, eBay or Craigslist to hawk your wares, just do it.
Over the course of a month, we purged from our household a long list of motorcycle apparel (husband had already sold the cycle), homeschooling curriculum materials, kids clothing, a guitar, piano keyboard and LOST videos. Grand total? More than $1000 – two second-mortgage payments.
TIPS:
Inventory your no-longer-needed items. Remember to check the garage, closets, kids’ toyboxes and attic.
Research the value. Search eBay under “completed items” to value your goods. Choose a price that will sell – your stuff was just gathering dust before you did inventory.
Host a garage sale and invite neighbors to join in on the sale. Even if they don’t bring items to sell, they may bring their cash to buy – and they’ll tell their friends.Try eBay for smaller items that would get bidders nation-wide, but consider listing fees, sale fees and PayPal fees when you price the item. Be very careful about your description and make sure electronic items function.
Use Craigslist for almost anything. You may want to relist unsold items after a week – older listings usually remain ignored.Spread the word on social networking sites! I sold two items to friends when I directed them to my Craigslist listing via Facebook.
Good luck!
How do you sell your stuff?
MORTGAGE PAYOFF 101 SERIES:
Getting Started
Monthly Charges
The Credit Card
Sell Your Stuff
Lessons Learned
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7:40 pm
We’ve been selling off our baby stuff (swing, extra stroller etc) on Craig’s List. (Anyone want to buy a Bumpo with tray?
As soon as my 1 year old is done with something, we sell it. Like you said, even little things add up and you can list just about anything on Craigs List.
As much as we need/appreciate the money, just getting rid of stuff we don’t use feels great!
10:12 am
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