Funding your Fund
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 at 3:44 AM | Frugal Living, Housing, Saving, Spending
So you are ready to start funding your replacement fund. Now what?
Finding Items to Shed
Here are a few ways to surface and identify items that you can sell.
1. Inventory Your Emotional Baggage
What item would you never dream of selling? Are you held back by emotional reasons? What are these emotions costing you? Now of course there are things worth keeping simply for emotional sake, but what if it is something you know you will never actually use again? Can you justify having this item take up space in your life? Maybe you can, maybe you can’t.
One way to let go, is to take a photo of the item with sentimental value. Take 10 photos if that helps. Save the photos somewhere safe, and shed that item. Next time you feel like bringing back those memories, view the photos. You will find you get nearly the same emotional reaction to a set of photos, as the actual item. Not to mention, photos are a lot easier to organize, backup and save!
2. Create a Maybe Box
Not sure you can do without something? Try designating a box or drawer (or spare closet) where you “quarantine” these items from everyday life. Whatever is left after after a time frame (30 days, 60 days, 6 months.. it’s your call) deserves to hit the road. We use rubber-made bin (a closet at first) to test theses items. Whatever is left over doesn’t earn a spot in our life, and gets donated, or sold.
3. Keep an Idea List
Chances are you can’t think of too many items you don’t use much simply because you don’t use them much! As you think of or see items in your daily routine write them down. Chances are once you think you sold every last possible item more will show up. It’s funny how that seems to work. It’s simply because they are out of sight and out of mind in most cases.
4. Ask Your Friends and Family
There is nothing better than an objective point of you. Chances are this stuff is a part of your life and you have adjusted to seeing or having it in your life. Ask someone else that will honesty tell you their thoughts on your extra baggage. Don’t get defensive, just get busy. After all they are just giving you feedback on your stuff, not on your life.
Consider Borrowing
Do you have an item that you use so rarely you wonder why you still have it? Maybe there is a friend or family member with one that you could borrow instead. Sell the item and free your space, your pocketbook and your thinking. More on borrowing.
Shedding Your Stuff
Give yourself a fighting chance and set yourself up for success, so start with the expensive items and easy ones to sell. Get some positive momentum going and sell your easy items first. Don’t save them for last…or you may never make it.
Price Like You are Serious
This is important. Remember value is not what it’s worth to you, but rather what it’s worth to the buyer that matters. So the goal here is to sell these items quickly. You’ll get burnt out in no time if you start trying to sqeeze every last penny out of all your items.
Yes, you may be leaving some money on the table, but look at the long haul. You will be shedding many items and you have a limited amout of time, so save your energy for later and price your items to sell!
Research the Market
Don’t guess. Find similar items that actually sold and price your item under that. The goal here again is not to maximize your dollar and play around with potential buyers, the goal is to actually move your items. Find what’s selling and what’s not before you spend any of your time.
Have an item with no vaule or not sell-able? Donate and get a receipt for your tax returns. Get rid of it and take the easy deduction.
Get Started and Stop Planning
Start with one item a week. It’s not going to happen overnight. Pace yourself, but get going.
Next post on actually selling your stuff!
Talking point: What is preventing or has prevented you from selling something? How did you overcome this?
You have put up a couple great posts about something I believe strongly. Getting rid of things and keeping the change works great and makes living much more purposeful, relaxing and healthy. My question, “Do I own my possessions, or do my possessions own me?”