Taking a break, but not for long.

I'm taking a breather from now until the new year. It wasn't planned, but I have to. I'll be back Jan 1 with some great posts though!

I'll be setting a plan for myself next year. My goals, my plans for the challenge and more.

I look forward to seeing you all in the new year! (A whole few days away!)

Have a great New Years Eve!

Earnings this week

So much for not having anything on to earn money. Besides the jewellery I bought, I ended up doing some hair cuts for my neighbours. I sold 2 aprons. I am getting paid to feed 2 dogs. I helped my sister in law this week and got paid for that.

So after buying the jewellery I now have $650 in cash and jewellery worth over $8,000 RRP, but that I will sell at less than RRP, but I will leave it as worth that much at the moment.

So this week has seen my net worth jump, which is quite exciting.

Besides the jewellery I purchased a few things at an op shop which I will be able to resell. They cost me $1 and I will be able to sell them for around $20.

My ultimate aim with selling the jewellery and everything else I am doing is to have enough for a house deposit. It may take me a while, but I am determined.

Investing

Today I used my money to purchase things that I am positive will make me money. I didn’t invest in shares. I bought jewellery. Before you think I am crazy, hear me out.

It is not jewellery I bought in the hopes it will increase in value. It was liquidation stock. Over $8,000 worth for WAY less. (I won’t say how much, but it was a bargain.) I looked it up to see what it was going for online and I will definitely make a profit. Things like $300 watches were $40, $135 opal pendant now $15 etc...

It was from a reliable source and I already know how I will sell it. The items were purchased a few years ago, when gold was $15 a gram, now 9ct is $75 a gram, so these pieces were cheap as compared to what could be bought now. I figure even if I make an extra $500 on the lot it’s worth it. The $8000 is based on RRP from 3 yrs ago, and it would easily be 40% more now.

I have not spent on it more than I have and I am so excited about it. It probably sounds crazy, as you wouldn’t invest in things you don’t know about. I do know a bit about it and my sister in law is a jeweller who has offered to help me and has gone over it all for me, so I am not alone in this.

I can’t wait to be able to start selling it.

The $2,500 milestone!

I am so excited! I reached $2,500 today. I have been so busy it has amazed me.

I have picked up quite a few new clients through word of mouth and it seemed everywhere I went this week people were asking me about it. I really should get some business card done.

I helped my sister in law at the markets today, which went really well. I am so happy for her.

I finally set up my made it store this week (see to the right). I still haven’t added more to it, but I will.

My hairdressing is obviously my biggest money maker at the moment. I am so glad that I have regular client sand that business is picking right up without me doing too much. I am blessed that my clients are all cool with me bringing my daughters. To me it is unprofessional to take them, but most of my friends organise to have their friends come to their house and they watch my kids for me whilst I do their friends hair so I am EXTREMELY lucky. Not many people are blessed with friends like me.

Madeit.com.au

I did it! Well, with help. I have created a made it store (see the madeit logo to the right!)

I only have a few things up there but I have more to list. I got off my butt and took the pictures, now I just need to stay on my butt and load them and list them all. I am so excited as this is one more way for people to earn money from home.

I don’t know if I will sell anything, but it feels good to have taken that step. I didn’t have Photoshop so my sister made my logo and I love it!

I am so glad there are sites like these which are making it easier for people to make money from home.

All I had to do was make my things, take photos, upload and that’s it. It was much better than anytime I have listed on eBay, so I am hoping. It stays on there for 3 months I think it was too, which is awesome! Lots of exposure.

You also have the option of having it displayed on the front page a few times over 3 or 4 months, I can’t remember which, but it was only 40c extra.

All in all, it has been very easy and very exciting and now I just need to list more!

Book Update!

I thought I had better give an update on my book, not that there is much to report.

As I mentioned before I had problems with my publisher and have been looking around for a new one. Unfortunately for me, a lot of the publishing houses close their books from October onwards.

I have been doing more research on self publishing and have found a few I will be contacting, but as they are closed until the new year, there is not a lot I can do.

I have thought up a few more recipes to put in it, so that’s good, and I will have time to work on the site for the book now, so it has turned into a blessing not being out when I hoped I guess.

I have been amazed at the amount of people asking me about it. I wrote a bit about it on Facebook and there seems to be a fair amount of interest, so here’s hoping!

I will be investing soon...

I ended up making money in Sydney, despite going on a bit of a spending spree. I got some Tupperware orders and did some haircuts, so the trip turned out well. We are going up again in January and this time I will organise myself to list things in my garage up there in the trading post. Even if I make $200 from them I am happy!

My new total, thanks to Sydney is $2000. I have a few hair jobs today and my sister in law has asked me to work for her on Saturday for a few hours, which is more definite money.

I have decided once I reach $2500 I will be investing in shares. This is something I have always wanted to do, but never had the money. It is not something my husband is interested in at all, so I never felt I could do it with “our” money, but now that I have my own, I feel comfortable doing it.

I did a little exercise where I chose shares and followed them for a while to see if they went up or down or both. The ones I picked did go up and down, but at the end of the month they were all higher than when I chose them, so I feel comfortable with it. The ups and downs did not bother me which is important when dealing with money things. If you do not feel comfortable with the possibility of losing money, shares really is not for you.

I will be investing with blue chip shares to start with, to get a feel for it and to also feel fairly safe whilst doing. The market is low now and I do not expect to make money from them yet, but I am assuming that over time they will go up, which is the assumption of any investment that it will go up.

All investments carry a form of risk; it just depends on your level of comfort in regards to risk. Mine comfort level for risk is a whole lot higher than a lot of people I know, which can be good and bad. I guess we’ll all find out won’t we?

Spending instead of saving!

I have a confession. I am human and spent some of my money this week. Ok, everything I earnt this week was spent! Sydney is so much better than where I live for shopping.

I was good and didn’t buy everything I wanted, but it does mean I am still only on $1750, but I should be getting more this week.

Since I am still in Sydney, this is a super short post, but I will have more when I get back next week.

1001 ways to make money part 2

I did have part 2 of 1001 ways to make money here, but due to a very exciting project I have had to remove it.

I'm so sorry to anyone looking for it.

Shopping for others

This time of year there are many people who hate shopping. The shops are packed, the lines are long and who knows if what you want is even going to be there? Many people would happily pay someone to do it for them. If you are shopping anyway, this is a great way to earn extra money. Mind you, it can be stressful, so is not really for the faint hearted.

You can advertise in school newsletters, the paper, or flyers at the shops.
It is up to you how you charge. You could charge a percentage of the present total, you could charge hourly or if they have a specific list, research it and find the items for less than RRP and take either the whole savings e.g. 1 item you find is 20% off, another has $10 off, another has $40 off etc… you keep those “savings”.

You will need to be organised, plan you trip and take into account what fits into your car, how you are going to get it home, will people pick it up from your house or will you deliver, how much petrol will be consumed if you are going to a few shops etc…

This could also be done with groceries or birthdays during the year. Since we have to shop, why not make money doing it?

Being in the right place at the right time

I went to the markets today to see my mother and sister in law. They both had stalls and I am so glad I decided not to hold one today. It ended up being very quiet apparently, and for most stall holders not really worth it.

It was fantastic for my mother though. She was selling pies, biscuits, lollies etc... all homemade and she did quite well. Not only did she sell a fair bit, she got an offer to hold a permanent stall elsewhere, twice a week and pretty much guaranteed $200 a day.

There’s another market I did not know about that only charges $8 a stall. I think it is quite small, but has a great location. It is between a set of office blocks and a very busy shopping centre. A lady who does it saw my mum’s stall today and offered her a spot.

The cake lady that has a stall is leaving and they would like another and her things are so well presented and tasty they want her!

How’s that for a first day?

She had everything wrapped in cellophane, had samples of everything and ALWAYS used gloves when handling food, but not the money, which is not common practice at the markets I have noticed. There were ribbons and labels and it just looked really good.

Here you just need your kitchen checked by the health department and you get a certificate allowing you to sell food at the markets. Do not do it without one. Her kitchen is always immaculate anyway. Once you have that cert you can go sell.

I am so excited for her. She was looking into doing cake decorating as a business and this should provide a good foot in the door, as well as a fairly regular income.…

Sometimes it’s just a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

$1750!

I am now at $1750! It feels great, but nowhere near my goal. I am happy though, because I know it will improve. I am aiming to have at least $2,500 by Christmas, if not more.

I have set up my made it store, but haven’t had photographed anything to put on it. It is surprisingly easy to set up.

I have quite a few people ask about haircuts and products lately and have orders for the new year. Only problem is my wrist seems to play up if I do too much. I developed RSI 2 years ago and it plays up every now and then. This is why I haven’t gone into it again fully.

I have written a plan for my website. Now I just need to build it.

So things are still slow, but I will get better at it.

10 tips on hosting a garage sale

A garage sale is a great way to make some money off your unwanted things. It takes a bit of preparation and a lot of organisation to have a good one, but the few times I have done them I made a few hundred dollars.

I have always been amazed at what people buy at garage sales and what people will haggle over. It’s the things you think are worthless that seem to sell.

Garage sales tend to be cheaper than eBay or op shops. People expect a bargain and will haggle over the stupidest things. I remember one I had. There was a tea for 1 set, china, wrapped ready for a present (because it was an unwanted one, I don’t drink tea!) I had $1 on it and a man who had already spent $5 on crap (the stuff I thought was worth nothing) was haggling to get it for 50c. I said no, his wife didn’t even want him to buy it, and didn’t want me to go lower. After a bit of back and forth he bought it for $1. I was so surprised someone would haggle on a cheap item.

Try not to take it personally when people offer ridiculously low, because they will. You have second’s dealers looking for stuff, people who buy and relist on eBay, everyone wants something for nothing.

Here are some tips for holding your own garage sale
1.) Advertise it well. Place an ad in your local paper, signs on community noticeboards, signs on the street directing people to your garage sale. It’s advisable to only place the street name, not number in the paper; otherwise people will rock up at 6am and expect to be able to see everything.
2.) Have a definite start time. For example, 8am, and do not sell before it. Generally you will have second hand dealers coming before the start time trying to get everything for nothing.
3.) Sell things other than your old stuff. Have a sausage sizzle, sell cold drinks, muffins etc... If you’re holding one the day before something (e.g. Mothers Day) you could even wrap up some muffins or cakes nicely.
4.) Have lots of bags and boxes and newspaper handy to wrap and pack things with.
5.) Display everything well. Hang clothes up on racks and try not to have everything squished together on a few tables.
6.) Price everything. People don’t like having to ask how much things are, so it’s easier to have everything priced.
7.) Consider combining everything with other people in the street. It reduces advertising costs and since it will be bigger, usually attracts more people. You can use coloured dots to determine who’s is what. Yellow for Jade, green for Sally etc... So everything can still be labelled. Simply peel the stickers off and put in a book to know who gets how much at the end of the day.
8.) Keep a change bag, not a tin. Tins are very easy to steal where as a bag on you is a whole lot harder. Make sure you have lots of coins and small notes.
9.) Keep your house locked. You do not want people having a wander through whilst you are busy with people and helping themselves to whatever they feel like!
10.) Have chairs handy to sit when it is slow and for others to sit whilst waiting for their family/friends to keep looking. Having colouring books etc... for kids to use is great as it keeps them occupied and people are more likely to linger and look if the kids aren’t whingeing at them.
Most of all have fun with it. Chat and be friendly. It can be a great way to meet you neighbours and make a few dollars.