Updates for challenges

Firstly, if you are interested, I have added the Google friend connect button on my new site Kylie Ofiu. I did try transferring the current one, but it wasn't updating properly.

My challenges have taken a slight detour. Originally my $40,000 challenge was for 2 family holidays, major bills and some debt. Now, my husband has virtually lost his job, they said there is no more work, but did not actually fire him or make him redundant, so he is still on there books and might get called in. This means that we will not be doing the 2 holidays we had planned and the aim for us now is just to get by. I will still be going to the USA, but it will be just me.

We were going to put a pause/stop to my studies and our renovations but instead I have continued with my studies, and we have started to get a lot more done to the house. We would ideally like to list it on the market in 1 month, but it depends on a lot of things, so we will see if it happens. Fingers crossed.

My sell 1000 things has been going really well. I am up to 262 items sold worth $1473.29 which is well above my hoped for $1,000. My current sales average is $5.62. It has stayed around the $5 mark the whole way along, and if it maintains that the whole way I will be ecstatic.

Of course if our house sells I will not be adding it to my sell 1000 things total, although it would create a great total! We are still in discussions as to what we will be doing once we sell. We are not sure if we will stay in Sydney for a bit or move back to Canberra, but we do know we will be renting for 6 - 12 months. We don't want another mortgage for a while and when we buy we want to buy where we plan to stay for a LONG time and get a house we don't need to renovate.

Pre order 365 Ways To Make Money now!

On July 1st 2011 my new book, 365 Ways To Make Money will be available in bookstore across Australia. It has a range of ideas for different ways to make money, many which can be done from home. You can choose one idea or combine a few to create multiple income streams.

You can preorder a signed copy through me now. Postage is included, although there is a price difference between Australia and International orders as postage is expensive.

Send to:

Australia $20.00 International $30.00

It has something for everyone including things kids can do. There is an easy to use symbol guide to help you know at a glance which ideas are best for you.Each idea is explained and has some tips on getting started. The book also contains ideas on child minding solutions, where to go to get help, free and cheap advetising plus much more.To read reviews on 365 Ways To Make Money click here to go to the page I created listing them. I will add more as they happen.

Alternatively if you would like an eBook version you can buy it now 365 Ways to Make Money: Ideas for Quick $ Every Day of the Year.

Do not use Fishpond Online

I actually posted this on my other site Kylie Ofiu  but since there service has been so bad I am posting it here too.

I have previously recommended Fishpond for books, but after continuous bad customer service and having to chase them over everything I am going to tell you all to AVOID THEM LIKE THE PLAGUE. Seriously!

I have dealt with them as a buyer, as a seller and as an affiliate and have had problems with ALL of it. I am over it. The most recent issue I have been trying to sort out for over a month and keep getting the run around, so I decided to outline for you all the many, many issues I have had with them and why you should not use them.

As a buyer

-          Their site will say the book is available or can be dispatched within 2 days. I will get told I can expect it within a certain timeframe. It NEVER happens. I have had to wait over a month and chase them and chase them to get some of the books I have bought. This is new books through them, not used books from other private sellers.

-          If they have run out of a book you have purchased they will not tell you straight away, instead you get to pay and then after a few weeks of it not turning up and you email them, they give you excuses for a few weeks, then finally admit they do not have it in stock and you will get a refund in 7 – 21 days. NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!

-          They are often more expensive than the RRP. They used to do discounts and things, but now there is no incentive to buy through them.

-          They have terrible and slow customer service who prefer to dodge your questions and not answer directly, and never within a day or two.

As a seller

-          They used to offer 20cents credit when you listed a book with them. They changed this which was fine. I had not used my credit, which did not bother me, but when I put up new listings, which I did not receive 20 cents for, then subsequently removed them I had 20cent deleted from my account each time to the point where I owed them money!

-          They charge postage on your behalf, which does not really cover the cost of posting most books, plus they add the postage to the sale total THEN deduct their percentage, so they essentially give with one hand and take with the other. I have no issue with them taking a cut of the sale price. I have an issue with them taking a cut of the postage they charge customers “on your behalf”. That is just wrong and a lie.

-          After books are sold it can take up to 21 days to get paid, they say 7 – 14, but most of the time I have had to email asking when I will be paid and often it can take over 1 month from when I sell it to when I get paid.

-          Sometimes if a buyer purchases a book, then changes their mind and requests a refund you get stiffed. Fishpond expect you to send the book within 3 days, but if the customer cancels their order after that, after you have already sent it, you don’t get paid. Tough luck, you lost the book and made no money.

As an affiliate

-          They do not pay you what you are clearly owed. In my affiliate account I have money that should have been paid to me in November. Instead I keep getting the run around and they obviously have no intention of paying despite the paperwork clearly indicating I earned it.

-          They do not answer emails promptly, if at all. I have waited days; other times over a week and had no response. Their customer service is atrocious and they could care less about you as an affiliate.

There have been more issues and at first I didn’t mind so much because  their discounts when they ran them were good and postage was free over a certain price. Plus, when you got paid 20cents to list a book with them and it was so easy to list I didn’t mind. I got my first few affiliate payments, despite having to chase one, so I was ok. But they gradually went from bad to terrible and now, I would not recommend them to anyone.

If you want to buy books go to Book Depository or Amazon, they both have affiliate accounts as well. I would recommend selling your books one eBay, online classifieds or other book websites (such as Amazon if you live in the USA) but pass on Fishpond at all costs. They are not worth the headache to deal with. I don’t know why I have dealt with them for so long.

Update

I have pretty much moved everything over to wordpress now. My new blog is www.kylieofiu.com. I still have a few minor things to change around, but I am getting there. I like the layout and things better over there.

So an update for my $40,000 Challenge can be read here. I am half way there both in time and how much I need to make, which is very exciting.

In my sell 1000 Things Challenge I am up to 213 things sold, I have made $1,245.82, an average of $5.85, which is better than my hoped for $1!

My book 365 Ways To Make Money comes out in just over a week and so far I have 1 book signing lined up at Penrith Dymocks, 21st July, 6pm (would love to meet you if you are in the area), which is exciting.

I am speaking at the Financial Bloggers Conference in Chicago this October which is very exciting. I can't wait to meet all the bloggers attending. I will be speaking on going from blog to book, as that is how my book came about. I love America, so can't wait! (Ok, I have only been to the States once, but I LOVE it and tried then to convince my husband we should just stay.)

I have cut back and decided to put the house renovations on hold. Although, having said that, I am still doing little things here and there, but the MAJOR renovations will be picked up again in November, when we get back from the USA.

I am toying with the idea of postponing or just not completing my studies. I don't see myself working as a financial planner anymore. The course has been interesting, but I feel like it is taking time away from other things and that time could be better used. My husband on the other hand wants me to finish it. We'll see.

So that is where I am up to. Busy as always, but it's all good.

Come check out my new blog. You can follow me on twitter and facebook too!

So much to tell you

I have so much happening right now. I am very excited to announce I will be speaking at the Financial Blogger Conference being held in Chicago 1 – 2 Oct later this year. I will be speaking on going from Blog to Book as my book 365 Ways to Make money came about from my this blog.

My book, 365 Ways to Make Money is due out in 2 weeks, so I will have been through the whole experience from start to finish by the time my book comes out. Interestingly enough this week we discovered my book is already available as an eBook on Amazon if you wanted to buy it early. Otherwise it will be in Australian bookstores from July 1st.

Yesterday I confirmed with Dymocks Penrith to do a book signing on July 21st at 6pm. If anyone lives in the area I would love to see you there!

Also I had an interview done through skype this week with PTMoney and that will be a podcast up on his site tomorrow.

Plus, I am now over at http://www.kylieofiu.com/ I have imported my posts and got it pretty much all set up. There are just a few minor details to finish, but you can check it out now. I will be moving the Google friend connect widget to that site, as that will now be where I am posting.

Moving to wordpress

Due to constant blogger issues I am moving to wordpress. I was originally going to keep this blog and the new site for my book, 365 Ways To Make Money separate, but since it seems there are regularly commenting issues on here I have decided to combine them.

It should hopefully be all finished later today and I will be able to 'reveal' it. So please hang in there, the new blog will be available soon.

Thanks!

Sell 1000 Things update

Last week I managed to crack the $1,000 mark with my Sell 1000 Things goal which was really exciting. I have now sold 197 items for a total of $1040.15 which is an average of $5.27 an item. That’s a better average than the $1 an item I was aiming. If I can continue this above average trend by the end of my challenge I will have made $5270!


This week I only sold a few items of clothing and books, but those few items is what tipped me over 1000 Things.

This weekend I know I have a few things that have sold and I will be meeting up with the buyers for them to pay for their items which makes another 8 items once they are counted in.

At this point I haven’t found any more things to sell, but there are still some items I haven’t listed, so will get to that in the next few days. Some ideas I have had for what to sell once I run out of my own things are

- I have an eBook idea which I have started to write, though I was not planning on focusing on it until August/September

- Using some of the craft items I have to create things to sell or creating packs for people to do the actual craft part themselves

- List some photos on microstock photography sites

- Convince my husband to let me sell some of his things.

As you can see, even if you don’t have anything to sell right now, you can create things to sell.



197 items sold, 803 to go!

10 tips to help you do everything

Image from here

Lately I have been asked a lot in real life and in emails and things how I manage to do everything I am doing. I usually don’t view it as doing a lot, but when my sister listed it all I realised I guess it is. The things I am doing include


- 2 blogs

- Studying to become a financial planner

- Wrote my book – 365 Ways To Make Money

- Set up the website for that book, which I will reveal later this week

- Renovate my house

- Look after my 2 kids and do everything being a mum entails as well as 95% of the cooking, cleaning, general housework

- My little challenges like Sell 1000 Things, $40,000 in 6 Months and $100 Christmas

Thankfully part of these things are almost over, such as my book and website are done, but now I will need to promote them and do whatever my publicist has planned.

One of the reasons I do so much is my mind literally never stops. I will dream about a blog post I want to write which means when I wake up I just need to take a few minutes to type what I dreamt and it is done. And the dreaming doesn’t happen a lot because I am also pretty much an insomniac and have been since I was 13. I realise that doesn’t help you, but when you are awake in the wee hours of the morning may as well put the time to use.

I know that is counterproductive to getting a good night sleep and I have tried many techniques even medication to help me sleep but nothing has worked. I get sleep when I need it but I definitely do not get as much as we are supposed to need.

Also, whilst I am doing all of these things they are all taking longer than they need to. For example if I was just studying and not doing my book and blogs I would be qualified right now. As it is, I have stretched out the time I have done my course in due to these other commitments, which frankly, I enjoy more than study.

By multi tasking in many ways I am shooting myself in the foot. The renovations on our house have dragged on, my study has dragged on and my house is not always tidy. It is simply impossible to do everything at once.

I would like to say I have always been an organised person with a perfect routine and everything has always been done a particular way so it is easy to find the time to do things, but I am not. When I do follow my routine and things run smoothly I get a lot more done, but I do not always follow it. As I have taken on more things/projects I have definitely become more organised but I have a long way to go before I am as organised as someone like The Planning Queen.

Despite all that I do still get a lot done, well, I think I do. Here are my tips:

1.) Get organised – You need a routine or some semblance of a routine at least. You need specific places for things so you are not hunting all over your house for paper work etc. This will save you a lot of time and the routine will ensure you are more productive as you know the set times you have to do things in, making you less likely to waste it.

2.) Do not try to do everything at once – Choose a time for everything and stick to it. I have started getting up when my husband leaves for work so I have an hour or two to write posts, check emails and work before my daughters get up. This leaves me free during the day to play with them, clean up and cook. I am able to focus on them and our house because I have already done my work and the time for working has passed. In the evenings after they go to bed I do some more, but whilst they are awake I try not to work.

3.) Schedule posts – When I started blogging I had no idea I could write a bunch of posts then select the time for them to go up. So I used to write then put up the posts whenever I did it, when I could have done bulk post writing sessions, scheduled them in and not needed to think about writing posts for a while. Now I know this, it is much easier.

4.) Focus – It can be hard to focus on one task when so many other things are happening in your life. Try to focus on the task at hand and it alone. Since my mind goes 100ks/miles an hour I keep a notebook with me (or my phone) to jot down any thoughts I have that are not about what I am working on. By making a quick note I can focus easier on what I am currently doing. If I don’t write it down the thought rolls around in my head until I do something about it which means I am not focused.

5.) Work when you are freshest – Often I am best either first thing in the morning or last thing at night. I can tell when I first get up which time it will be that day. By knowing and utilising the times I am more awake and focused I am able to achieve more.

6.) Learn to say no – Looking at my list it would appear I do not know how to do this, but I do. I only do things I want to do and try to say no to everything else. We no longer go to the things we feel obligated to if we just don’t want to. Our time is too important to us to spend it doing things we don’t like. Obviously there are occasions where you need to suck it up princess and just do it, but there are lots of things people tend to do because other people expect it but it does not really need to be done.

7.) Do double up tasks – Sometimes you can do two things at once. For example if you are cooking dinner you can cook a double batch and freeze half for later. This will drastically reduce the dinner preparation time another night meaning you have basically done two things at once. Another thing I do is often my challenges overlap or serve two purposes such as my sell 1000 things; I am de-cluttering, adding money to my $40,000 challenge and selling 1000 things so that challenge covers 3 things I want to do.

8.) Don’t beat yourself up if you can’t do it – There are only so many hours in a day and only so much you personally can do. If you can’t do something, don’t feel guilty. Do what you can, only take on what you know you can accomplish and congratulate yourself on the things you achieve.

9.) Recognise your accomplishments – Often we focus too much on what we haven’t done which will get you nowhere. My husband delightfully pointed out recently I could have been qualified by now if I focused on my studies more. I then delightfully pointed out to him that I have just finished writing a book which was not in my plans when I started studying and I chose to finish that first. That is a big achievement in itself and I am still finishing my studies within a reasonable time frame.

10.) Outsource – if you can afford to outsource something that you don’t mind someone else doing it can be a great way to achieve what you want to achieve whilst still get other things done. You do not have to do everything yourself.

Hopefully these tips will help people a little and also as you can see from the start, whilst I do a lot, it all takes longer than it should.

Would you like me to guest post?

31 days of money is a series of guest posts I am would like to do. I have 31 posts on 31 different subjects, but all of them are related to money. I plan on doing them for the month of July, to celebrate the launch of my book 365 Ways To Make Money.


If you would be interested in having me guest post on your blog, send me an email at savvymumma@gmail.com

All the posts revolve around either making money, frugality or the money mindset. For example 10 ways to make $10, Treat yourself for $1 or less, How to change your money mindset, How to teach your kids about money etc... So there are a variety of topics, which I will go into further with those who are interested.

If there are any affiliate links that can be used in the post they will be yours, so you earn the money. I will try and find relevent links from your blog to link into the post as well. I will also be heavily promoting each post through my blogs, facebook and twitter. PLUS since it is the month my book comes out there should be extra traffic to my site and I will be setting up a tab specifically for 31 Days Of Money so you will have an easy to find permanent link from my site.

It is to help launch my new website, which I will reveal further next week.

1000 Things Update

This week I sold 7 more things, which was cool. They were worth $76.95, but I got a whole lot more listed, so hopefully will have more things sold soon. I have even more to list, so we’ll see how I go.


My new 1000 things total is 190. So only 810 more things to sell. My dollar amount is now $898.95.

Has anyone else heard of fiverr? I just found out about it on digital parents, nellbe posted about it. It is American, but lots of things you could offer can be done from home online, so that is not a real issue. I haven’t used it, but would love to hear of people’s experiences. It could be a great way to sell 1000 things. Just think, if you sold 1000 things on there for $5ea (online services) that would be $5,000!

So if anyone knows if it is any good, please leave a comment.

My plans for the next week involving this challenge and my $40,000 are not much. I just want to list a few more things for sale, see if I can find anything else in the house to sell, do a few little renovations on the house and garden and just keep saving money.

I have my menu plan and shouldn’t need to buy much this week in the way of groceries and now my husband catches the train to work our petrol/travel expenses are much lower which is helping. There are a few other things I would like to change around here which would save a few hundred dollars over the next 4 months. I just need to convince someone else it is worth it.

Your home is not an asset

Scather asked me about why I don’t class my home as an asset and suggested I post about it so I will. Thanks Scather. She writes a cool book review site you should check out. She is honest, articulate and funny!

My opinion, which is shared by quite a few people, is that the house you live in is not an asset. Yes it will go up in value and is worth a lot and is something I think you should aspire to own, but it is not an asset. An asset really is something you can liquidate for cash. If you sold your home, you would need to rent elsewhere and not really have anywhere to live, hence making it not really an asset.



If it were a rental property, which you were receiving an income from or a piece of property purchased purely for capital gains, then it could be classed as an asset because you could sell it off at any time. The property you live in is not usually viewed as an investment. You plan on living in it and staying there.



A bank and many other financial business will class your house as an asset and let you borrow against it to purchase other property and things, but realistically this not usually a good idea. You should keep your investments and personal home separate. If your investments turned sour you could lose your home. This is why it is better to keep them separate.



Many people here in Australia do not do this and are not so worried about our housing market since we are set up differently than the USA and our loans have been structured differently, but it does not mean we are not in a bubble and house prices won’t drop. In fact, many experts believe we are about to have just that happen. (Although this has been said for some time now, so you would need to do your own research in the areas you are interested in, as some parts have dropped considerably whereas other suburbs continue to climb.)



Many people have differing views on whether your house is an asset or not and this is just mine. What are your thoughts?

$40,000 Update

How did I do in May? I did ok, not as good as hoped, but ok. I was able to score some freebies as well as sell off stuff. I set a sell 1000 things challenge which has certainly motivated me. I ventured into my sentimental stuff and decided to sell some of it off. I have the pictures and memories, I don’t really need the space wasting stuff.




I had a garage sale finally, it went ok. I am glad I stuck to my guns on one particular sale to a guy calling himself “Uncle Peter”. He kept trying to get a discount, despite everything being super cheap already and I said no. Finally he paid and said “You the first woman Uncle Peter never get a discount with!” He apparently always gets discounts from female garage sale holders.



I also sold a bunch of books on Fishpond, although I have had to chase payments with them, which has been a bit annoying. You have to wait 7 – 14 days for the money to clear into your account, but I didn’t have that happen. It was good when I did finally get the money though. Made $113 this month selling some books.



Sold a few other things on eBay. I made $700 there, but am waiting on payment for one thing still, so not adding this in until the money is in my hand!



I cashed in some reward points for vouchers and during a big clean out of our bedroom I found $10. It was in a ripped, unmarked envelope under the bed. I had never seen it before so can only assume it was/is my husbands. Not that is really matters, our money is pretty much joint for everything anyway.



I spent a bit on some much needed new clothes and I cannot remember the last time I bought clothes and loved them this much, so it was definitely worth it.



Our bills were lower this month which is fantastic. Still working on getting them lower, because I know we can without much effort. The biggest thing would be simply switching things off at the power point when they are not in use. A lot of the time our chargers, washing machine and dryer are left on despite not being used. Wasteful!



I am down to needing $31,540. That’s a lot to find in 4 months, but I am still going to try.

See the original $40,000 post here

Garage Sale Success!

I finally had a garage sale the other week. My sister came up to help me and it went pretty well. Not as well as previous sales, but other sales have been held during warmer weather. My sister came up from Canberra for the weekend so she helped out.


Early on in the sale a man who called himself Uncle Peter came and picked a few things. I could tell he was a professional garage saler. You know the type. They come early, look for the best stuff they can resell, get a bunch of it and get it for the lowest possible price.

I had already listed my stuff pretty cheap. Lots of items were under $2 as I just wanted things gone. I also had a bunch of new items, still in their box or with their tags attached I was selling for 10% of their value.

So Uncle Peter gathered a bunch of stuff and asked how much for the lot and the conversation went like this:

Him: “how much you give me for everything?”

Me: “$24”

Him: “That’s how much they say on it!”

Me: “Yes, it is already cheap and most of this pile is new and worth a whole lot more.”

Him: “Aw, come on, it’s Uncle Peter! You give Uncle Peter a discount!”

(Just to clarify he is in NO WAY related to me or even met me before. Not MY uncle!)

Me: “It’s still $24.”

He finally gets out his wallet “gee, you are the first woman Uncle Peter not get a discount from” And this was not said in a mean way, I actually think part of him was impressed I didn’t back down.
The fact is I knew he wanted the stuff and I knew he would pay. I could have discount if I was desperate but it was early and he picked up the new stuff I was 99% sure would sell even if he didn’t buy it. You can usually tell who will buy any way and who won’t.

Amazingly despite having gotten almost $200 in change I still ran out. Everyone paid with $50, no matter how small the amount. Previous sales I have done I only needed $100 in change and most people paid with $20 or less for stuff under $20.

For the time I spent doing it, cleaning and pricing everything at first glance it did not seem worth it. Until I counted what I had made and realised I had made more than I expected. It worked out at an hourly rate of above minimum wage and I got rid of a bunch of stuff.

There were a few things I took back into my house to list on eBay. I had meant to do it before the sale but didn’t get to, so I still wanted to do that. The rest of the stuff we loaded into my car and took to the second hand shop. It feels so good to have it gone.

If I ever held another sale again there are a few things I would do differently:

1.) Put up all the signs myself. I asked someone else to do it and despite being very exact about where I wanted them, it didn’t happen.

2.) I would use bigger signs. I thought mine were a good size, until I went to put my signs up and there were GIANT signs all over the place. Seriously the biggest signs I have seen. (Most of them fell down during the day, but they were very visible).

3.) I would have more change.

4.) I would have my daughters looked after somewhere else. They kept coming out and taking things inside. I could have sold a few more things if they had not taken off with ½ of a set of things. No, they were not favourite items or even things used a lot.

5.) I might would probably combine with someone else at their place. As in, someone who lives on a busier road/closer to a main road than I do. I am in the back of the suburb kind of hidden away.

6.) Hold it in Spring/Summer/early autumn

7.) Hold it for longer. I only had until 1pm this time, which definitely felt like enough, but other sales I had I did til 4pm and sold off a fair bit towards the end. Lunch time is quiet everywhere as there are sports and things on. It is busy before and after.

8.) Plan a bit better and have potted plants, possibly baked goods (my mothers kitchen is registered to do this) and things like that to bump up sales.

9.) Get more tables. I didn’t have enough and would have like more things displayed better. If I had followed my own advice and been more organised I possibly would have sold more.

Either way, it was worth it and I am happy.



Guest Post - Want to save thousands on your mortgage? Take steps to repair credit

This is a guest post by Ed O'brien. It is about credit and repairing your credit. The start is more for my US readers, as in Australia our credit is done different (we don't have a number score) but the tips in this article can apply to everyone.


Want To Save Thousands on Your Mortgage? Take Steps to Repair Credit




A home is likely the biggest financial investment you will make in your lifetime. An affordable mortgage is certainly not difficult to find but it takes attention to credit on the buyer’s part. Even if you are ready with your down payment and have your next home picked out, it is dangerous to apply for a mortgage loan with a lender without first checking where you stand credit-wise.



Stricter Lending Requirements

Due to the housing market fiasco of the last few years, lenders have had to tighten their purse strings to prevent the excess of defaults they have experienced in the past. As a result, they have placed must stricter lending requirements on the potential borrower. One such change concerns the status of a borrower’s credit score. In the past, lenders were accepting of a credit score in the range of 700 and above. This range was considered to be a good score and an indicator that the borrower was not likely to default.



Fast-forward to the last year and lenders have changed their minds. They now want to see credit scores of 730 or higher before they will consider offering the best mortgage terms and interest rates. Certainly those with lower credit scores can still find lenders willing to approve a mortgage but the borrower will be required to pay much more over the life time of the loan in finance charges. Additionally, penalties and fees for a lower-score loan will likely be higher.



Saving Big-Time Cash

If you are looking to get an affordable home with reasonable mortgage payments, you are wise to check out your own credit score before letting the lender run a check. If you find you are not up to par with the 720-730 range, you should make the effort to repair your credit immediately. Otherwise, accepting loan terms based on a lower credit score will force you to pay thousands of dollars in interest charges, which may make your ‘dream home’ no longer affordable.



Time Heals Bad Credit

Don’t expect to start working on credit repair one week and apply for a loan the next. Credit repair does not work that way – despite what agencies are marketing to the public these days. There is no simple, overnight fix for bad credit. All consumers must put forth the time to repair low credit scores.



Start with ordering a copy of your consumer credit scores from the three credit reporting bureaus TransUnion, Experian, Equifax. Each score will cost a fee of around $15. Along with the score, order a copy of your credit reports from the bureaus and review them very carefully for any inaccurate information. Be sure to dispute all mistakes and errors with the credit reporting bureaus, which are required to investigate the information being reported by your creditors. This important first steps will take about two or three months before results will be reflected in your credit report.



The next steps will involve contacting your creditors to pay off or negotiate the pay off of the balance in full. The more debt you are able to effectively eliminate the better your credit score will appear to be. This may also help your mortgage process since your debt to income ratio will be much lower as you work to increase your credit score.



Only when you have thoroughly done the work to get your credit score as high as it can be within your current financial status should you apply for a mortgage loan preapproval. With an improved credit score and more time to stock money away for new home expense, the mortgage process should be rather smooth and the financial rewards you earn by saving thousands over the next 15 or 30 years will be well worth the work.



Ed O’Brien is a seasoned writer on personal finance, specializing in credit repair. You can find more of his articles located at CreditRepair.org.

Sell 1000 Things

Last week I decided to start something. I decided I wanted to sell 1000 things. Even if those things only sold for $1ea, it would mean $1,000 in my pocket and less stuff in my house. I have way too much stuff.

Last year or the year before I was part of a challenge on a forum, where a member decided to sell 1,000 things to help with spending money on their overseas holiday. I am no longer a member of that site so can’t find the link to the blog they had. They did pretty well and had a good time on their trip.

I have been looking around my home and I am sure I could come up with a fair amount of things to sell, as well as make things to sell etc. It didn’t have to be 1000 things you have right now. You just need to find a way to sell 1000 things.

I have 20 weeks left of my $40,000 challenge so decided what better time than now to do a 1000 things challenge. It will help de-clutter my home, clean out my garage and put money in my pocket.

Think about it. There are more ways to sell things than you probably think. It doesn’t need to be all your own things you sell, although that is a good starting point.

- You could host a garage sale, put things on Gum Tree or eBay, list them on Facebook. It doesn’t just have to be things you own, thought that is a great place to start.

- You could start doing party plan like Tupperware, Larissa Bright or Nutrimetics. Sell Avon or something at work or to family and friends.

- Write and sell an eBook

- Buy stuff to resell

- Make crafty things like cards, table cloths, aprons or anything else to use up your fabric stash

- Bake things to sell such as cookies, cakes and slices. You could try selling them to businesses as well as at markets.


When looking at places to sell you could

- Host the garage sale in your driveway, lawn or have an in house sale

- Sell at markets

- Sell on your own blog

- Create a for sale album on Facebook

- Gum tree, classifieds, eBay, quicksales, any site you can list and sell
- Sell on consignment through stores or directly to them (jewelry could be sold on consignment, whereas biscuits or cakes could be sold directly)

So what do you think you will do?

This is part of my $40,000 challenge for me, so I am really going to go for it! I already had a garage sale last week and have listed more things to sell online. From last week I am currently at 183 things for $822. Pretty happy with that so far!

Leave a comment if you are interested or email me and I will link to you here.