Making Some Extra Room...

On the $100 amonth plan I have made a reasonable start. I sold a bunch of my maternity clothes to a reseller for $35. I would have made more, but I had a lot of winter stuff that they aren't buying for a few more months. It's a start.

The Cheque is in the Mail...

Wooohooo!!!! I opened the mailbox today and found a $300 cheque from my gas station for a rebate on the gas I paid during the year. I guess I found my $100 for the month.

Unfortunately, as I had indicated before, February was not going to be a better month than January, so yes I have another $100 on my debt, but I can only swing minimum payments this month so I still have a shortfall.

$100 Update...

So the 20th of the month has come and passed, and I have to note that I did not reach my $100 extra per month goal this time. (BOOOOOOO!!!! HISSSSSSSS!!)

I tried ebay, but really didn't make all that much this time around, so I have left the cash in paypal for another month, my initial scheme for the month was denied (but may resurface in February - I'll let you know), and things were crazy hectic with time slipping through my fingers a little too quickly. So yes, I have failed for January.

However, I would like to note that I did make some strides this month. I added an extra payment to credit card #2 (if you remember, this is from my own stupidity of paying too early, but I'll take it as a positive anyway), and I managed to reduce the interest rate of 1/4 of my debt to about half.

Ideas for February:
-more stuff on ebay
-selling my maternity clothes (that are sitting in my basement collecting dust) to a second run store
-investigate selling used books on Amazon


So my question is out to you (again):

What can I do to make a little extra scratch every month? Online gambling, prostitution, and black market organ sales are not options. (sorry if any of these have worked for you)

Time for some "change"...

Yeah, whoever said that you let at least $100 worth of change slip through your fingers in a month was definitely lying. Some this experiment has failed miserably. I have been collecting my change for a month now and I have amassed a whopping $32.67.

First off I thought would not go too badly considering that I ransacked my old purses, the cup holder in the car, the laundry room, practically everywhere and I found a ton of change. Problem is, once you've cleaned out those areas, they are no longer a source of money.

Second problem is: debit cards. If you are using your debit card, you don't have change. Technology is a killer.

Third problem: when you are cutting back on your spending, you don't spend as much, which means you don't come across as much change.

Luckily for the person who "challenged" me, I have received some money for Christmas which will cover off the difference in the $100 challenge for the month. But to that person I must say "HA HA" I was right.

I like being right.

Taking care of the pennies...

So on my hiatus I engaged in a conversation with some friends regarding my debt journey and my blog. One thing someone mentioned (or mocked) was my $100 a month project. This person said that in my current situation I shouldn't be worried about finding hundreds, but I should be concerned with obtaing thousands. Well my response, of course but how easy is it to come up with a thousand dollars every month when I am struggling with $100. If I found a way to come up with that amount of money in a month, don't you think I would take it? I like to think that I am smart enough for that.

One comment I did pick up on, however, was a flip remark about how "you probably could find more than $100 from pocket change within one month?" I thought this was interesting. Do we actually encounter $100 or more in simple pocket change within one month ?

So for my December $100 plan, I will be accumulating all my pocket change until the 15th of December (30 days) and see what I can come up with. This may seem simplistic, but I feel the need to prove (or disprove) this theory. Have to admit, I am a little curious.

When in doubt - eBay...

So I figured that for the first month of my EARN $100 plan I would try the tried and true method of eBay. Apparently the average household has $1,200 worth of merchandise just sitting there waiting to be sold. So I listed everything I could find. After the fees, I listed a value of $71.17 that could go towards my debt (provided everything sells at my minimum price!) A little short of the goal so I will go back to the closet and see if I can rake up another $28.83 of saleable goods. Who knew this would be so difficult!!! Obviously, this does not have any sustainable potential so while I am digging through my closet I will be trying to find a new idea for next month.

Debt balance – same as last time
Credit cards to pay off – 3
“Extra Money” this month - $0 – but I have my fingers crossed