And the money comes in...

I have managed to impress myself with the amount of money I have made from eBay this week.  I have made over $100 from junk I would have thrown out.  Problem is that it is now in my Paypal account and I'm charged for the honour of using it.  I try to tell people to pay direct into my bank account but I guess people want the protection Paypal offers.  Its only a dollar here or there, but that all adds up.  So its going to have to sit there until I can think of something to buy.  There are a few things we can use it for, with Christmas coming up, but I was wanting to put every spare cent into our mortgage, so that in not too many years time we can say "no more mortgage".  Oh well, I'll just have to try to be more efficient with the way I spend it.

I have an interview for temp work tomorrow, which is exciting.  I have taken maternity leave of 18 months so far and while it is a bit longer than standard maternity leave, as a contractor I have now role to go back to.  I am planning on working while my husband is off work over the Christmas break.  It will give him the chance to see how busy it is to be a full time parent, and give him a rest from work, while I bring in some money.  My husband is a sub-contractor so only gets paid when he is working.  I'll register with a few agencies to do admin work, and see what we can come up with.

I'm still busily sewing baby sleeping bags, I have four made now, and would like to have at least a dozen made within the next three weeks...plenty of work ahead of me.

Tips:
-  Try to use cash/bank transfers when using ebay, as you get more for your dollar.
-  If your unwanted junk is in good condition, it will probably make you some extra cash if you sell it on ebay, or even have a garage sale.

Daily Habits

I am trying to get into the daily habit of saving money, being frugal, recycling, whatever...letting nothing go to waste. And I want to try to work each day on bringing more money into the family. Right now I am cleaning out our cupboards as we have a lot of stuff we no longer need, and putting it on ebay.

My husband could accuse me of being a hoarder, but I dont believe I am, and what I am doing now is a testament to that. I am getting rid of stuff by selling it. I dont care if I get 99 cents for something, as long as my costs are covered, then its better off in my pocket and not cluttering up our apartment. My husband was throwing out 3 old windsurfing sails. They still work, and are in ok condition so I put them on ebay thinking if I got enough for a cup of coffee to treat myself I would be happy. They were just going to be taken to the tip. Well to date, the auction on each has risen above $10, so that is $30 at least that I am going to put towards paying off our mortgage.

I am also going to be selling some baby sleeping bags I have made, at a market on 12 December. So each day I am trying to get more made. I have a fair bit of fabric at home, so I am trying to use all of that up on various projects to sell. Just another way I am trying to bring money in. If they do not sell at the market, no problems, as I have been selling them on ebay. They cost me about $6 to make so I just need to make more than that. They take 4-5 hours to make and technically my time is valuable, but if I am able to make another $6-10 for each bag, I am content. Of course I want to be rich, but I should not do it at the expense of others. My purpose for making the sleeping bags is to provide an affordable alternative to what is in the shops. Most in stores sell from $25-90. A vast variation in prices. By offering them at such a low price, I believe I should get sales. Time will tell. You never get anywhere in business if you dont try out an idea.