Thursday, December 13, 2007

The Selling of Stuff

So you’ve dug yourself a hole and you are sitting at the bottom of it looking up. You can see the sunlight way up there. You’ve decided that you despise making those stupid payments to your debt every single month. You’re done giving your money to other people. You’d kind of like to keep some of it. But the hole you are in is so deep, is there a way out? The answer is YES, but it will take some sacrifices. One sacrifice is to sell some of your stuff.

You’ve got to have extra stuff (aka “junk”) sitting around that could be thrown at your debt. Don’t say you don’t have anything, because all of us have crap laying around that we don’t need, or even want. Here are some things we’ve sold:

Brand new, shiny red, zero-turn lawn mower = $2,200
2 loft beds = $100
1 couch = $150
1 saxophone = $1,600
Books = $15.00
NASCAR Tickets = $1,300

I only listed 6 things there, but those items alone got rid of $5,365.00 of our debt in just a matter of a few days. It took minimal work, and we really don’t miss those things. If we weren’t on a mission to live a better life, we’d be trying to figure out how we were going to pay those extra thousands. It never would have occurred to us to – *GASP* – sell some of our stuff!

Look around your house. Yes, you may have to physically look because some of your stuff has been sitting there so long you don’t even really see it anymore, as was the case with our couch. Do you have any of these things that are “necessary”?

Extra vehicles
Fancy, expensive toys (big screen tv, zero turn mower, boat, motorcycle)
Exercise equipment that is collecting dust
Unused furniture
Extra appliances
Home décor stuff
Instruments (We just bought a used saxophone from Craigslist for $400. Someone wants your instruments!)

And the list goes on and on and on. The hole you are sitting in doesn’t have to be as deep as it is. Use some of your stuff to get you a little closer to the top so you can ESCAPE!