craigslist tutorial

we've heard about mr. craig and his list,

however, 

not all of us are sold

(pardon the pun)

or familiar with his benefits and rewards

i wanted to offer you a 

novice walk thru

from someone who's dabbled.

warning:

i am not a professional.

i'm sure if you searched you would find someone

far more suited, craftier and more clever

to offer their expertise.

once again,

i am not a professional.

but here is my humble take on the process:

rather than donate a good piece of furniture,

a decent household item or even a collectible to

your local goodwill chapter

we now have a new money making alternative.

craigslist

craigslist is a local online classified ad

(if you will)

you can buy, sell, trade or even give away 

items through craigslist.

remember this post?

my girls wanted to 

replace their too-small bicyles for

new and improved beach cruisers.

so here we are.

selling the old ones on,

you guessed it,

craigslist.

step one:

pricing

you want to price your item correctly.

first we must research: 

click over to your area-specific

craigslist and actually search the item

you are attempting to sell.

we are looking to find out what

we will price our own item for.

*don't price too low, 

don't price too high.

i looked up 24" bike

and found bikes priced between 

$25 and $75.

looks like our magic price will be someone in the middle.

step two: 

photos

take close up, 

clean photos.

(doctor them up on picnik, 

if you are feeling it)

*see this post if you have no idea what picnik is

i will post these two shots to represent the three bikes,

attempting to be sold.

step three:

post

click back over to your area craigslist.

select the category in which you will post.

for sale, jobs, personal, etc.

once there, click the 'post' button 

up in the right hand corner

here we go...

if you don't have an account yet,

you will need to do this now.

it's okay.

walk into the light.

once you are good to go and have your account, 

you will follow the prompts to post your item.

top three headings are:

posting title

price

specific location 

then you will write a brief description of your item.

be specific, concise and direct.

*refer interested listers to your email only.

do NOT list your cell phone.

finish following the prompts until posted.

presto!

done.  

you will then get a link to your post from craislist.

good job.
do you feel like an accomplished money maker now?

here is a look at my final product.

now just a few things to keep in mind

as you bargain, haggle and show your item for sale... 

-once contact has been made with you by an interested party

(via email, because that is all you have listed in your post, right?)

you can eventually give them your cell phone.  

only do this when you are 

sure they are a serious buyer.

-only accept cash

(and make that be known in your email exchanges)

-when it comes to actual sale of item, 

 chose to meet in a public place (starbucks is always good) if you item

is small enough to shuttle in your car.

if not, meet

 in front of your house. 

be wary of letting people into your home.

if your item is simply too large, 

i would suggest hauling those larger pieces into garage

to eliminate going into your home at all.  

i have been known to drag piece of furniture into driveway to eliminate

going inside at all, even the garage.

if unavoidable and item is in the house, going nowhere, 

make sure hubs is home, or call a friend for reinforcements

as a stand by when potential buyer need to go in your home.  

oh and bring rover inside too.   make his presence be known.

i hope i covered it all.
good luck.

for all you out in blog land who are experts
and have gone through this process already,
would love your thoughts.

feel free to add anything i might have forgotten,
or things i perhaps don't know at this point.

would love to know your success stories,
or pitfalls to beware of.

as always,
thanks for being here.

 

3 sisters sitting service: round two.

new neighborhood
+
3 teenage girls in the summer
+
not a whole lot on the social calendar

=

3 sisters sitting service...
round two.

see round one here

having already done this once,
we knew what we were doing.

only this time,
we jazzed it up a bit
with hand made pom poms.

here is the CEO of the company
herself
fast at work

thanks, aunt heathie,
for the pom pom maker.
madison is loving its quick results

we also
streamlined our
wording a bit.

straight to the point,
baby.

we made 50 of these badboys.

currently passing them out

beware if you are a

dog walker,
pool mom,
the least bit friendly with children in your vicinity...
pretty much anyone in the hood.

the girls already have high hopes on what
to do with their profits.
they have decided that their
current mode of transportation

(yes, the bikes they've had since
they were in 4th grade)


these are the ones

aren't cutting the
teenage vibe...

they've got their sights set on
the new and improved two wheeled version

hello beach cruiser.

perfect pick for
our relatively flat neighborhood.

i like their thinking
and i'm all about independent women.

would love to hear you ideas on putting
kids to work
come too much down time

5 Friends

Five Friends

Yes.
Five friends I think about every day.

Let me give you a little background here.

I have decided these five items have become my friends
because I have a goal, you see.

I am very goal oriented,
if you want to know the truth.

Hence,
let me tell you about my goal.
Retract, let me show you my goal.

This is the new
NOOKcolor

Normally, I'm not the most gadget-y gal.
But I made one mistake, one fatal mistake.

I went to the Nook station at
Barnes & Noble
to take a little looksie.

Uh oh.
Danger zone.
Turn back!

Too late.

I was sold.

And when I found out that the Nook has an e-reader contract
with all Public Librarys across our great nation.
That's right all my fellow readers out there.
Translation: FREE E-READER DOWNLOADS!

Not to mention this little e-reader is in FULL color
AND
it has wi-fi.
Need to check email? Facebook? Your fav bloggie?
You have arrived, my friend.
This has it all.

Needless to say, meet my new goal:

NOOKcolor.

So,
why haven't I up and bought it yet?

I've got to save for it.
(remember that goal oriented part?)
This bad boy ain't cheap,
but I do believe it's well worth the $249 (ouch!)

So, back to the reason I'm telling you about my 5 friends...
These 5 friends are going to be good to me to meet my goal.
They will make me money and save me money.

Friend #1:
The public Library
I've mentioned this guy before but I can't deny my love affair with him.
This guy will help me utilize my future new e-reader without breaking the bank.
I will save money and prevent from spending money when I spend more time here.
Who doesn't love that deal?

Friend #2:
eBay

This is the greatest invention since sliced bread.
I'm sure most of you know the value of this bad boy.
If you have not met him, please, please, please
familiarize yourself with him.
He will not only make you lots of moolah,
but de-clutter your cabinets, closets and life.

Hint:
Anything that is easily shippable AND has a brand name
is even more friendly to this guy.
Get to know him!

Friend #3:
Mr. Craig and his famous list

See Friend #2 for easily shippable items.
This guy is for the big, bulky and "too much hassle" to ship.

Think:
furniture, appliances, wall mirrors.
You get the picture.

Smaller audience than Friend #2 but just as valuable for
making and saving money.
Plus, it's environmentally sound
(ahh, you can sleep a little better knowing you are
recycling good stuff to people who need it for cheap prices.)

Friend #4:
Home Made Lunches

Paying for lunches out can be a serious money pit.
If small people in your house pack lunches,
and big people in the house pack lunches this
can add up to oodles and oodles of money saved.

*Just make sure you've got good and healthy stuff to pack in those lunches.

Easy!

Finally,
Friend #5:
Still thinking about this one.
Thought you people out there in cyberland
might be able to help me out.

What is your favorite friend (method)
that helps save or earn you cold hard cash-ola?

Spill.

I'm all ears.

Can't wait to hear your ideas.

Laptops and Ipads, Oh My!

It happened...
It was wonderful.
It was decisive.
It was earned.
It was ownership.
It was deserved.

Payday!

As you know, back in February, my girls started

3 sisters sitting service


You can read all about it here.

Lo and behold they started getting calls, and more calls and
now we call those calls "regulars".

It's been great.
The girls stood tall in responsibility.
They became savvy little financiers.
They made financial goals.
They saved most of their money and
spent a little.

...all part of moms grand master plan.

Finally it was time.
They were ready to make that BIG purchase.

We researched.
We picked and
we purchased.

It was pure reward.
Check it out...



As parents we love to make our kids happy
and shower them with stuff they'll love.

But nothing is sweeter than
seeing your kids pay for a well earned, well deserved
item of choice that
they worked for,
sweat for and
saved for?





Delayed gratification builds character.

Would love to hear some
good sweat equity stories on your end.

Thanks to my mom and dad for teaching me
good old fashion saving techniques and passing those on to my kids.

As always, thanks for visiting.

Miss Frugality Shares Her tips

Do you ever run out of money
before you run out of month?

Requested by a Simply Brookes fan
(yeah for fans!)

I decided to post some of my personal favorite
money saving tips when the budget gets tight.

Here are a few things I do when I don't want to zip the credit card,
but use what limited budget is actually in the bank account, however small.

1. Rather than head to the mall, head to the walking trail.
This will kill time, it's good for you and it's free!
Free workout...no membership fees
$0

2. Rent a movie.
Rather than take your family to a movie theater and
pay exorbitant prices for tickets and snacks. Stay home,
order a movie OnDemand, watch in the comfort of your own home and
eat your favorite pantry snacks.
Entertainment at home.
$5

3. Eat in.
Pack your lunch when you leave for the day.
If you are running errands, come home to eat!
This one is a slippery slope.
Simply put...EAT AT HOME.
Hello PB&J.
$0

4. Clean a closet.
Take the time to sort through that utility closet you've been telling yourself
you need to go through. Better yet, actually MAKE MONEY by setting aside items
you can sell on craigslist or clothing you could sell at your local consignment shop.
Potential to actually make $$!

5. Catch up on your reading list.
Relax in your favorite reading nook and read that book you've been meaning to get to.
(Hopefully you even got it at the library...another money saver).
More entertainment at home.
$0

6. Take the family out for ice cream instead of dinner.
That's right. Eat at home (Top Roman, anyone?) and for a "treat" pack the kids in the car
and trek down to your nearest and dearest local Golden Arches. You can get sundaes or ice cream cones for less than $1.50...and that is all without even getting out of the car.
Cheap Treats.

7. Go to a FREE museum or monument.
Walk around, eat your sack lunch, go home.
Perfect day of no spending.
Entertainment for free.
$0

8. Wash the car.
No, I don't mean the kind you drive thru and let the guys hand dry.
Heck, you will burn calories doing this yourself.
Put some elbow grease into it.
Get out the vacuum and don't forget the Armor All.
$0

Hopefully that gave you some ideas or revived some oldies but goodies.
Tell me ways YOU stretch your budget at the end of the month.

I love this stuff...

As always, thanks for visiting.

Go Green and Save Money

TOP 5 Ways YOU Go Green
(And Save Money In The Process)

Don't worry, I want to hear from you, too!
I'm going to ask you to send me your TOP FIVE...

but for now here are my top 5:

1. I know you've heard about turning off lights when they are not in use...
I will ask you to go one step further.
Ready?

UNPLUG all outlets in EVERY room you DO NOT use daily.



That is right, the coffee grinder that you only use once a week (unplug it!)
How about the lamp in the corner of the guest room that no one uses until Grandma and Grandpa come to visit (unplug it!)

You will be amazed at the savings from this tiny tip.
I was so excited when I got my electric bill after doing this, I even went BACK around the house to make sure I didn't miss any plugs.
Don't forget the garage and back yard.
It works!

2. Shop at consignment shops, thrift stores or
second hand apparel shops.




Not only are you re-using goods, you are also saving money.
Things are never full price when they are "gently used".

Don't forget about Ebay, Craigslist and Garage Sales?

**For an added bonus, list/sell your OWN items
and put some green backs in your wallet and do good for the environment.

I recently took my three daughters to a new found second hand clothing store.
We scored.
New clothes for everyone, name brands and a fraction of the cost.
The girls were thrilled and can't wait to go back for more loot.

3. You've seen me post this before:

USE YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY



Rather than purchase new books,
simply check them out at your tried and true, local library.
If they don't have what you are looking for,
put your name on the waiting list or request that particular book.
They'll let you know when it's in!

4. This is an easy one...

DITCH THE PLASTIC DISPOSABLE BOTTLES OF WATER




You already know these suckers are filling up our land fills and are a complete waste of money.

Purchase a inexpensive reusable, refillable water bottle and buy a Brita!

Refill your water and be on your way...

5. Finally,
RECYCLE YOUR ALUMINUM CANS AND PLASTIC BOTTLES.
TAKE THEM DOWN TO A RECYCLE CENTER AND WALK AWAY WITH CASH!




It is very appealing and easy to simply collect your cans, bottles
and milk jugs for your curbside recycling.

You can actually look up the location of your local recycle collection center and
YOU will be the one walking away with the cash.

My daughters and I decided to make a concerted effort to collect these recyclables.
We kept a jar of all our collection earnings.
We called it our DISNEY JAR.
We used the money for "extras" on a family trip to the Happiest Place On Earth.

We were also proud of our efforts.

I know you are already doing things
that are GREEN in your house.

Please take a minute and share how you do it.

Thanks in advance for your wisdom and ideas.

And as always, thanks for visiting.

Mini Money Makers...

The girls have banded together in the name of making their own money!

Yes.

Independence.
Work ethic.
Financial stability (ok, that one is a stretch at the ages of 12 and 13)

After brainstorming about how the girls could earn some extra spending money,
we decided to play on their strengths.

Babysitting.
Pet Sitting.
House Sitting.

We decided to target just our surrounding townhouse complex.
That way, mom will be near in case anything coo coo arises.

We all pitched in for the words we will use. CHECK.

We picked out some bright colors and fun hanging tags. CHECK.

We tied it all together with twine for easy door knob access. CHECK.


There you have it.
We made 30 fliers,
just enough for our surrounding houses.

We will pass them out this weekend.

How's that for business minded, independent, soon-to-be women?

Love it.

When I was a kid, it was lemonade stands, neighborhood talent shows
and door to door "dancing" with scarves wrapped around the waist on roller skates.
Yes, Kelly Pietila and I actually got money for that.

Regardless, it was in my veins to think about my earning potential
and play into my strengths.

Hopefully my daughters have caught the bug.

How did you make money as a kid?
Love to hear stories...