Desperate times can call for desperate measures. If you find yourself in a critical financial situation, it might be helpful to hold the mother of all yard sales. This can often raise a good chunk of money and help you get back on your feet.
A friend of mine was recently confronted with a short term layoff that left him behind on his mortgage payment by two months. With no other way to raise enough money, he decided to take a look at his assets and see off whatever he could to raise the money he needed. In this case, he needed to raise almost $2,100. He wound up, in fact, raising close to $2,600 in one weekend.
Having the mother of all yard sales takes commitment, and I would definitely put this under the category of radical frugality, since not many of use are willing to part with enough stuff to raise a large amount of cash. But in certain situations, it could be a wonderful way to take care of your financial responsibilities.
The first thing you will need to do is to decide on the amount of money that you need to earn. Then simply go around your home choosing items that you can sell to raise that money. Obviously, higher end and big ticket items will make it more likely to obtain your goal. But, start with the things that you can easily live without, such as clothing that is never worn, books that you have read, etc. I estimate that most people could easily raise $1,000 just by giving up stuff that they really don’t use.
Look for ways that you can downsize. This will help you in your immediate goal of raising your money, but it will also help simply your life and leave you in a better place after the sale. Things tend to cascade, too. So if you get rid of all of those extra clothes, can you then get rid of the extra dresser?
With some good advertising and word of mouth, and plenty of inventory to sell, you can have a successful day.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog, caring for little ones in the Baby Blog and now relationships in the Marriage Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here or subscribe to the blog using the subscription box on the right.
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