SELL SOME STUFF- AND BUILD THAT EMERGENCY FUND or PAY DOWN SOME DEBT!

Now that the weather is decent, it's that time of year when many people enjoy looking for treasures! Why not take advantage and SELL SOME OF YOUR STUFF!!! My last two yard sales netted me over $500 (and my kids over $100 each) so it was worth the time we put in…

Before you just throw everything onto a table in your driveway, there is some prep work that you should consider!

1. Pick a good day(s) and time. This all depends upon where you live. I think Saturday mornings are the best times for sales.  As far as the time of day and length to run your sale – that is really personal preference.

2. Advertise your yard sale time/place:  Use social media to your advantage! Post an announcement on your personal Facebook page, Twitter, or Instagram!! Ask your friends and family to share as well. Also, Facebook now has yard sale 'group sites'- many for each town where you can post your events. Craigslist allows a free posting as well. Many local newspapers also allow free listings for local tag sales so get the word out along many outlets!

3. Clearly Direct Traffic to your Sale.  Two days before, make sure you place signs helping shoppers find your sale.  It is best to start close to major intersections close to your home, followed by additional signs (with arrows) directing them to your home.  

4. Organize your items for display. If everything is thrown onto a table or things are dirty, most people will perceive your items as "junk" and may not even take the time to look through your goods.  Just taking the extra time to have several tables and items split out by category (household goods, tools, toys, books) can yield you more money!

Be sure you price your items. Start this process early in the planning stages. Don't wait until the night before or the day of to get started.   

5. Make sure your items are clean. As you set your items out for your sale, take a minute to make sure that everything is clean.  If your clothes or toys are dirty or your picture frame is coated in dust, it can really turn off potential buyers.

6. Launder and fold/hang clothing items. If  you are going to sell clothes, you will want to spend time getting these items ready.  I actually launder everything before I sell it.  This helps me find those hidden stains that seem to appear after time.  Think about it—  Would you really want to purchase a dress that has a stain on it? Probably not!  Sort clothes by season and according to size. This makes it very easy for your buyers find what they are looking for. I also HIGHLY recommend hanging outfits. Either buy a rack or use a study clothes line and string across your front porch if you have one!

7. Clearly price all of your goods. It's a turn off to me when I go to a tag sale or an antique store and nothing is tagged. People like to know what you are asking. If there are some items you are open to negotiating, keep those on a "make me an offer" or put a sticker with MMAO!  If you are not sure what to price things, you can go and check out Ebay or Craigslist so that you can be sure you are asking a fair price for your items. Just be sure you don’t under price your stuff! People at tag sales will usually try to get you down, especially near the end. Know what you want and go from there. 

8.  Make sure you have plenty of change available (and only take cash).   I get $100 in change before I start.  I start out with $20 in change in my box at a time. Make sure you have $1's, $5's, $10's and regularly coin change! If you are selling items at .75/.50 you will need quarters!! Wearing a carpenters apron helps if you are walking around a lot.  Accept only cash!  I’d also recommend you accept nothing larger than $20 bills.  If you are selling a large ticket item, you can ask the purchaser to please go and get $20 bills. You would hate to get counterfeit bills given to you and then you’ll be out your cash — and your item!

9.  Offer 50% off of “Goodie Boxes” Toward the End of the Sale.  If time is drawing close to ending your sale and you have items to move, you can offer 50% off of all marked prices. People that show up at the end are those that are probably expecting that and will haggle anyway.  

10.  Price Items to Sell and Be Willing to Negotiate Those Prices.  If you really want to sell your items, make sure that you remove emotion. If you are attached to a baby blanket, you will think it is worth more than it really is.

When the sale is over decide if you want to have another run at this. You can take the remaining items and put them up on the Facebook community yard sale sites, Ebay, Craigslist OR  you can gift your treasures to Goodwill or another local charity so that others are blessed by your giving them. 

LASTLY, tally up what you made and make those dollars count! Deposit them into your growing Emergency Fund (if you have NOT yet saved $1000) and if you have apply those dollars towards your debt snowball.    

DON'T LET A "TREAT" SCREW UP YOUR PLAN TO CRUSH YOUR DEBT!

Sometimes, when you're working your plan to pay off debt and get to your debt free dream, you feel the need to treat yourself to something!  I came across a really neat budget tool to help decipher the 'cost' of opting to buy yourself a 'treat' while you are working your plan to pay off debt.

For those of you who know my personality or work with me one on one, I'm a FACT based decision-maker.

I ask my clients to look at both the pros and cons  of decisions BEFORE making them. It's easier to 'own' your final decisions knowing the impact it has on your goals/plan.  It's so important to look at the 'treat' and know HOW it will affect your debt pay down plan.

For example,  if you currently are on task to pay off all of your debt within the next 46 month, a 'treat decision' can actually delay you by many additional months, maybe even a year. For example if you are currently paying down $22,000 of debt at an interest rate of 12.99%, making normal monthly payments, a $4800 Disney Vacation 'treat' would actually become a $6119 vacation!

Click the link and try it yourself…

http://www.whatsthecost.com/treats.aspx


Treating yourself occasionally can be a good way of keeping motivated or rewarding yourself while dealing with debt. This calculator isn't designed to convince you not to treat yourself, simply to give you an idea of the real cost!

REFLECTION LEADS TO CHANGE…

One of the most useful things we can do on our journey towards financial wellness is REFLECT. We all get in 'over our heads' for different reasons. For some of us, its childhood 'lack' and adult 'gain' that lead to our overspending. For some of us, its an emotional rise to spend money on things that make us feel better and forget about whats happening in our lives. For some of us, it's a gaining of 'status' that causes us to overspend.  For others its unexpected medical bills, loss of a job/income, a divorce. Whatever the reason, in order to change ANY situation and plan your way out, you must first reflect.

Start by creating a 'money journal'. A simple notebook will do OR get fancy and decorate a fun journal/notebook knowing your going to take this journey seriously.  Spend some time over the next few days thinking about and answering one or more of these reflection questions in your 'money journal':

• Name three things do you truly love to do.  Do any of these cost money?
• Name three things that you do regularly that you truly hate to do? Why do you do them? Are these in any way worth the reward you get for doing them?
• What things are preventing you from doing more of the things you love and less of the things you hate? How can you remove the things that stop you from doing more of the things you love?
• When was the last time DIDN'T feel badly about a purchase you made? Why did you feel good about it?   When was the last time you felt horrible about money you spent? Why did you feel badly about it?

Jot down your answers and do some 'reflecting' on them over the next week and share your thoughts with your partner, close friend, or with me on our Facebook discussion group:  Budgeting Group Sick of the Hustle https://www.facebook.com/groups/358488774329894/ 

CURRENT STUDENT LOAN DEBT IN THE U.S. IS $1.3 TRILLION (and counting)

How can this be?

The student loan debt in the USA has creeped up to over a TRILLION DOLLARS and now we are starting to pay attention?!  Many people sign up for college, knowing that to advance in careers education is key. What they don't always do is 'weigh' out the reality of what these future loan payments will look like when 'life after college' begins.

I'm all about helping clients PLAN. Planning is how we succeed with money.

Here's a great tool to help you understand your student loan repayments in relation to your possible starting salary https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college/tools-calculators

Don't make decisions about your future without preparation and knowing the facts!

CUT CABLE!!

For those of you who are still paying $200+ for cable each month here are some great alternatives to TAKING BACK THOSE Dollars!http://time.com/money/3767927/cable-tv-without-paying-bill/?fb_action_ids=10206194593050996&fb_action_types=og.shares

YOU CAN'T WISH AWAY YOUR DEBT! YOU MUST HAVE A WRITTEN PLAN!

Many of my clients sit with me during their first session and say they just CAN'T cut their spending in certain areas, but we all know it comes down to wanting to get out of debt bad enough to make some serious changes.  Sitting down and filling out a basic budget is the first place to start. If you continually chose not to look closely at what is coming IN versus what is going OUT you can't possibly know what or where to cut.  It not just about cutting spending, its about DIRECTING your money.  If your goal is to get out of debt you must direct dollars TO the debt in order to crush it and make it go away.

       You can't wish it away.

       You can't dream it away.

And while you may think you can 'earn your way' out of debt, I find many people get raises and still can't tell me where that money went this year. For many of us, the more we make, the more we spend.

It takes a PLAN. A WRITTEN PLAN.

This is where a financial coach comes in. My job is to sit down and help people establish and learn how to plan, decipher and WIN WITH THEIR MONEY.  It takes a few sessions for us to get your money plan in order but once it's written you can start implementing and working your plan.  The accountability helps for sure. The guidance as well.  Take the first step towards winning with money and hire a coach!

Check out my coaching 101 package at Sick of the Hustle Coaching Services

It’s time to stop thinking of college as a right and start to realize it’s a major purchase!

It's that time of year when families are anxiously awaiting college acceptance letters for their kids!

I know because we have been waiting as well.  It's an exciting (and stressful) time for these young adults and their parents as they await the 'word' about their child's future.  

Most families have made sure that their children have submitted to multiple schools to ensure that they are given at least two or more options to ultimately sit down and finally consider in the end.  The hardest part is the 'aftermath' of the letters?  CHOSING!  

For some it may not be an issue but for the average American family today, the cost of college has risen so high that the choice should not be easy. It should be a calculated decision process with finances being one of the leading factors. Why? Because the average college student today graduates with $30,000-40,000 of student loan debt. And that's the 'average'. Some graduate with loans in the range of $80,000-100,000!  This is debt that will weigh them down and delay them from starting a family, saving money, or buying a house.  And remember, if they meet their 'special someone' during or shortly after college, the odds are that their 'special someone" has a similar scenario! Multiply by 2 and these young adults are starting their adult lives shackled by $80,000-200,000 of student loan debt to pay back!

I meet with many families who feel they MUST allow their young adult their first college of choice, however when considering which college to chose many things can and should be considered/discussed before the final decision is made. 

You might think college can’t be done without debt, but Rachel Cruze, Dave Ramsey's spitfire daughter, begs to differ. “I believe the two keys to graduating debt free are pretty simple: hard work and preparation,” Rachel says. She shares the secret to making it happen in a new book she wrote with her dad called SMART MONEY SMART KIDS.  Here are a few of the highlights she suggests you consider:

• Choose a College the family CAN afford: It’s time to stop thinking of college as a right and start to realize it’s a major purchase. Treat it like one and shop around. In-state public universities offer a great education for a fraction of the cost of out-of-state or private schools. Kids can save even more by knocking out their first two years of prerequisites at a local community college then transferring to a state university to complete their last two years- If they want to be a graduate of a school they can attend in year 3-4 and BE a graduate of that school. 
• Apply for Scholarships and Grants: Senior year gives Junior the opportunity to earn free money by applying for scholarships and grants. And he doesn’t have to be a straight-A student to take home the prize. Dig deep and you’ll find all sorts of opportunities to save a buck. Encourage Junior to start early and submit as many applications as possible. A little hard work on the front end pays off in the long run!
• Get a Job: If you think Junior’s grades will suffer if he works his way through college, think again. A part-time job could actually help! Research shows that students who work 10–19 hours a week have higher GPAs on average than those who don’t. Being financially invested in his own education just might be what Junior needs to kick it into high gear and graduate in four years!

If you need assistance with getting your financial budget in shape before you broach the issue of college OR if you are already feeling the burden of tuition payments that were added to your budget,  I can help!  Check out my website and coaching packages at Sick of the Hustle Coaching Services