Old Total: $ 894.71
+ $45 babysitting
---------------------
New Total: $939.71

I haven't posted much this week. The lack of posts is due to being busy and not really spending much money.

I made $20 Friday doing hearing testing, but since that isn't a new income stream for 2007 I'm not going to count it towards the Challenge. It was my first time testing for 2007, though. The last time I tested was in December. I was sick at the time the with a head cold and think I gave bad results and got "black listed" (if you provide variant results they black list for a while). I don't know if I hope to be back in good graces again- I like the money but the actual testing is tedious and annoying.

I made $55 babysitting 5.5 hours tonight.

Old Total: $839.71
+ $ 55 babysitting
-------------------
New Total: $ 894.71

Making my $1500 goal by 6/1/07 looks feasible!

I'm adding $75.44 for 5 items I sold during the last week on eBay.

Individual profit for each item was:
$59.88
$12.32
$1.30
$1.08
$0.86

As you can see, there was quite a spread! The small items are hardly worth it, but the idea of Challenge helps to motivate me even when I know the profit won't be much.

Old Total: $764.27
+ $75.44 eBay sales
---------------------
New Total $839.71

Wednesday night babysitting $$ to add to the Challenge:

Old Total: $739.27
+ $25 babysitting
----------------------
New Total: $764.27

I mailed 5 eBay sales this morning. I'll calculate the earnings this evening and make another post to reflect the income.

My Wednesday night babysitting job was cancelled due to bad weather, but I babysat last night and made $60.

Old Total: $679.27
+ $60 babysitting
-------------------------
New Total: $739.27

I've sold 2 things on eBay, but I'm going to wait until after I can mail them so I know the exact shipping cost.

We have 10 people coming over for brunch in a few hours-- I need to get moving!

eBay is offering 50% off insertion fees for today only.

If you're like me and stuck home in snowy weather, today is a perfect day for decluttering!

I'm trying something new with an item I'm currently selling on eBay. I listed it much lower than the anticipated selling price.

So far, 11 people are watching and one bid has been made. The auction still has ~3 days.

I tried this tactic to:
1.) save myself a little $$ on the insertion fee, and
2.) drum up interest in the item

It will be interesting to see if it works!

I sold a single 15 pound dumbbell for $3 through our local online classifeds.

Old Total: $676.27
+ $3 for dumbbell
-------------------------
New Total: $679.27

I love being active, but lifting isn't my thing. Personally, I try to AVOID lifting heavy things. But, for some reason I bought this dumbbell about 5 years ago with the intention to improve my strength.

Well, I can probably count on two hands (attached to my toothpick arms) how many times I've actually used it. Everytime I've moved I thought about how dumb I was to continue to move this dumbbell.

Well, now it's gone-- I can add $3 to my Challenge!

I earned $40 babysitting Saturday night-- which I'll add to the Challenge.

Old total: $636.27
+ $40 babysitting
----------------------
New Total: $676.27

I agreed to babysit for them on Valentine's Day. I hope that by making myself available and easy to schedule, I'll be the babysitter they'll always want to call.

I made $35 babysitting last night, plus a whopping $0.21 on one of my Goodwill "What to Expect" speculative book purchases via a Half.com sale.

Since the book is heavy, I ended up paying more for shipping than I was re-imbursed. I raised the price on the remaining "What to Expect" books, but this will make them less likely to sell.

I will try listing them on our local online classifieds this weekend. That way, the buyer won't have to pay shipping and I may be able to make more profit.


Old Total: $601.06
+ $35 babysitting
+ $0.21 book sale
--------------------
New total: $636.27

So much for my "selling" coupons on eBay idea. Although the auction had 2 watchers, no one bid. I'll lose $0.20 for the insertion fee.

I'm also going to subtract $1.23-- the cost of the 5 paperback books I bought at Goodwill and plan to list on Half.com for a profit. My speculative spirit is down but not out!

I picked up:

What to Expect When You're Expecting (something I've noticed on the bookshelf of all my friends with babies)
What to Expect the First Year
What to Expect the Toddler Years
The Known Word (A Pulitzer Prize winner and bestseller)
A Virtuous Woman (an Oprah Book Club selection).

I know the “What to Expect” series is popular with new moms. I’m contemplating grouping all three for an eBay auction, but I’ll try half.com first. If the books don’t sell, I can always read them myself. Ideally, I can make a little money for the Challenge (perhaps even after reading them myself!)

Old Total: $602.49
- $0.20 eBay insertion fee
- $1.23 speculative book purchase
------------------------------------
New Total: $601.06

I earned $60 tonight babysitting. This family has been a great match for me-- not only do they need a babysitter 2x / week, but they stay out for 4-6 hours, making it really worth my time. Granted, it's 1 am when I get home, but it's not like if they came home at 10pm I'd then do anything else beside maybe watch TV and go to bed.

Old Total: $542.49
+ $60 babysitting
---------------------
New Total: $602.49

I'm off to bed. The house next door to ours is rented to undergraduates who are having (yet another) big party. Where do they find the energy? Luckily I'm tired enough that I'm not going to have any trouble sleeping.

I'm adding another $3.71 to the Challenge for a book that sold on Half.com. This amount includes subtractions for Half.com commission, shipping, and cost of padded envelope.

I’m always a little sad to mail away my books. The book I mailed today was a paperback I bought this summer at Elliot Bay Book Co. while we were on vacation in Seattle. Even though the book itself could have been bought at any store in the US, it reminds me of the trip and I felt rush of nostalgia packing it up.

I’m only selling the books that I either didn’t like, have 2 copies of, or know I won’t read or reference again, but I guess I still can’t help but feel an attachment. This feeling is unique to selling books- I don’t feel this way about any of the clothes or knickknacks I’ve sold on eBay or through Classifieds.

Oh well, I’m sure I will appreciate having fewer books the next time we move, and maybe some of the money I earn can help fund future trips and new memories.

Old Total: $ 538.78
+ half.com sale $3.71
-----------------------
New Total: $542.49

This has been a very successful Challenge month for me, as this total represents ONLY new, quantifiable earnings.

I’ll reflect some more on this in a future post, but let’s say I’m feeling pleased and highly motivated with January’s ending balance.

I mailed the second item I sold on eBay. After deducting the various fees, I net $7.42, which I will add to the Challenge.

Old Total: $531.36
+ eBay sale $7.42
------------------------
New Total: $ 538.78

After reviewing my eBay invoice to calculate my exact profit, I was confused as to why the insertion fees for the sold items were credited back to my account.

A little further investigation led me to the explanation that if you list an item on eBay and it doesn't sell, you are eligible for a credit of the insertion fee if you re-list the item within 90 days AND the item sells the second time around. Since both of the items I sold were re-lists, eBay credited the insertion fee back to my account. This policy holds true even if you re-list at a lower price the second time (as I did).

If the item(s) do not sell on the re-list, you are out of luck and pay the insertion fee(s) again.

You can read this policy in full detail here.

I made $40 babysitting tonight. Once again, I'm exhausted (the parents stay out late and the kids can stay up until they get home!), but this babysitting gig has been a great way to add to the Challenge.

I do feel a little bad leaving Mr. Bean home alone every Saturday night. I've left tomorrow open all day to spend time with him since I spent most of today cooking (for my personal chef job) and babysitting.

Old Total: $491.36
+ $40 babysitting
--------------------------
New Total: $531.36

I received payment for the other eBay item, but I still need to figure out the actual shipping cost before I can add it to the Challenge.

Guten Nacht.

After deducting the actual shipping and various fees, I made $2.51 on the Half.com sale and $3.13 on the eBay sale. I’m still awaiting payment on the second eBay sale.

I've learned that I need to be careful when shipping. I used my own padded envelope (cost $0.50) to mail one of the items today. It ended up cheaper to mail it Priority Mail, so I could have used a Priority Mail envelope at no extra charge. Lesson learned: Don't assume First Class will be cheaper than Priority!

In keeping with my rules, I’ll deduct $0.40 for the insertion fees of the eBay items that did NOT sell. In the mean time, I’ll add $5.24 (total of above items minus insertion fees of unsold items) to the Challenge. I’ll update again once the second eBay item is paid for.


Old Total: $486.12
+ $5.24 eBay and half.com sale
-------------------------------
New Total: $491.36

Only 2 / 4 of my items on eBay sold. Neither is a big ticket item (a pair of shoes and a pair of jeans), but it feels good to get them out of my closet; not to mention the few dollars I'll make in profit.

I'll add the money to my $20 Challenge after they get mailed so I can calculate the exact profit. A paperback book I had listed on Half.com also sold today.

Motivated by the great Goodwill finds I've read about on Savings Advice, I made my second sojourn earlier this evening. The first time I went I was a little overwhelmed- the place was a little disorganized. Thursdays are 15% off for students and senior citizens so I thought I'd take another look.

My timing was great, because they were having an unannounced sale of 50% everything in the entire store today - Sunday. I thought the selection and organization seemed better than my last trip, too. I ended up buying a nice sweater (originally from Express) and a pair of cords (originally from old Navy) for a grand total of $5.49!



I wasn't in dire need for new clothes, but it's fun to splurge on some fun stuff without breaking the bank! I might go back this weekend when I have a little more time to look around and see if I can make any speculative purchases for sale on eBay. It seems difficult to judge what's going to sell on eBay, so this might be a little "risky" from a money making perspective-- if you can call Goodwill speculation risky!

I babysat again tonight and made $40-- of course, it goes to the Challenge:

Old Total: $446.12
+ Babysitting $40
---------------------------
New Total: $486.12

It's great to see the Challenge total getting up there, but I'm exhausted! I'm off to bed-- maybe I'll dream of having only one job at a time!

Of the four items I had up for auction on eBay, only 1 item sold. The auctions ended on Thursday-- the same day eBay was running a 1-day special of $0.20 insertion fees, so I re-listed the unsold items at a lower price. Hopefully things will go better this time.

I thought it might be interesting to break down the costs associated with an Ebay sale. My item sold for $6.99 + $8.50 S&H. I always do a flat rate shipping cost. When I buy things on eBay I like to know the shipping cost before I bid, so I figure other potential buyers might be the same. Typically I end up making a small amount on the shipping, but the buyer for this particular was on the opposite coast from me and the actual shipping was $0.50 more than I anticipated.

Ebay Sale Price: $6.99
=+S&H $8.50
--------------------------------------
Buyer pays: $15.49
eBay insertion fee: -$0.35
Final Value fee (5.25% sale price) -$0.37
PayPal Fee: -$0.75
Actual Shipping Cost -$9.00
--------------------------------------
My profit +$5.02

For the purposes of the Challenge, I’m also going to subtract the money I spent to list the 3 other items that did not sell. The cost to list those items was $1.32, so I’ll add $3.67 to the Challenge. Not big money, but it cleared something out of my closet that I don’t wear. I had tried selling it to a used clothing store and they were not interested, so at least it’s gone and I have a few more bucks for the Challenge.

I’m subtracting the lost money because this is a Challenge, and I expect to win some endeavors, and lose others.

Last night I babysat for the same family that I sat for on Wednesday and made $50. That will also be added to the Challenge.

Old Total: $392.48
+eBay Sale: $3.67
+Babysitting $50.00
-----------------------------
New Total: $446.12

In an attempt to find new income streams for the $20 Challenge, I decided to sign up with a local online service that matches college-aged babysitters (I live in a college town) with parents looking for child care. It's free for sitters to register, but parents must pay a fee to look through sitter profiles. It's an interesting idea for any aspiring entrepreneurs!

I was contacted by a family looking for a babysitter every Wednesday and Saturday night for their 3 kids, ages 6,9,12.

Last night was my first night. The kids were great and the parents were equally nice. They pay $10 / hour, so I came away with $25 which I'll add to my Challenge.

Old Total: $367.48
+25 babysitting
-----------------------
New Total: $392.48

I was really pleased with the rate they offered. $10 / hour is about what babysitting is "worth" for me, so it was great to have them offer it right off the bat. If it had been less, I'm not sure if I would agree to this being a regular job. I'm not saying that parents should pay babysitters $10 / hour (It seems like a night out could get awfully expensive at this rate!), but $10 / hour is about what my time is worth FOR ME to give up every Wednesday and Saturday night. Another factor that might contribute to their offer is that I'm committing to a regular schedule and I drive myself out to their home which is ~ 7 miles from the campus area. Many college students don't want to give up Saturday nights or don't have a car.

I remember babysitting for $2.50 / hour in high school and $5 / hour in college. For those of you with children, what do you pay a babysitter?

As I seem to keep mentioning, we recently re-arranged our entire house, which has prompted me to weed through a lot of our belongings.

The $20 Challenge really motivates me to sell things rather than just give them away on Freecycle. Freecyle is great, and I still give stuff away there (in fact, right now there's a Titanic Soundtrack cassette on my porch waiting to be picked up by some lucky Freecycler!), but without much more effort I can get $$ for some of the stuff (albeit not Titanic cassettes!). Selling is so easy with free online classifieds like Craig's List and Community e-Bulletin Boards. So far, I've been pretty happy with the results. It feels great to de-clutter and make a little cash at the same time.

In addition to the cat supplies, I also listed 2 hand-me-down lamps that we rarely used (neither gave sufficient light for reading). Someone bought both for $5. Mr. Bean thinks I should have asked more, but I'm happy to have them out of here. I can't imagine they were worth more than $10.

I'll add the $5 to my Challenge:

Old Total: $362.48
+ $5 for lamps
_____________________
New Total: $367.48

I have an eBay auction ending Friday. It won't be a big money maker, but it should net $10-$15 dollars. Wednesday is my first night babysitting for a potentially regular 2 night / week babysitting job.

I babysat tonight for my friend's baby, but I refused to let her pay me. Not only is she my dearest friend in the world, but the baby was only awake for 30 minutes before she went down for the rest of the night. After that, I laid on the couch, read a book and drank their chocolate milk-- hardly a hard night's work!

Let's hope Wednesday's job is as enjoyable!

After a year of mooching of us, our kitty finally started to earn her keep.



With my help, she successfully sold a few of her no-longer used cat toys, a cat brush, cat nail clippers (I have better success with human clippers) and a collar she refuses to wear on Craig's List. She wanted to post something in the "Missed Connections" section for the squirrel she watches out the window, but I had to draw the line-- too many weirdos out there.



She earned $5 and agreed to add it to my $20 Challenge. I tried to take a picture of her with the cash, but she wasn't interested in staying still.




Old total: $357.48
+ 5.00 Cat Cash
___________________________
New Total: $362.48

I also need a goal for the $20 Challenge. I've decided on a goal of $1,500 by June 30th. If I can achieve that, I'll set a new goal for the second half of the year. $1500 might not seem ambitious enough since I'm ~25% there, but I don't anticipate having another big ticket item for eBay. The sale of the OSU jacket really jumpstarted the Challenge for me.

I've been diligent about transfering any money earned in the $20 Challenge into my online savings account. I need to keep that up!

How can I find new income streams for my $20 Challenge?

What I'm already doing:
** Perusing the online classifieds for the occasional odd job, like leaf raking, pet sitting
** Selling on Half.com / Ebay / Local Classifieds / Plato's Closet Used Clothing
** Registered in a database of local college aged (err, and slightly older than college aged) babysitters [I'm actually meeting my first family on Wednesday for a regular Saturday night job]

Things I'm contemplating (in descending order of likelihood):
** Seek out other local consignment stores to sell clothes
** Bring stuff to my mom's garage sale this Spring (I don't have enough for my own)
** Teach nutrition classes at the YMCA (I'm already on their list)
** Keep an eye open for research studies I'd qualify for
** Ask for a raise in my Personal Chef job
** Lend through Prosper.com

What I could do, but I'm not going to (I'm looking to save money / make money, but I'm not in personal debt. If I had personal debt, I might re-evaluate)
** Get a formal part-time job with regular hours
** Donate plasma (I'm already a regular blood donor with the Red Cross)
** Expand my Personal Chef clients (one family is exhausting enough!)


Any more suggestions??

After getting a better understanding of the $20 Challenge and it's various incarnations, I'm going to make a few changes

1. Only going to count NEW sources of income generated from the $20 start up money and the resources I have at my disposal. That means personal chef money is out, hearing testing money is out. I track my earnings in Quicken, so if I want to know how much money I've earned from all sources it's easy enough to figure out without counting it in the $20 Challenge.

2. I am going to count Half.com and eBay sales since the New Year. Technically, I made my first (ever) sale on eBay and Half.com in mid-December 2006, but it's still all really new to me. Along this line, for bookkeeping purposes, I probably shouldn't have deducted the fees and upfront costs from my first eBay sale of 2007 since the $20 is start up money. However, for simplicity's sake, I am going to always list the net profit and just let the $20 start up sit as it's own line.

So, my NEW $20 dollar challenge total is: $ 357.48 (the last total - $75)

I took some used clothes to a used clothing shop this afternoon and earned $9.80, so I'll add this to my challenge money:

Old total: $422.68
+9.80
_________________________
New total: $432.48

The shop is actually part of a chain that specializes in "teen" used clothing. They rejected some of what I tried to sell-- a fact of life when you're 29, I guess ;-). I was surprised by some of the things they didn't take, ie. a pair of Size 4 Boot Cut J.Crew jeans in great shape. Maybe they're not in style anymore, or maybe the store was at capacity for jeans. Either way, I've listed the jeans and a few other "rejects" on eBay. I might have earned more on eBay for the items the store did buy, but the picture taking, listing, waiting, answering questioins, etc. on Ebay is time consuming.

Back in December I decided to join in on this year’s $20 Challenge, but haven’t been posting about my progress. So here goes!

First, my guidelines:

I’ll count any money earned outside my stipend towards the challenge, excluding gift money. I want to use the challenge to motivate me to find new ways to generate income. Gift money, even when it goes into savings, doesn’t fall into this category. I hope that by keeping a running tally I’ll have something to be proud of by the end of 2007.

I will count the money I make on my Personal Chef job. This is a job I “fell” into, and the family I cook for may decide at any point they don’t need my services. As it is, they cut back on meals during holidays and when they travel, so the money isn’t always something I can depend on. (see revisions to my challenge posted 1/11/07). I’ll also count money I make selling things on eBay, half.com minus listing fees, shipping, cost of padded envelopes, etc.

I’m not going to count money saved using store cards or coupons. The reason for this is that I’ve always used store cards, and figuring out coupon savings is just too darn confusing (case and point: I recently got a box of Barbara’s Puffins cereal for free after using coupons. I’ll eat it, but I don’t love it, and wouldn't have “bought” it if I hadn’t known it would be free. That’s not really savings, or at least not savings at full price.)

I’m also not going to count money for exercising, forgoing an indulgent treat, or the like. It’s A-OK if other people want to do this, but not how I want to use the Challenge to help me track savings.

OK, so now that my Guidelines have been established, here’s where I stand:

$20 beginning balance
+285.99 eBay sales
+41.69 Half.com sales
+75.00 Personal Chef
$422.68

A note on my eBay sales: Back in the day, I earned a varsity letter at Ohio State, but then I transferred to another university. All varsity letter winners at OSU get a beautiful wool jacket with leather sleeves-- regardless of if you letter in football or gymnastics. Since I transferred, I never wore my jacket and it never had a lot of sentimental meaning to me. So, I listed it on eBay right before the BCS Bowl and it fetched $305 + $18 S&H. I don’t anticipate having such great eBay sales in the future.

Interestingly, PayPal's and Ebay's cut of the action on the jacket was about $25!