Part 9 (2/2)

Do what you love Choose a hobby you enjoy, and then try to find a way to make ht be profitable You should do this thing because you love it; any income should be secondary Keep it fun and it won't become a chore

Exa with debt, I read personal finance books, and then surew into Get Rich Slowly I'veabout personal finance, but I didn't start doing it for the money-I was passionate about the subject

Be creative If you don't knohich hobby to pursue, think outside the box What skills do you have that others don't? Define the ter that you can do thatto pay for

Example: One of my friends loves to travel, and he discovered that he can fund his adventures by writing about the places he visits He ets paid to write for newspapers and et rich off your hobby In fact, you likely won't even earn enough to quit your day job But you , h to cover the cost of new tools and equipment

Example: My brother builds speakers and works with audio equip speaker jobs for other people, but he's not interested in turning his hobby into a full-time business

Don't underesti, your experience can give you skills and knowledge that you rowing orchids doesn't mean everyone else does If you're an expert on a subject, think of ways to share it with others-for a fee

Exa and want to help others learn the sport, start a bike-fitting service or open a part-tis ladly pay for the help

Market yourself To earn an income, you need custo themselves, but you have to if you hope to earn money from your hobby: People need to know you're available before they can hire you

Exa hobby with friends, fa it up naturally in conversation Eventually ill get out about what you do, and people will call for your services

Hone your skills You know the old y you devote to your hobby, the better you'll get at it, which will i raphy? If you take a hundred shots a day and read up on how to coes, you can improve your skills quickly You ht be able to sell iencies (like iStockPhotocoraphy contests

Choose carefully Not every hobby is a good source of incoe drains on your budget And reet rich off your side business, but you can iet out of debt and build wealth that much quicker

Your Money And Your Life: Cash for CupcakesJessie Sree and no firan to wonder what she could do with her degree ”There were all these articles about worand it at farement from friends and family, she started Confectionery (confectionerypdxcom), her own cupcake business Jessie bakes and decorates cupcakes and sells them at local stores and farmers markets ”They're pretty elaborate and creative,” she says ”I get satisfaction out of that” This isn't how she planned planned to use her art degree, but she's having fun while learning new skills to use her art degree, but she's having fun while learning new skillsStarting a sured that at age 24, she could afford to take a chance: ”When you're young, that's that's the time to make mistakes” the time to make mistakes”Jessie doesn't have any employees, and it's her ownthe way, she still ca a business class to help her with the non-creative side of the cupcake trade, and she believes she'll do much better in the future She's found an outlet for her creativity and enjoys what she does, which is just frosting on the cake

Other Ways to Make Money Your career will always be your main source of income-but that doesn't mean it has to be your only source There are lots of other ways to dig up dollars (without resorting to a life of cri clutter into cash andStuff Americans pay tons ofto the Self Storage association (yes, that's a real organization), in 1984 there were fewer than 300 e space By the end of 2008, that nuine how es, attics, and baseather dust, why not sell it and make a littlewith clutter has tips for coping with clutter

As long as you don't try to do it all at once, it's not hard to sell your used Stuff To keep things eable, follow these steps: 1 Sell your most valuable ite else

3 Try to get rid of the reslist

4 Donate the rest to charity

Depending on how much Stuff you have, this process can take weeks or months to finish But when you're done, you'll have far less clutter around the house-and a fat wad of dough you can use to pay down debt or to save for that Hawaiian vacation

Selling on eBay If you want to turn your Stuff into cash, eBay-the world's largest auction website-should be your first stop You can skip this step if you just want to get things out of your hair quickly, but if you want to earn real et top dollar for your valuable itereat books and websites that can help youeBay Hacks (O'Reilly, 2005)-but here are soet you started: - Research each iteh completed eBay auctions to see what similar items fetch (and how often they sell) Also check other sources (like Ae for the ite bid is a in situation: It costs you less and encourages more bids The more popular you expect an ite bid

- Tiet top dollar for your Stuff by scheduling your auctions so that folks areyour auction on a weekend between 7 p a 10-day auction for s end within 2 minutes of each other, especially if they're related iteives bidders a chance to chase uarantee-with restrictions Make it clear that you'll refund the buyer's money only if he feels the itees hisIf you're selling a Beanie Baby for 3 but charging 10 for shi+pping, you're not going to get ht think it's clever to ry Free shi+pping doesn't usually attractrates scare theh description Be honest: List the strengths and flaws of your itereat shape, but soh info for buyers to et many bids

- Post photos If condition is a concern (as it is for many collectibles), provide as many photos as possible

- Don't accept bids froht cause probleative feedback, people who haven't paid for items, or overseas bidders

- Answer questions You'll inevitably get questions about your items, and some of the questions will be stupid Answer theht wonder the sa, post your response publicly

- Be friendly An easy-going style will get you , so don't be afraid to make jokes and show enthusiash the hassle of listing stuff on eBay, then start with Craigslist (Posting iteslist)

If eBay doesn't appeal to you, there are lots of other ways to sell your Stuff online Two of the most prominent are: - Halfcom, which is actually owned by eBay, but uses a different business model You don't pay to list your ites sell The downside is that you're liories: books, ames Learn more here: tinyurlcom/half-sell

- Amazon Marketplace lets you sell your stuff on Aest online retailer Simply search Amazon for the iteh-sometimes you'll find many versions of the same product, like hardback and paperback editions of a book), and then click the ”Sell Yours Here” button Here's est decision with Amazon and Halfcom is how to price your ites will certainly sell quickly, but you et h, you'll still be storing Stuff in the attic 3 years froood stuff online, it's time to hold a yard sale As a yard-sale veteran-I've spent -here'srid of your Stuff: - Group sales work better If you can coordinate with your neighbors, you'll draw roup sale, people coet one tenth that slist, and put up signsTipA good yard-sale sign is easy to read froround, and keep it sie Sale 6/30, 265 River Road” (An arrow helps, too) Make sure the sign is rigid so the on't ns dohen the sale is over For ns

- Be prepared Wear comfortable clothes and have water and snacks handy Get plenty of one-dollar bills the day before so you can o when the sale is scheduled to start (If you don't want to deal with early-bird shoppers, tell theo away; don't let them push you around) - Think like a custos clearly e feels dark and dreary, consideryour tables to the driveway or the lawn And have an extension cord on hand so folks can plug in any electrical gadgets you're selling to see how they work

- Showcase itee Place stuff that appeals to older folks on tables and stuff for kids on the ground Put the things you want lots of people to see in thestuff near the road If your lawn chairs aren't selling, ainst the wall of the garage; unfold the your boxed-up books, place them on a bookshelf so they're easier to browse

- Pro-ticket iteital caather all the bits and pieces and put the (if you have it) Print the current online pricing from eBay or Aood deal you're offering

- Price things carefully Most iteive you trouble You don't want to give away your perfectly good DVD player, but you want the price low enough that people will be interested And be warned: Soive that encyclopedia set to your nephew)NoteSoh to unload at a yard sale, like adult clothes You nment shop For n

- Label things well No matter hoell labeled your Stuff is, people will still ask howon it Label anyhow If soreat,” write that on the label and be ready to demonstrate it

- Be friendly You don't need to chat with everyone, but greet customers and answer questions Entertain kids so their parents can shop

- Don't bad- your items if they were perfect and you couldn't bear to part with the why you don't want the itea”), emphasize the positives: ”That book is really popular”; ”That aain Early in the day, you want to get as much as you can for each item Most people will still buy Aunt Lucy's soup tureen at 5 even after they offer you 3 (If they're bargaining, it's because they want the iteive your Stuff away either Later in the day, be er It's easy-and useful-to keep a written record of what you sell For each item, jot down a brief description, howa ets the money

- Don't use a cash box Carry your et for casual thieves or professional swindlers who run distraction con ga si a yard sale isn't rocket science If you put a little effort into creating a pleasant environment where it's easy to browse for hidden treasures, you'llstuff in your driveway

TipFor lotsa successful yard sale, check out yardsalequeencom