Making Extra Money

It can be difficult to take care of a household when unexpected expenses occur. Even expected expenses can be hard to juggle. A night out at a restaurant can quickly turn into a costly outing. If you make a bit of extra money, then you will feel free to go out and enjoy yourself without feeling guilty about spending extra money. Sometimes all it takes is a bit of creativity to make a bit of extra money. Here are some suggestions to stash away some cash.

Offer Services - If you have any special skills, then you can consider using those skills to make some extra spending money. Taking care of children in your home or providing tutoring to neighborhood children can help you bring in some extra cash. You can also consider other services, such as cleaning houses, doing chores, or offering handyman services. Sometimes a hobby can turn into a lucrative gig as well. If you love to garden, then consider offering landscaping maintenance as a service. If you are a dog lover, then you may be able to take care of dogs while their owners go on vacation.
 
Host a Yard Sale - Another way to earn money is to sell items that you no longer need. Clean out your closet and put together all of the items that you want to get rid of. You may be surprised to find how many items you have kept throughout the years. Selling these items can bring you more money than you might think. If your friends or neighbors have unwanted items, then you may be able to work together to have a larger sale.

Be Creative - You may feel that you do not have any skills or unwanted items, but you may just need to be more creative in your thinking. Families who have sold used wheelchair vans have been able to earn money quickly. Think about any larger items that you may have, such as unwanted furniture or vehicles, as well as smaller items. If you have any creative talents, such as creating crafts or wreaths, then you may be able to market those skills as well.

Once you have earned some extra money, then you should feel comfortable occasionally treating yourself to a special time with friends and family. Consider trying a new restaurant or visiting a local attraction. You can enjoy your outing without breaking your budget.

When Ends Just Won't Meet

A shop window advertising payday loans. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Living paycheck to paycheck is not easy, but millions of families are doing it today. When money runs short from one paycheck, even a few days waiting for the next paycheck is difficult. For instance, what is a single mother supposed to do when the electric is about to get shut off, and she has to choose between keeping the lights on and putting food in the refrigerator?

Usacashservices.com offers Nevada Payday Loans designed to help families going paycheck to paycheck. These short term loans allow the single mother to purchase food and pay the electric bill. The money is extended through electronic transfer, and borrowers simply repay the money from their next paycheck plus the added interest.

USA Cash Services makes it easy and fast to take out a short term loan by allowing borrowers to apply for their loan and verify their employment and identity online. One phone call is required before the loan is disbursed to the borrower, but the borrower does not have to walk into a USA Cash Services storefront to take advantage of their payday loan program. This eliminates transportation problems for those unable to visit a storefront.

With prices on everything from gasoline to food skyrocketing today, one paycheck does not stretch as far as it once did. That is why so many Nevada families rely upon payday loans to help them through difficult weeks. USA Cash Services even offers a Visa debit card for borrowers who do not have a checking account to accept their cash loan.

Is a Life Settlement Right For You?

Insurance
(Photo credit: Christopher S. Penn)

Life insurance is something many of us have.  It's not something we ever want to need, but we pay the premiums every month because we want our families to be taken care of if something happens to us. As people grow older, the kids grow up and move out, the mortgage gets paid, and the needs of the family aren't quite as high.  In the meantime, premiums continue to increase.  Often senior citizens are paying high premiums for policies that no longer meet their needs.

If you're in this situation, the question then is - what do you do with that life insurance policy?  There are a few choices -

• Continue paying those ever-increasing premiums - often on an ever-decreasing income.
• Cancel the policy and stop paying premiums - and walk away with  nothing of what you've paid in over the years.
• Cash in the policy for a small percentage of what you've paid in - somewhere around 10%.
• or Sell the policy via Life Settlements and get more from it - usually 25-30% of the policy value.

The option to sell your life insurance policy is not something that has been widely talked about, but it sounds like something to at least look into if you're a senior citizen looking for extra money or just trying to figure out what to do with that life insurance policy you no longer need.  It usually doesn't cost anything to find out what your policy could be worth, and you're not obligated to accept any offers you don't want to accept.  The only one who can decide if a Life Settlement is right for you is you.

We're not yet to the point that we'll be checking into this option, but we are at the age that the premiums are going to start going up.  We're also at an age that we need to concentrate even harder on making sure we have the money we're going to need to live on when Jeffrey retires.  This may be something we'll need to look into when the time comes.

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The Money Code: Improve Your Entire Financial Life Right Now

This post brought to you by The Money Code.

Does it seem that there's never enough money for the things you want?  Do you feel frustrated talking about money?  Would you like to feel confident in your financial decisions?

I think most of us feel that way.  There's a new book by Joe John Duran, founding partner and CEO of United Capital. The book promises to help us solve those money problems and more.  The Money Code is the tale of one person’s journey to uncover the 5 secrets to living his one best financial life, and he shares those secrets with you, helping you to finally take control of your financial life.  Joe John Duran hopes to improve lives by empowering people to make better, more informed financial decisions

I don't know about you, but I'd like to know the secrets to financial control and security. Visit mymoneycode.com for more information about the book and author and to download a free chapter.  This New York Times best-selling book is available on Amazon .

Bank Fees for Using Your Own Money?

Cory has been putting most of his paychecks into savings this summer.  Sure, he's spent a bit of his money too, but he's been trying to put most of it into his savings account so he wouldn't be tempted to spend it.  When he wanted to buy something or go do something, he'd move money into his checking account so he'd have enough.  It just makes him think a little harder about what he's spending and what he's spending it on.  He can manage his accounts online like at www.aurorabankfsb.com, or even on his phone, so he always has access.

Then yesterday he suddenly got charged a $12 fee for going over the 'Savings Withdrawal Limit' - a limit he didn't know he had, and a fee he didn't know about.  Needless to say, he was a bit upset.  I got home at the end of the day yesterday to find two messages from him on the answering machine about it.  He has his account information texted to him every morning so he can keep track of his balances and avoid overdraft fees, and he checked the text while at work.  I checked the bank statements after I got his messages, and the only thing I saw on there about a fee was that the monthly fee was waived because he kept a minimum balance of at least $300.  Where/when did they ever say he could only move money out of his account so many times - and how many times is it? - before they'd help themselves to some of his money.

He's going in to the bank today to talk to somebody and find out what this is about.  Hopefully they can get it straightened out and let him know exactly what he can and cannot do.  When we changed his account from a Student Checking account to a College Checking (and Savings) account last summer, the only thing they mentioned was the $300 minimum balance on the savings.  Beth kind of let her savings account dwindle to nothing once she was out of school and over 18 because she didn't keep enough money in it, and they started charging monthly fees, and she wouldn't do anything about it.  The Student checking and savings accounts had no minimum balance requirements because they were tied to our accounts, a good way for young people without a lot of money to get started with bank accounts.

Instead of just closing Cory's account, because he didn't have any money to put into it, I transferred the minimum $300 into it and let it sit - until this summer when he started to add to it and use it.  So we've avoided fees until they suddenly sprung this one on us.  It has me wondering what other fees we're going to have to watch out for.  I've been reading that banks are testing monthly fees for debit card use, which would be another fee that would eat into Cory's hard-earned money.  He uses his debit card all the time.  I think we're all just going to have to get a bit more creative about how we manage our money.  I'm not sure taking it all out of the bank and storing it in a shoe box is the answer, but there has to be a way to keep the banks from grabbing more than their fair share.

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Stock Trading and Interest Rates

We've been talking about it for a while, and we're finally going to re-finance our mortgage tomorrow.  The rate on a 15-year fixed mortgage had been at 3.75% for a while.  Occasionally, it dropped to 3.625% and then went back up.  The day we went to the bank to sign papers for Beth's car loan, the rate dropped to 3.625% again, and we decided we better grab it - so we locked the rate in.

That was right about the time the government was in a big mess because of the whole debt thing, and nobody could really tell us what that might mean for the the interest rates.  Well, it turns out we should have waited, because the rates went down - to 3.25%.  I guess it's all a gamble, like Stock Trading and playing the market.  Some people have a good feel for the direction things are going and know when to buy and when to sell.  I don't think we have that talent - at least if you're going to judge our financial savvy on how well we hit the interest rate at the right time.

There's quite a bit of information about Online Trading available, information that we'd definitely need if we decided to get involved in investing.  With all the turmoil in the stock market recently, I'm a bit worried about how that's going to affect Jeffrey's 401K.  I've heard that people who are in the market for the long-haul should be OK - meaning, if you aren't planning on retiring right away, it should be all right.  So, maybe...

Or maybe we should look into IRA Accounts.  Probably should.  I think I'm going to have to do some reading and learn a bit more about investing and trading.

Does Anyone Really Write Checks Anymore?

I remember when we had to actually write checks and stick them in the mail to pay our bills.  Nowadays I go months between writing checks.  A book of checks can last me years.  I have all the bills either set up to pay automatically every month, like the car payment, internet, phone, and DirecTV, or I pay them online through my bank's website or the individual creditor's site.  There are a few places that aren't actually set up to take electronic payments, but I still don't have to write a check for those.  I can have my bank do it.  And, since I can do that, why would I want to write a check out by hand, stick it in an envelope, put a stamp on it, and actually mail it?

That's why I can't figure out why the Wisconsin Department of Transportation actually expects me to do just that.  When it's time to pay the car registration for the year, I actually have to mail the card they send back to them - in an envelope with a check.  Oh, I could pay online, but they'd charge me an additional fee, which I refuse to pay.  Why should it cost more to pay online?  It seems to me that they'd rather have people pay online because it would save them some time messing with paper checks, but what do I know?  Tomorrow I'll write a check and mail it off to renew Jeffrey's license plate sticker.  But I don't have to like it...

I know there are people who don't feel comfortable with it, but I think all banking, bill paying, etc. should be done online - or the option should at least be available.  I know our bank encourages it.  They say the electronic transactions are safer than handwritten checks - besides being more convenient for me.  It's even possible to email money to anyone with an email address and a US bank account, though I've never tried it. (No, I'm not taking volunteers!)

I have been checking our bank's website recently to keep an eye on mortgage rates, because we want to catch it as low as possible when we refinance.  It's also a good way to check CD interest rates and compare a Roth IRA with a traditional IRA.  Now that Jeffrey is 50, he can contribute an additional $1000 per year to either one of them.  (Just had to mention it)   The information is updated every day and all available without actually having to talk to a person, and that I like a lot.  When it's time to actually lock something in and sign papers, we'll have to talk to a real person, but until then I'm doing it all online.

Except for that check I have to write...

the Bank of Dad

Here's another comic from this past Sunday's funny papers that was right on.
 

It might not go quite that far, but it seems there is always something that boy needs money for.

Is it sad that I'm seeing my life in the comics?  Or is that why we read them?

Financial Literacy Poster Contest

Did you know financial experts agree that starting early in life is one of the keys to later financial success?

In an effort to increase interest in financial literacy to our nation’s youth, the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) is once again sponsoring the 2011 Be Money-Wise National Financial Literacy Poster Contest and has chosen “Be a $uperhero! $ave Money!” as this year’s theme. The contest is a great way to get young students thinking about how to manage money effectively, and offers them a creative outlet to demonstrate their knowledge. The contest also provides the opportunity for local and national recognition for student artwork, and rewards the winners with US savings bonds as well as other prizes!

Do you have a child or children in mind that you feel has the talent and creativity to win? All school-aged children in grades 3-12 are eligible to enter with local and national winners to be chosen from each of three grade categories. Students from public, private, and home-schools are welcome. Entries will be judged by expression of the theme (above), artistic style, creativity, and must be submitted through an NFCC Member Agency for judging. *The submission deadline for poster entries is in February 2011, varying by each specific member agency.

National finalists will be judged in Washington, DC in mid-March and placed in contention for three national awards, one per each of the three grade categories. An overall national winner will then be chosen from the three category winners. The winner will be presented with the national award plaque as well as a $500 savings bond during Financial Literacy Month in Washington, DC at the JumpStart Coalition’s Annual Awards Dinner in April!

Visit www.moneywisepostercontest.org to find rules, entry forms, and submission details.

Money-making Opportunities Wanted

Have any of you tried any of these Franchise websites?  I am honestly not sure how they work, but I just added up all my blogging income from last year, and I'm thinking I need to either start blogging more, or I need to branch out.  I was watching the demo video on Empowerkit.com, and all that stuff about social networking, facebook integration, and website editing make sense to me.  It's all the rest I'm not sure about.

I'm guessing that's because the people who know about franchises and MLM and are looking to create all these user-friendly, customer-grabbing websites already know about the franchise and MLM side of it - but creating websites and controlling style and social media aren't what they want to spend their time on.  They'd rather let Freshout Web Product Development or somebody else handle it for them.

Me, I think I'll just stick to blogging and maybe baking?  How much would you pay for a loaf of home-baked bread?  Or to have me tweak your CSS?

Get Rewarded for Checking In

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have twitter.  I have facebook.  I have PayPal.  What I don't have is an iPhone.  Why is that important?  Until now it really wasn't.  Sure, the iPhone is supposed to be really cool with all the apps and everything, and the people who have them really seem to love them.  But that's not why.  It's because now, having an iPhone means you can get paid for doing things you're probably already doing.

IZEA, the company behind SocialSpark and Sponsored Tweets, has launched a new site called WeReward.com that pays iPhone users for check ins and tasks they complete in the real world. It integrates with Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare, so you can still get your badges and share the way you always have.  (If you're an iPhone user, I'm sure you understand what that means)

Me, I don't have an iPhone, so I'll just watch this video to see how WeReward works.  Feel free to watch it with me.



It looks easy and fun, doesn't it? If you've got an iPhone, go ahead and Download the App and give it a try. Me? Maybe I'll just watch the video again - and be just a little jealous of all those rewards you can earn for checking in.

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Less Time and More Expenses

So we're sending our son to college next year. For all you who have little kids - start saving now.  I know that's easier said than done, because we had good intentions of saving for our kids' college educations, but finding that extra money is never easy.  Now we just have to make it work.  I keep telling him that he better fill out every single scholarship application he can get his hands on, so hopefully something will come through - if he'd ever get his butt in gear and do it.  (I hope you're reading this, Cory.  I <3 you!)

Also, besides Cory needing to find a job to help pay for his own education, Jeffrey is saying I will need to find one, too - one that pays more than blogging, I suppose.  I'm not so sure what I want to do or what I'm even qualified to do after being able to stay home and take care of the family and the house for so many years.  Not that I'm not capable, but where to start?

I'm also catching myself thinking about all the things I do on a regular basis and wondering how I'm going to have time to do any of that stuff ever again.  Yep, I'm already making a list of all the things that won't get done or that I won't be able to do any more - baking, reading, ironing Jeffrey's shirts, and shaving my legs are only part of that list!  And what about walking?  And if I can't walk will I gain weight and have to buy new clothes?

That brings me to another issue - Balancing Work and Family on a Budget. Because I'm home, I have time to cut out coupons and send in rebates, and fix meals without relying on ready-made foods.  If I'm not home, how will I have time to do those things?  Luckily the boy won't be living at home, so maybe the grocery budget will be able to stay the same, but there are bound to be other expenses that we don't have now.  Thankfully we won't need to pay for daycare, which even with SitterCity coupons, can still be expensive.  That was part of the reason I didn't go back to work while the kids were little - after paying for gas to get there and daycare for the kids, I really wouldn't have been making any money.  And then the kids got older and needed someone to drive them here and drive them there, and there was always plenty to do, and I'm just not one of those 'have to get out of the house' kind of people, so I was happy staying home and taking care of the things that need done.

Hopefully there will be less to be done with no kids at home.  I'm sure it will all work out.  Other people do it.  I will need to find a way to track any extra expenses, so I'll be able to figure out if I actually end up making any money.  That is, if I can find any extra time for that.

MyLikes

I just signed up for MyLikes, because one of my twitter friends said she'd get paid for everyone who signed up.  And, it might just end up being a way to make some extra money.  Basically, it's word-of-mouth marketing that lets you share things you like on social media - twitter, facebook, and even your blogs.  You start by liking things, which I'm having a lot of fun doing.  You just start searching for things you like - Apolo Anton Ohno, facebook, www.accutane.net, Glee, etc. - whatever you want! It can be anything - products, people, websites, books, movies, and the list goes on and on.  Then you add a comment about why you like it, add photos or videos, and just have fun with it.  You can just save them to your MyLikes profile, or choose to share them on facebook or twitter, too - just so people can see what you like.  I'm finding it really hard to believe that I was the first one to LIKE Apolo Anton Ohno, but this is a relatively new site.  Now that he's won more Olympic medals than any other American Winter Olympian, I'm thinking there will be quite a few people liking him really soon.

Anyway, the money comes in when you choose from a list of Sponsored Likes.  Sponsored Likes are the same as other likes/recommendations on MyLikes except that they happen to be for products or services that advertisers want to promote.  You get paid per click and your cost-per-click is set and constantly adjusted based on how influential you are and how relevant your Likes are. Judging by the response to my current giveaway, my cost-per-click probably won't be too high, but it will still be fun to try.

Another way to earn money is to refer your friends.  So, if this sounds remotely interesting to you, please sign up using my link (or click the badge at the top of this post) - so I can earn some money, and you can start compiling a list of your likes, too.

If It's Not One Thing, It's...

In the last couple weeks it seems there have been all kinds of extra expenses:

• A trip to the vet for Weasley to get a check-up, shots, and fixed - approximately $300
• An oven that just stopped working - approximately $300 to get it fixed
• Beth hit a coyote and cracked the bumper on the car she drives - $100 deductible
• and yesterday Jeffrey's car got hit in the side by a big chunk of ice - another $100 deductible, I'm sure

Seriously, if it's not one thing, it's another.   At least you don't have to hear me talking about diet products or fat cell mass - but I'm sure that would end up costing us, too!

I Should've Counted Those Ones

Image via Wikipedia

The Saturday before Thanksgiving was the annual Holiday Bazaar, which is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the Band Boosters. We run the concessions and sell all the food, along with selling clothing and spiritwear. I usually make a bunch of cinnamon rolls for this, but we decided not to have any kind of bake sale this year. Instead I made a big pot of chili and chopped a bunch of onions.

Anyway, Jeffrey and I could only stay until about 12:30 - he was selling clothing, and I was working in the kitchen (kinda brings back memories of college) - so I didn't get the cash box back until the day before Thanksgiving. With all the cooking and eating and cleaning up involved with Thanksgiving, I didn't get to even looking at the money until Monday when I went through all the cash. Thankfully, the lady who always takes care of the money at the Bazaar had already counted everything and banded most of the bills. I started re-counting everything, but it was all coming out right, so I stopped after the bigger bills and didn't bother to count the ones.

I got all the checks and money from the clothing Monday night and got a deposit together and finally got to the bank this morning. Yes, it's a good thing we don't do these fundraiser all the time, because it takes me way more time than it probably should getting everything put together - but then maybe I'd get better at it if I did it more often. Anyway, I got to the bank and everything came out right - all the checks added up correctly, all the change added right, all the big bills, but then they got to the ones. One stack had an extra one, and another stack was missing 9 - so my total was $8 off. There were 3 or 4 ladies counting all that cash, so I know they got it right, and they seemed happy to have something to do. But still - I should've counted those ones.


I also just want to say that Zemanta is looking all new and spiffy today - and the 'related article' really isn't related, I just wanted to grab it for the recipe idea.

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Very Dangerous

Image via WikipediaShe's a high school student, with a part-time job - so why in the @*%$# would Chase give her a credit card with a $15,000 limit?

When Beth went and opened her new checking and savings accounts, they offered her a credit card, too. It sounded good - up to 3% back on purchases, and they'll tie it to her checking account in case she ever spends more than she actually has. Yep, real convenient.

We talked about how this can be a good thing, as long as she uses it responsibly and pays her balance, if she has one, every single month. She can start building her own credit record so she'll be able to buy a car and even a house some day. She's starting with a clean slate, and she has the opportunity to build a good credit score. On the other hand, if she doesn't use it responsibly, she can really get herself into trouble, now and for a long time to come.

Of course, when we first talked about it, I thought they'd maybe give her a credit line of $1000 to $1500 - something small that would gradually increase as she used it responsibly. But she got the card yesterday, and it says her a credit limit is $15,000.

Correction: as I was typing this, Beth came home from school. She said she called to activate her new card, and they said they'd put the wrong number on the letter. Her credit limit is actually $1500. Still dangerous, but not quite so bad.

Her Own Money

A week or so ago Beth stopped by the bank on the way home from school. She opened a new checking account and savings account - one that is not linked to our accounts and that we can't access. Technically the High School Checking account we opened for her was supposed to end when she turned 18, and change to a College Checking account. She's still in high school, so they said she didn't have to change, but she decided to mostly because she doesn't want anyone else to have access to her accounts.

It was supposed to take a little while to get everything set up and to get her debit card sent to her, so they left her original account open until it was all set up, and then the bank is supposed to move her money over and close her old accounts. She has received her debit card and some other information, so when I logged into the bank accounts today and saw that her checking account balance was $0, I figured they had moved the money over. Except that her savings account still has a balance. So, I checked, and she spent more money than she actually had in her account, so overdraft protection had moved over enough to cover it from her savings.

Then the question is, transfer enough to cover it so that she doesn't get hit with the overdraft fee again, or just leave it alone? I mean, she wants to handle her own money, says she knows how, but I don't want to see her get hit with a fee, either.

I decided that she wants to handle her own money and she needs to learn, so I didn't touch it. I did, however, mention it to her when she got home from school, and she transferred some money before she left for work. Pretty soon everything will be changed over, and I won't be able to see if she's on thin ice. Then she really will have to keep track of her own money, or pay the fees. Pretty soon she'll have to do everything for herself, like get her own car insurance, get life insurance quotes, and maybe even clean her room/apartment/house. Yeah, I'll believe that one when I see it!

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Why Didn't I Think of This Before?

Beth and Cory both have checking accounts and savings accounts. I thought it would be a good way to teach them how to handle their own money, and it makes it easy for me to transfer money to them, since I don't usually have cash. Looking back, I probably should have stuck with cash. It's easier to see how much money you have, and it's impossible to spend money that you don't have. But I didn't, and they do need to learn to handle the idea of money, too.

Neither one of them has done a very good job of keeping track, though. They sort of understand the concept of balancing a checkbook, writing all transactions in the check register, but that doesn't mean they do it. Cory at least wants to know what his balance is when we get a statement in the mail. Beth mostly doesn't care. When asked if she needs help figuring out a system to keep track of it all, she says NO. That's just the way she is - she thinks she can figure everything out on her own, she doesn't want help, and then when things don't go right, somehow it's our fault. OK, so probably it is for listening to her when she said NO.

This week I signed both kids up for online access to their accounts. Hopefully this will help them keep better track of things because now they can log in anytime and see what payments have cleared and what their balance is. They can also transfer money between accounts, so if Beth happens to spend more money than she has in her checking account, again, she can transfer some money out of savings to cover it and avoid the overdraft fee. We'll see how much attention she pays to it.

I don't know why I didn't think of it before. We already had two separate online accounts at Chase - one in Jeffrey's name and one in mine. You can log in and see all the accounts associated with your SS# - which is why I can see the kids' accounts when I log in with my ID, but can't see them when I log in with Jeffrey's. I was the one who signed the kids up for accounts, so my SS# is associated with them, along with theirs. Then this week I realized that I could sign them up online with their SS# and account number and get them access to their own accounts, without having to give them my username and password, because there was no way I was going to do that. Now they can both log in with their own username and password, and they only see their own accounts and nothing more.

Keeping Track of the Kids' Money

A while back we decided to give the kids a certain amount of money every month and make them responsible for their own expenses - clothes, shampoo, makeup, stuff like that. Every couple of weeks I transfer money into their accounts, and they're supposed to keep track of it and pay for their own stuff. It sounds like a good way for them to get used to handling their own money and to get an idea of what things cost and that money does not grow on trees. Well, maybe not that last part, with money just showing up in their accounts.

The problem with the whole system is that they aren't very good at keeping track of the money they spend. Especially Beth. I've also been adjusting the amount I transfer them sometimes - deducting for things like text messages or something I picked up for them when I was out shopping. And then I got busy on the calendar and got behind on reconciling everything. Now I have these odd amounts, and though I knew what I was deducting for at the time, now I'm either totally confused or it takes me a lot longer than it should to figure out what's been deducted, what's been paid for, and what I still need to charge them for. It's too much like running my own credit company, without the benefit of interest and late payment charges.

So, good idea - make the kids responsible for their own expenses and help them learn to handle money. However, to make it very clear to both them and me, I need to set up automatic transfers so they get their money every two weeks, and then I need to turn around and deduct the money they owe from their accounts. It just took me a year or so to figure that out...

Ad-Posting Software Saves Time

One of these days I would really like to de-clutter around here. How in the world do we accumulate so much stuff? Like I have said before, I hate to just throw stuff away, especially when someone else can get some use out of it. We usually end up donating the stuff we get rid of, but it would be even better to make some money, wouldn't it?

I know Craigslist is supposed to be a good site to market all that stuff you don't need. We've searched for things we need want on there, but we've never tried creating our own ads to get rid of our own stuff. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to get rid of some stuff before we get more stuff, huh? It's just hard for me to think that someone might actually want something that I no longer have a need for.

If/when I ever get around to the whole de-cluttering process and am ready to get rid of some stuff, I will have to check out this ezadsuite from Craygo. It's supposed to make it so much easier to post your ads to Craigslist. It makes it easy to select the cities you want to post to, reads and enters the Captchas for you, let's you schedule your ad posts, sends email reports of your ad activity, and more. Craygo has more features than any other product out there. Reading through the customer testimonials, it looks like this software can be very helpful and that it pays for itself. One customer said he made back his purchase price in 48 hours.

Along with your purchase of Craygo, you get a regularly updated manual that explains how to use each and every feature as well as resources like a FAQs page, members forum, and 7 day a week email support. So, if you're ready to sell some stuff, and want to make it easier to place ads on Craigslist (and Backpage if you use that) and start making some money, check out Craygo to see what it can do for you. They say it can reduce the time it takes to post an ad by 50%, and time is money. right?

Here's a screenshot: (right-click and choose 'view image' if you want to see it full-size)