Saturday Savings: Yard Sale 101 How to Have a Successful Yard Sale

It's almost yard sale season here in the Bluegrass.  Due to the pretty weather we've had the last couple of weekends, I've already seen several even though it's only March.  So, I thought this would be a good topic for this weeks Saturday Savings.  Yard sales can be a great source for bringing in some extra cash.  Having a successful yard sale can be hard work.  There's a lot of prepration.  I've had many over the years and I'm going to share with you some things I've learned through trial and error to help you have the most profitable yard sale you possibly can. 

For starters go through your house and decide what you want to sell.  Use the six month rule.  If you haven't used it in six months,  get rid of it. Go through everything!!  Closets, drawers, toy box, garage, attic, basement, his stuff,  the kids stuff, your stuff. Leave no door unopened, no box unsorted.

Try to set the date somewhere between May and Sept.  Check your long range forecast to make sure you will have good weather.  Try and make it on a weekend when there is no holiday.  A lot of people think holiday weekends are the perfect time to have a yard sale.  My opinion? Ummmm....No. People have gone away to visit friends or family or if the do stick around they are busy cooking and cleaning for their guests.   It doesn't leave much time for yard sale-ing,  (yes, I'm using it as a verb).

OK, so you've gathered your items, picked a date, you're ready to go right? Not yet. The biggest part of having a successful yard sale is advertising.  You can have the hottest stuff around, but what good is it if no one knows it's there.

The obvious way to advertise is an ad in the local paper.  Of course,  you are having a yard sale to make money, so you may not want to spend any to get the word out.  Thankfully, in the age of the Internet, you don't have to.  There are lots of free places to advertise, like criagslist, garagesaletracker.com, garagesalesource.com, twitter, facebook,  community forums, message boards, Plurk, Twitter, any site really that lets you update your personal status such as Cafemom, and do a search on yahoo groups.  There are several that are used for yard sale announcements.

Locally, put up signs on community bulletin boards in grocery stores, drug stores, laundry mats, etc.  Ask first to make sure its OK.  Roadway signs are your most important advertising tool.  Tape them to poles, stake them in the ground.  Be sure to check to make sure this is allowed in your town.  Your signs should include your address, dates of the sale, times of the sale and if possible key items that you are selling: baby clothes, treadmill, sports equipment, furniture, name brand items, etc.  Mark your house too, get a couple of baloonsand tie them to the mailbox.  A lot of people will just do the "drive around".  Just wandering the side roads in search of a sale.  Make yours stand out.

Now we come to the hardest part of having a yard sale, pricing your stuff.  I never know how much to charge.  Having learned through trial and error of countless yard sales, I will tell you the following:

1. You are not going to become the next Donald Trump by having a yard sale.  Don't expect to get rich.  Basically, you are trying to move stuff that you don't need out of your home, into someone else's and hopefully, make a bit of a profit doing it.

2.  Think about how much you would pay for the item at a yard sale.  Get to the lowest price you would be willing to accept for it, then add a little, a couple of cents or dollars depending on the item.  That leaves room for haggling, which you know us bargain hunters love to do :)

3. Take into consideration the condition, age, and popularity of the item.

A little side note here: Make sure you try all electronics, and toys before you put them out to sale to make sure they work properly.

A few days before your sale start tagging all the merchandise.  If you have alot of free time (which I don't) and patience (which I REALLY don't), you can buy some blank stickers, go item by item and tag them individually.  If you are like me and look for the easiest, less time consuming (OK! Laziest) way, get a pack of colored, blank stickers.  They usually come in neon colors (pink, yellow, green and orange) and sold at Walmart, Target or office supply stores. Pick a price for each color: yellow=$1.00, pink=.50, and so on.  Make a chart or several to hang around the sale to explain your coding system.  The main thing is, make sure you have a price on EVERYTHING. A lot of people won't ask if something isn't priced and you just lost a sale.

On the day of your sale, get up early!  If you planned on opening at 8:00, don't wait til 7:30 to start setting up.  Believe me, it's going to take you longer than you think.  And of course, there are always the early bird shoppes, who show up well before a sale is suppose to start, trying to get first pick.  Group like items together; baby clothes, magazines, craft items, electronics, housewares and the such.  Try not to clutter.  Lay everything out as plainly as possible so it can all be seen.  No one wants to dig through a pile of stuff just thrown on a table. 

Make sure you have plastic bags for your customers.  Very Important: Make sure you have enough change!!  Five dollar bills, one dollar bills and rolls of quarters.  Have a money apron to keep it in, so that where you go, your money goes. You're hubby's old tool apron would work fine here.   I've heard many a garage sale horror story about the sale owner getting busy with a customer only to come back to their table and the money box is gone.  If you do have to use a box, take it with you every time you leave the table.

If you really want to go all out, have refreshments for your customers.  Lemonade, iced tea, water, coffee, cookies, or muffins.  It's a small investment that may go a long way. 

Once the sale starts, be friendly and sociable.  Chat with your potential customers, answer questions pleasantly and above all else, be honest about the stuff you are selling.

That's about it my Frugal Friends.  I have armed you with all of my extensive yard sale knowledge.  Now it's up to you.  Get busy and go make some money.  Good Luck!

Free Printable Yard Sale Signs

http://www.garagesalesource.com/garage_sale_sign/

http://www.paperprintout.com/signs/yard/index.php

Saturday Savings: How To Start Living Frugal

Living frugal can be pretty overwhelming if you're just starting out.  There is so much info out there nowadays about living "the lifestyle", that it can get a bit confusing and seem like just too much work.   Or even worse, it may sound like you have to make such huge sacrifices that you think, I just can't do this.  When just starting out, you need to take baby steps.  I've been frugal for a long time.  I grew up in a single mother household, so having too much money  was something we never had to worry about.  My mom taught at early age the value of a dollar, and how to  make the most of every penny.  It's a life lesson I'm trying to pass on to my kids. 

When first starting out, the first thing you need to do is figure out why you want to be frugal.  Loss, of a job, kids to put through college, whatever your reasons, make a list.  I did this and whenever I'm tempted to buy something I really don't need, I pull it out and it helps put things in prospective for me.

Next think about your expenses, bills, grocery, entertainment, then look for cuts you can make. 

Entertainment was a big one for my family.  We downsized our cable package...did we really need 250channels??!! Not at all.  Our carrier offers Internet and phone combo with our cable.  By combining all three and downsizing our package, we saved $96.00 a month.

We canceled our online dvd rental service, and eliminated trips to blockbuster.  We utilized Redbox,  where you can rent dvds for $1.00.  Another great place to get dvd and vhs movies for free the library.  And speaking of the library, get yourself a library card and use it!  Bookclubs and magazine subscriptions are wonderfully convenient, however, they are very expensive.  Most libraries offer copies of most magazines to rent for free and if they don't have the book you want will be able to have it sent over from another library at no cost to you.  Eating out was another expensive convince.  In addition to not being the healthiest dinners in the world, they also cost twice as much as cooking at home. Even if you aren't the greatest cook, there are tons of books and websites that have simple recipes you can follow and you'll be saving lots of money too. 

Grocery shopping was another big money drain in my house.  Trips to the grocery store was full of impulse buys, especially when the little ones were along.  "Please Mommy, can I have the Princess gummies?"  for $3.59 a box for 6 little bags!!  Yet another area, where we made big changes.  Before our grocery store trips, I would go through the fridge and cabinets to see what we were out of or running low on.  I would make a list.  I would go through the store ad and see what was on sale.  Whatever it was...it was dinner that week.  I would make note of items that we used weekly, large quantity of and if it was on sale, I would be double or even triple my purchase of it, depending on how good a sale it was.  It may cost a bit more on that weeks grocery total, but then I wouldn't have to buy it again for the next two or three shopping trips at regular price.   And use coupons!! Lots of stores have double coupon days or let you use coupons on items that are on sale.  Go for it...it's like free money.   Just clip what you use, and  go through them weekly when you make your shopping list.  I keep mine in a coupon saver in my purse, because I was constantly running off without them.  Check back here on Monday for Make It Monday.  This weeks tutorial project will be a coupon organizer. 

Now, I know many who will chase bargains from store to store, I am not one of them.  With the high price of gas...the extra wear on our vehicle, it's just not worth it to me.  However, what doesn't work for me, may work for you.  If you think it would be in your best interest to hunt bargains here and there...go for it.  Get circulars from your area store and compare prices.

Leave your plastic at home.  I never take my card with me when I head out shopping.  Now, we don't have any credit cards.  My motto is if you don't have the cash to buy it...don't buy it.  So, I will get a ball park figure of how much I am going to spend at the store and get out enough cash to cover it.  As I shop, I keep track of what I'm spending, so I don't get to the check out and look like a dork because I don't have enough cash buy my groceries. 

If you do see something you really, really want...don't buy it!! Not yet anyway.  Sleep on it, think it over. Think about is the expense really worth it.  How much use are you going to get out of it?  Is it going to help your life?  Never buy impulse items on the spot.  Nine times out of ten, you'll buy it and it's going to wind up on the second shelf of the utility closet.

Around the house there are tons of things you can do to start your frugal journey.  I spent bunches on paper towels every week.  At least a roll a day.  My husband is the paper towel king.  He doesn't use A paper towel, he pulls three fourths of a roll to wipe his hands.  Not to mention sheet after sheet I used for cleaning.  Instead I took a trip to the dollar store and bought 4 packs of dish cloths, all in all 16 for $4.00.  I also would tear up any worn out towels or flannel items such as old sheets and pillow cases.  I used them for cleaning, hand wiping, cleaning up spills, saving approximately $7.00 a week.  Not much you say...that's $28.00 a month,  and $304.00 a year. 

Drying clothes outside is a saver on your monthly electric bill.  You don't need anything fancy.  Hand a rope line from tree to tree in your backyard. On a nice day they'll be dry in hours and oh...that beautiful outdoors smell.  Don't have a backyard...no biggie.  You're talking to a former city girl here.   I remember my mom having one of those pull out kind that she strung in the house.  Let them dry overnight.  Hang them over chairs, in the bathroom, where ever you can find space.

OK, so are you getting it a little better?  It's all about changes...changes in thinking, changes in lifestyle.  These are just a few tips to get you started.  There truly is tons of information available on frugal living.  Start slow, read up, try to implement one frugal change a week, so that you and your family is not bombarded with too many changes at once. You can do this...I know you can!!

Saturday Savings Surprising Energy Suckers

It's the little things.  You've heard people say that hundreds of times I'm sure when talking about life, children, even love.  Apparently, it can be said about your electric bill too.  Here's some surprisingly little energy suckers that can really add to your montly total.

Plasma TVs

Plasma TVs are hot items -- literally. While they are popular, they also consume a lot energy, giving off lots of heat in the process. A typical 27-inch CRT TV uses about 110 to 120 watts and a 42-inch LCD TV uses around 200 watts. Plasmas easily gobble the most: a 42-inch plasma TV uses up to 325 watts.

Digital Picture Frames

Once a high-end item, digital frames are quickly becoming more affordable, with prices as low as $20 to $30. If every home in the U.S. had one of these frames displaying around the clock, though, it would take five power plants alone to power them all, the Electric Power Research Institute estimates.

Videogame Consoles

The high-level graphics processing that creates the visually stunning games on these devices also requires a lot of energy. And a lack of energy-efficiency standards for consoles, like the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, doesn't help. The Natural Resources Defense Council estimates that consoles in the U.S. collectively consume around 16 billion kilowatt-hours per year, roughly the same energy usage as the city of San Diego.

Set-Top Boxes

Set-top boxes like cable and converter boxes seem like relatively innocent appliances: They typically only draw about 30 watts of energy. But because these boxes are always on, one box over the course of a year can use up to 265 kilowatt-hours, equivalent to the annual energy consumption of a 28-inch CRT television.

Battery Chargers

Individually chargers for mobile devices like cellphones and PDAs are small energy consumers, only using 7 to 10 watts. But if they are left plugged in to electric outlets even when the charged device is not connected, they continue to draw power. Today most U.S. homes use more than one charger. Add them all up across the country, and they could consume the energy output of several power plants.

To read the full article go to:  http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/112010/surprising-home-energy-hogs