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How to Sell Your Stuff on Craigslist – And Six Reasons You Should

By //  by Kevin M

Is it safe to say that most of us have more stuff than we know what to do with? Life in the 21st Century often seems like a race to get as much stuff as we can. It’s never clear what the payoff is, or even if there is a payoff—we just keep doing it as if it’s a default setting.

What do you do when you have too much, even by your own standards? That’s what Craigslist if for. It’s like a perpetual garage sale where you can sell anything you want when ever you want.

And here’s why you should:

How To Sell On Craigslist And 6 Reasons Why You Should

Craigslist Store

Most Of Us Have More Stuff Than We Know What To Do With

It’s a fact of life that most people in the western world have far more possessions than we can possibly ever use. It’s a fact that we don’t become truly aware of this until we have to move, or make room for a new family member.

At some point, too much stuff becomes clutter and that has effects on our lives that we aren’t always aware of. For one thing, it can cause unneeded stress. A cluttered home is more difficult to clean, organize and remodel. That could cause us to avoid doing any of those things for extended periods of time, causing yet more stress. The less stuff we have, the easier it is to function; life seems less cluttered because it truly is.

Another issue is space. When you have a lot of stuff, you need a larger home to store it all. And since our collections tend to increase in size as the years pass, that means an ever increasing need for a still larger home. It’s not for us—after all, once we hit our late teens we stop growing—but our pile of stuff just seems to expand without end.

It goes without saying that a larger home creates a litany of higher expenses—higher house payment, more insurance, more costly repairs and maintenance, higher utilities. And it’s all so we have more space for our possessions.

Most Of Us Could Use Extra Money

Who couldn’t use some extra cash? The reality is that we all have that extra cash sitting around the house, filling up closets, garage space, the basement or in random places around the house. It’s just waiting to be converted to cash, and on Craigslist that will cost you nothing to do.

Craigslist Is Easy

Selling your stuff on Craigslist is easier than doing it just about any other way. With eBay you have to go through a bunch of steps to sell the item, and then you have to ship it once you do. With the classified section of the newspaper, you have to call the advertising department and arrange it through them. And if you want to make a revision you’re back on the phone.

Then there are garage sales…well, you know those are anything but easy (gathering, cleaning, pricing, advertising, etc.) and you can only do them once or twice a year.

With Craigslist, all you need to do is create an account, click the “new posting” tab, then fill in the screens. You can add photos, but you can easily do that with your cell phone. Once the ad is final, all you need to do is wait for calls, texts or emails to come in.

Craigslist Is Local

As a rule, selling on Craigslist is done locally—you meet your buyers at a local coffee shop—and that has at least three advantages. First, it eliminates the need to ship items, the way you have to do with eBay, Amazon.com and some other sites. Second, transactions are easy. There’s no waiting to get paid and little chance of a chargeback.

Third, your transactions are usually paid in cash. That eliminates credit cards (and their fees) or waiting for checks to clear the bank.

Craigslist Is Free

Craigslist is free to list and sell merchandise. Not only do you pay no listing fees, but there are no transaction fees either. What ever you sell an item for is 100% yours, especially since you didn’t pay to purchase the items you sold.

This makes selling your stuff too good a deal to pass up!

Craigslist Is What Your Local Newspaper USED To Be

If you’re over 35 you remember that when ever you wanted to sell something you instinctively looked to advertise it in the classified section of your local newspaper. It didn’t matter what you were selling, it was the natural place to do it. That could have included a car, a room full of furniture, a home appliance or even your home.

Today, however, not many people read the newspaper, they’re all getting their printed news on the internet. Craigslist has stepped into the void and is filling the role of classified advertiser that’s been lost with the decline in newspaper circulation and readership.

But there are advantages to that. Craigslist operates internationally (they’re in 60 countries) but they act locally in every area they service. You can put in ad on the site that will cover the whole metropolitan area, but they also subdivide that into smaller sub regions. It’s your choice where your ad appears. That gives you targeted advertising markets.

People know about Craigslist and they’re flocking to it. It’s quickly becoming THE place to sell what ever it is you want to sell.

Have you ever sold anything on Craigslist? What do you think about it?

Filed Under: Make More Money Tagged With: how to sell on craigslist, income, making extra money, sell on craigslist, why you should sell on craigslist

Build Up Your Financial Security In Uncertain Times

By //  by guest

[This post is written by Derek from Creating A Passive Income. His goal is to explore every single passive income source there is and evaluate their effectiveness and revenue. If you’re interested in extra income, be sure to check out his site.]

There is a common piece of advice going around between parents and students. “Go to school, find a safe, secure job with good benefits, and you’ll retire well.” Let me be the first to tell you, this advice is terrible.

In our world today, there are fewer jobs than there are people, and employee turnover is higher than ever before. If you make a mistake or if your salary exceeds what is typical for your position, you might very well be on the chopping block. You might have your college degree, but guess what, so does everyone else.

The Typical Response for Financial Security

Occasionally, things just don’t work out with employment. It might not even have been your fault. The decline of the economy, the struggling sales of your company, or a transfer of ownership could be the cause of your job displacement. Whatever the case may be, you should have a financial plan in place so that you’re protected against total bankruptcy.

Once again, there’s some common advice out there – “To protect yourself from financial devastation after a job loss, you must have an emergency fund with funds equivalent to 6 months worth of expenses.” While I do condone an emergency fund, this alone will not protect you against complete financial failure.

After all, what if you just can’t find a job until month number 8? What happens then? You load up the credit cards? I hope not. The problem with setting aside a static stash of cash is that it is not regenerative. If you keep pulling money out and no more money gets put in, it WILL run out!

Financial Security 2

photo credit: Stuart Miles

The Best From of Financial Security

In these economic times, one really has no sense of security in a typical job. I’ve seen it too many times – people proclaim that no one can do what they do and that they’re too valuable to get rid of. And then….they get the boot….

Rather than depend only on an emergency fund for that potential job loss, I suggest that you focus on two more aspects of financial security.

1)      Live well below your means

2)      Build a residual cash flow

Live Well Below Your Means

My wife and I both work and we make a point to live off only one of our incomes. That way, if one of us loses a job (it’s happened before), we’re still completely fine financially. Maybe you can’t bring your expenses down to half of what you’re used to, but make an effort to reduce them and you’ll feel much more secure in the event that a job is lost.

Build a Residual Cash Flow

Instead of having just one or two incomes, why not go for three or four? That way, if one of your jobs says “see-ya”, it won’t be that big of a deal. My wife and I both have full-time jobs, plus she does photography on the side and I earn quite a bit of money through various passive income ventures. Now this is a true set-up for financial security, wouldn’t you say?

Perhaps you’re strapped for time and cannot possibly start another venture. If this is the case, then at least have some potential income options written down. You don’t want to lose your job and have no possible income sources. This is how you deplete your emergency savings in record time and make friends with the repo men…

Have you set up an emergency fund in the event of a job loss? Have you done anything more?

article photo by cooldesign

Filed Under: Personal Finance Tagged With: credit card, Credit Cards, economic history of the united states, Economics, extra income, finance, financial, financial independence, financial planning, Financial Security, human interest, income, labor, late 2000s recession, passive income, protect, simple steps, subprime mortgage crisis, terrible

Do I Need To File An Income Tax Return?

By //  by Khaleef Crumbley

By this time, most people should have received all of the necessary tax forms in order to prepare their income tax return. Many people have questions about various deductions, credits, and exemptions. However, there are a large number of people who never get that far, because they have one major question: Do I need to file an income tax return?

Well, the IRS has provided a couple of resources to help you understand if you need to prepare a tax return.

What Determines If I Need To File An Income Tax Return?

According to the IRS, “you must file a federal income tax return if your income is above a certain level”. How do you know what that “certain” level is? Well, that varies depending on a few factors:

  • Your Filing Status

  • Your Age at the End of the Tax Year

  • The Type of Income You Receive

Is There An Easy Way To Determine If I Need To File An Income Tax Return?

There are two main methods that the IRS lists that you can use to figure out if you must prepare a return:

  1. Check the Individuals section of the IRS website or consult the instructions for Form 1040 (opens PDF), 1040A (opens PDF), or 1040EZ (opens PDF) for specific details that may help you determine if you need to file a tax return with the IRS this year.

  2. Use the Interactive Tax Assistant available on the IRS website to determine if you need to file. The ITA tool is a tax law resource that takes you through a series of questions and provides you with responses to tax law questions.

If you have determined that you have to prepare a return, then be sure to contact us to set up an appointment for tax preparation. If you decide to file your own taxes, we recommend using TurboTax to do so. Also, keep in mind that there are many benefits when you file a tax return, even when you are not required to do so.

Be sure you are aware of the tax filing delay, as well as the fact that the tax filing deadline has been extended this year. Also, you should know the IRA Contribution Limits, 401k Contribution Limits, and the Income Tax Rates for 2011!

photo by JD Hancock

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Filed Under: Taxes Tagged With: economy of the united states, federal income tax return, file, filing, government, income, income tax, income tax in the united states, income tax returns, internal revenue service, irs tax forms, return, social issues, tax filing, tax preparation, tax protester statutory arguments, tax return, tax returns, taxation in the united states, Taxes, taxes form, turbotax, united states

How to Create a Budget: Step 1 – Project Your Income

By //  by Khaleef Crumbley

Last week I posted an article explaining why you need to create a budget. Some of the reasons included:

  1. To accomplish a financial goal
  2. It will help us handle “shocks” to our finances
  3. To identify areas of waste
  4. To ensure that any surplus is not spent on frivolous items
  5. It will help us develop discipline

Today we are going to look at the first step in creating a budget – tracking income.

3 Methods Projecting Income

In order to create a budget, you need to have a rough idea of how much money you will bring in each period. Since many bills are paid monthly, we will use a month as our standard budgeting period in this article.

The first thing that you need to do is to identify all of your sources of income. This will include your full-time job, part-time jobs, any freelance work, alimony/child-support, and any “under the table” income (this is especially important for musicians).

There are a few different ways to come up with a figure for monthly income:

 

Average Income

Once you have calculated your total income from all sources, you need to figure out an average for each month. If you are able to project your income for the year, just divide that number by 12. Now you have a number that represents your average monthly income. This figure works well if you receive steady and predictable payments throughout the year.

For instance, if you make $35,000 from your regular job, and $2,850 from side job (maybe you sell Mary Kay, or have a blog), you would plan to receive $3,154.17 per month ($37,850 divided by 12). Keep in mind that this is all after-tax income.

Pros and Cons – The great thing about this method is that it is very easy to do. Just divide your annual income by 12 and your done! However, unless your pay schedule is based on a month (either being paid once or twice per month), then you will be overestimating your income in most months and underestimating it during the rest.

If your income fluctuates often, then this next method is for you…

 

Projected Actual Income

Instead of using an average figure, you can also use the actual numbers for each month. This will call for more work, but is best when you have income that fluctuates or you receive infrequent payments. Suppose you want to be more accurate with your projected income. How can you accomplish this?

Let’s look at the example from above in more detail and see how they are broken out each month:

Projected Income

~ This assumes that you are paid every two weeks beginning on January 8, 2010.

You would take the “monthly totals” above and use them for your income projections for each month. This is a much more accurate way to track your income.

The reason why the “FT Amount” is different in April and October is because there are 3 paychecks received in those months.

Using actual income instead of averages takes a little more effort when initially setting up your budget, but, as you can see above,  it is not difficult to make changes.

Pros and Cons – Initially, this will take more work to set up as compared to using the monthly average. However, this is a lot more accurate if your pay is based on weeks (i.e. paid every week or every two weeks). This will ensure that you are not ending most months realizing that your income estimate was overstated, and thereby falling into a deficit.

 

Discounted or Adjusted Income:

If any of your projected income is unstable or unpredictable, then you will probably want to “discount” the figures to some degree. That would mean reducing your average or projected actual income by a percentage that you are comfortable with.

So, if you wanted to discount these numbers by 10%, you would just multiply them by 0.9. That would bring your average down from $3,154.17 to $2,838.75 – using the example above. I’ll leave you to figure it out for the projected actuals 😉 .

Doing this will give you a cushion in times when your income is lower than expected. This is great for those who depend on commissions or tips for a part of their income. Of course, if you are expecting a Lebron James-type paycheck, you probably don’t need to worry about this option!

Though this is not necessary for those with steady or predictable income, some people will adjust their projected income in order to force themselves to live below their means! They will go through the month as if they only have $2,838.75, even though they really have $3,154.17. They will then take that extra $315.42 and either save or spend it – or let it build up as a cushion in their checking account.

Pros and Cons – For those who have unpredictable income, this is a great way to create a buffer against those slow months. You can choose whatever percentage you want when choosing to discount – this will depend on your level of  comfort.

However, for those who are just looking for a way to build in discipline into their budgets, I don’t like this approach. Since I believe that every $ that you earn should have a purpose, I feel that you should decide how to spend/save the money before you earn it. We will revisit this topic in detail in a future article.

Determining which method to use depends on your situation. However, there are a few guidelines that you can apply:

  • If you are paid once or twice a month (on the 1st and 15th for example), and most of your income comes from your main job, then you can get away with using the monthly average.
  • If you are paid every week or every two weeks, then you should use projected actuals instead. This is because you will have several months where you receive an extra payment (as seen in the table above), and that should be budgeted appropriately.
  • If a significant portion of your income fluctuates, then you should use probably use a monthly average and discount it.

Ultimately, it pays to be as accurate as possible when creating and managing a budget. A little bit of work in the beginning, can go a long way!

In our next article we will take a look at tracking expenses.

 

 

 

 

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Filed Under: Budgeting, Personal Finance Tagged With: Budgeting, income

Tipping Etiquette: Why Do We Pay Tips for Certain Services?

By //  by Khaleef Crumbley

Many people are searching for sensible answers when it comes to the subject of tipping etiquette. Since this is a personal finance website, I’m sure you click on this article expecting to see a list of reasons why we should tip; or at the very least, a list of suggested tips by profession. Sorry to disappoint you, but I am just asking a question that I have wondered since I was a kid.

Tipping Etiquette Gone Wild

A Meal to Remember:

During our honeymoon in Mexico a few years ago (wow, it’s been about 5 years – where does the time go?) my wife and I were attacked by a two-man Mariachi band (accordion and bass) at a restaurant. They were going around to the tables singing and playing badly. Eventually, they made their way to our table and began to sing and play badly (did you think they were going to improve by the time they got to us?). mariachi photo credit: Foxtongue

We pretty much ignored them and figured that they were the best that the restaurant could afford to hire. Once they were finished, we expected them to move on to the next victim table, but instead the leader stopped and looked at me and said, “WE PLAY FOR TEEPS!”  😯 (that’s “tips” for all of you non-Mariachi speakers – for those who don’t know me, I like to imitate people occasionally) and held out his hand.

I can’t remember exactly what I gave him, but I’m sure it was the lowest denomination that Mexico has ever seen (based on my memory of the look of disgust that was on his face)! I guess I wasn’t following proper tipping etiquette.

Why Does Tipping Etiquette Force Us To Reward Bad Service?

Because the restaurant was too cheap to pay this “band” a living wage, and they had to survive on teeps! Why does tipping etiquette force us to pay certain service providers tips? I mean, I’m used to hearing all of the common reasons, such as:

  • Many waiters earn less than the minimum wage, and a large part of their income is derived from tips.
  • A waiter may be required to tip other coworkers (bartenders, busboys, etc), regardless of if they receive a tip.
  • To show gratitude for good or great service.
  • To encourage the employee to continue their good service.
  • Hairdressers and barbers rent their booths/chairs.
  • The cab driver got you to your destination in one piece.
  • Blah, blah, blah Etc, etc, etc

So…even after hearing those arguments, I still have the same question. Why am I expected to pay someone a tip? Why am I expected to supplement a cheap employer who pays their workers $4/hr, and then forces that employee to supplement their underpaid coworkers? Why should I pay extra because someone does their job? Shouldn’t someone work hard for the pay that they agreed to?

Tipping Etiquette Helps To Supplement Low Wages?

If it’s a matter of supplementing a low income, there is a much better way to handle this. The employer can just pay a fair wage to all workers and, IF NECESSARY, charge a slightly higher price for their product/service. A restaurant should not expect their customers to pay a fair price for their meal & service, and then pay a 15 – 20% surcharge because they (the restaurant) are too cheap to pay a living wage to the waiters!

The argument about rewarding/assuring good service falls short in my mind as well. A paying customer should receive good service automatically. Good service should not be a reward for a high tip, nor should terrible service be the punishment for a low one. And if it is truly about “gratuity” then it shouldn’t be automatically included with any meals – and you certainly shouldn’t be arrested for not paying a tip!!!

It’s to the point now where a waiter will give terrible service, and the customers are still discussing how much of a tip to leave! This is insane! Most people pay tips out of guilt – we know that it is an expectation and we feel like cheap jerks if we don’t!

The customer is already paying for the good or service and will many times reward good service with repeat business. If I enjoy the food at a particular restaurant, or the cleanliness and service of a hotel, then I will make it a point to visit that establishment as often as my budget allows.

A Better Alternative To Tipping Etiquette

I believe that the employer should just pay a fair wage to their employees. I also believe that great service is rewarded by both a positive report to the manager/owner (so that the employee benefits) and repeat business (so that the owner benefits). This way the employee earns real money and also has the opportunity for raises, bonuses and promotions – based on all of the good reports from satisfied customers.

Also, the business would have a repeat customer that is glad to spend their money in their establishment – because they are satisfied with the product and level of service. This sounds like a win-win situation to me!

Before I get a ton of angry comments and emails, let me explain a few things:

  • I DO pay tips for good service.
  • I pay EXCELLENT tips for excellent service. I have paid tips of between 75 and 100% on a number of occasions (usually on smaller bills, of course).
  • While I believe that waiters should be paid a fair wage, I realize that it is not their fault that our current system is illogical.
  • My tips are based solely on service – I DO NOT CARE that a waiter is underpaid – bad service = NO TIP!!!

So after thinking this matter over, I still don’t like the idea of tips and I think there is a better way!

photo credit: bradleygee

Reader Questions:

  1. What are your feelings about tipping etiquette?
  2. Would you be willing to pay a little more for the service so that the employees can be paid a fair wage?
  3. If you are in the service industry, do you treat customers better when they tip?


Filed Under: Personal Finance Tagged With: consumers, Economics, employer, employment compensation, etiquette, expectations, human behavior, income, labor, labor economics, mariachi, mariachi bands, minimum wage, pay, personal finances, personal life, socioeconomics, tip, tipping, tipping by region, tipping etiquette, tips, wages, waiting staff

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