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May 31, 2011, at 6:00 am If you're new to BFS, please subscribe to my RSS feed. It shows me a vote of support and keeps me motivated to keep your attention. If you have any questions or comments for me, please contact me and I'll get back to you asap. Thanks for visiting! As you may have read, my husband bought and assembled a new desk for me so I could have a work space at home. Yay! But this meant making room in our guest bedroom / storage room so I wouldn’t be surrounded by a huge mess.
Stuff in Our Guest Bedroom
The majority of the storage was actually teaching supplies from Mr. BFS’s 4 year career as an 8th grade science teacher before he became a school librarian. Those boxes of supplies will be donated and used next year, so those will disappear in August. Woot!
The rest of the crap was just that…crap. We had empty Amazon boxes from my Christmas shopping stacked all over the place, a coffee table and end table we no longer use thanks to better hand-me-downs, and a few boxes of miscellaneous games and comic books that we could never sell for friends. In short, we had a bunch of crap we just needed to get rid of.
Craigslist – Garage Sale Leftovers
That said, I had heard of people selling whatever they had left from garage sales in one, big lot on Craigslist. For example, “Garage Sale Leftovers – $200 for EVERYTHING LEFT”. I figured that should work for some of our miscellaneous stuff too, right? I decided to try it with the games, books, and comic books.
Here is the ad I posted on Craigslist on Saturday morning (I also had pictures online):
Garage Sales Leftovers – Games and Books – Can Resell for Profit!!! – $50
Gamer’s Delight – Original Nintendo Games, D&D Books, Board Games, Etc.
Asking $50 for lot. You can resell on Ebay and at least double your money (see general prices next to each item)…I just don’t have the time right now and we need more space. So you are looking at a fantastic deal!
Original Nintendo Games (Some in sleeves with info):
The Last Starfighter – $5
NARC – $5
Maniac Mansion – $5
Hydlide – $5
Exodus Ultima – $5
Legacy of the Wizard – $5
The Bard’s Tale – $10
Dungeons and Dragons Books (Like New):
Sword and Fist – A Guidebook to Fighters and Monks – $10
Masters of the Wild – A Guidebook to Barbarians, Druids, and Rangers – $10
Other Books and Magazines (Read but Good Condition):
DC Comics – The Atlas – $5
The Marvel Universe Role-playing Game – $10
White Wolf Magazines – Issues #34-54 (yep, everything in between) – $20
KAGE – A Survival Guide to an Impolite Society – Issues 2 and 12 – $5
Squirrel Attack – Operation: Get Mr. Jones Nuts – $5
The Pie Incident – Operation : Snatch Some Pie – $5
Boardgames (Brand New or Like New):
Navia Dratp Starter Set 1 – $10
Navia Dratp Starter Set 2 – $10
Dividends – $10
Again, we are asking for $50 or best offer on the whole lot.
If you are interested, please email me anytime or call between 9am-9pm. Thanks!
Crystal
I got a few offers for individual items, but no single offer for all of it. I ended up selling 2 of the D&D books for $20 and 2 of the Nintendo cartridges for $10. I am currently listing all of the rest of the items in single groups but haven’t had any more interest.
Craigslist – General Ad
I also put up this ad for the coffee table and end table with pictures:
Matching Coffee Table and End Table – Light-Colored – Great Condition! – $35
We just replaced our coffee table and end table, so here you go!
As you can see from the pictures, they are made of a light-colored wood or fake wood and black metal. They are in awesome shape.
We are asking $35 obo. Seriously, just call and make me an offer.
Here are the dimensions of each piece:
Coffee Table – 48 inches x 24 inches x 15.5 inches high
End Table – 24 inches x 22 inches x 19.5 inches high
Please call me between 9am-9pm with any questions or to schedule a pick up!
Crystal
They haven’t been sold yet, but I have reduced their price to $25. If they are still around by the end of the summer, I will Freecycle them just to clear out the room.
We Have Some Room Back
Our guest bedroom is starting to look more like a bedroom and office instead of a storage closet. I have a work space just for me and a friend can crash over if they ever need to. Win-win! By the end of the summer, I should be able to reclaim the whole room. I am even thinking about Craigslisting the twin-sized captain’s bed and getting a comfortable futon instead. I’ll also buy a nice, raised queen-sized air mattress to keep on hand for any couples that may visit.
Have you ever tried this before? What do you do when you just want to get rid of stuff that still has value? I am also a big fan of Goodwill and Freecycle…
May 30, 2011, at 6:00 am
Happy Memorial Day!!!
May 29, 2011, at 6:00 am
Since I do plan on blogging full time by 2012 and even came up with my target number, this is the year for a HUGE push. These are the new goals to keep us on the right track!
Here are my Goals for July 4th, 2011:
Here is what we are shooting for by July 4th, 2011:
Alexa – Maintain a Ranking at or around 37,500
Visits – 60,000 total visits (I started BFS on February 20th, 2010)
Feedburner Subscribers – 500
Twitter Followers – 500
MozRank – 5.5
Today’s Update
Alexa – 34,678 (Yay, but this is still inching up…I’ll need to keep an eye on it…)
Visits – 68,345 (WOOT! We’re still going!!!)
Feedburner Subscribers - 507 (last Wednesday we hit 507, WOOT!!! WOOT!!!)
Twitter Followers – 528 (WE MADE IT and are still going up!!!)
MozRank – 5.05 (0.45 to go)
In short, the only goal left to hit is MozRank and I don’t have much control over that one! Yay!!! We still have a month to go, so I will keep up with these updates simply to see how well we do overall. Then I’ll also publish the new goal to be hit by the end of 2011. As always, thank you so much for being my supporters! I could not do any of this without you and I really never forget that!!!
The Saved Quarter Challenge Update
I joined The Saved Quarter Challenge this year and am aiming to save at least $21,000 by the end of 2011! That would be a tiny bit more than 25% of our GROSS pay from our two full time jobs.
Here’s how I’ve done this week for the Saved Quarter Challenge ($21,000 Goal):
I have better updates after the 13th of every month since that is when our billing periods end, but here is where we funnelled away money this past week:
- 401(k) – $80
- Blogging Income – $500
We were paid on Wednesday, hence the $80 contribution to my 401(k). I banked another $500 on Thursday to my blogging income ING account. We use that account to fund our 2nd Roth IRA and I’m building it up with as much padding as possible by the end of the year to be a backup fund when I start blogging full time.
The $21,000 goal is hopefully going to be reached solely through 100% true savings – 401(k), Roth IRA, emergency fund/savings, home and auto maintenance account, extra cash for investments, and blogging income.
Total This Week: $580
We can save what we do because we live off of a little more than my husband’s salary as a school librarian ($38,000 take home pay). That means we save most of what I make ($26,000 take home pay a year) and all of our hobby job incomes (reffing for Mr. BFS and blogging for me). Reffing usually brings in $2000-$3000 a year and blogging is bringing in $15,000 or more a year (we’ve already hit more than $8000 for January-April 2011).
Total to date: $15,328 guaranteed, $5,672 to go.
Additonal Info
I will continue posting monthly and yearly blog statistics and income updates, so stay tuned at the beginning of every month!
In case you didn’t know, Alexa traffic rankings are determined by the numbers of hits a site gets by people with the Alexa toolbar. If you want to be part of this ranking community, you can download the Alexa toolbar here. 
If you don’t already, you can follow me via RSS or Twitter by following those links.
To learn more about the Yakezie, the blogging group that has helped me in SO many ways, check out my Yakezie page! Feel free to email me if you are a Yakezie member or challenger and don’t see yourself on the list!
If you are interested in seeing how I went from an 8 million plus Alexa rank to about 50,000 in less than 8 months, you can see My Blogging Schedule, which breaks down everything I do related to blogging. If you want to see how I brought in $6000 in less than 10 months, you can check out How I Make Money Blogging.
THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING THE BEST READERS EVER!!!
May 28, 2011, at 6:00 am
Also, check out my other blog, Crystal Clear Thoughts,
for my Weight Watchers Updates!
I’m still down 25 pounds and shooting for just 1 more by July 4th!!!
My Favorite Posts this Week
Guest Posts on BFS
Thank you for the day off!
Giveaways and Other Info
Blog Carnivals
Totally Money Blog Carnival -
was at Outlaw Finance!
Please check out the last edition and submit here every week!
If you are hosting a carnival that includes Budgeting in the Fun Stuff, please email me so I can include it in my roundup. Thanks!
Top 5 Referring Sites to BFS Last Week:
(I post the top 25 at the beginning of each month)
- Yakezie
- Free Money Finance
- Grumpy Rumblings of the Untenured
- Get Rich Slowly
- Money Talks
Feel free to contact me if you have any suggestions. I’d love to add a few more blogs to my regular reading list or at least give a shout-out for great posts or contests.
As always, thanks to all the bloggers that teach me something new every day. Thanks to all my commenters for making this blog the community I want it to be. Thanks to all my “lurkers” too. 
I hope everybody is enjoying this as much as me!
And please use About Life Insurance as a resource for everything life insurance!!!
Let me know if you do help out and I will be sure to return the favor!
May 27, 2011, at 6:00 am
Since Curl Up With a Good Book and My Current Reading List – January 2011 went over so well, here are my most current conquests. I didn’t read or listen to as many audio books as normal over the last 4 months since I’ve been blogging way more, but I did devour a series I found by Tess Gerritsen…Rizzoli and Isles. It really is not anything like the tv series in my opinion, but was fun to listen to anyway. It is darker than the tv series though. I also read 2 other books by Tess Gerritsen and one by David Lindsay.
Here is my most recent reading list:
The Rizzoli and Isles Series by Tess Gerritsen
My library did not have Book 1, The Surgeon as an audio book, but it isn’t necessary to read it for the series. Gerritsen explain what happened several times in the following books whenever it was referenced.
The Apprentice – Book 2
This is a classic serial killer vs cop drama. Gerritsen is VERY descriptive, so these are not books for you if you are easily disgusted. But she is also fantastic at character development and adds in some very suspenseful moments. This book in particular reminded me of an episode of Criminal Minds.
The Sinner - Book 3
Rizzoli is after another serial killer in this book and this guy is just plain mean. He only seems to go after newlyweds. There aren’t as many gruesome scenes in this book as the second one, but Gerritsen was a doctor before she was a writer, so there are still some pretty graphic descriptions during autopsies. I actually guessed the killer’s job before Rizzoli did, so I felt smart.
Body Double – Book 4
This was my least favorite of the series. It starts off scary as heck, which I think is great. But I apparently simply don’t like Maura Isles much since I really never felt much empathy towards her during her large part of the story. She discovers some creepy things about her lineage, but I just couldn’t care much. I was sincerely rooting for the very cool pregnant lady, Matilda, who was kidnapped early on though.
Vanish – Book 5
This one was really good! I nearly cried for many of the victims throughout the general story of the American sex slave trade, but this book was fantastic! I really loved the mix of suspense, mystery, and conspiracy in this one. I also like the books that concentrate on Rizolli as well. I would definitely classify this one as a page turner.
The Mephisto Club – Book 6
My biggest complaint about this book was that I wanted it to be all about the side plot again. Who cares about the serial killer in Boston when the story about a girl named Lily slumming it through Europe to escape a killer was way more interesting? And the general feel of the paranormal throughout this book is pretty cool. Plus, back in Boston, I actually cheered one of the deaths. I am a nice person in real life, but if a book character ticks me off, I do root for their death. Good book but not in my Top 10 or anything.
The Keepsake - Book 7
This one was another good one. Creepy and yucky, but good. The side plot was fantastic once again, and the balance of Rizzoli and Isles made this mystery fun. If you like mummies, mystery, and murder, this is the book for you. The killer is disgusting, but the main side character, Josephine, has one heck of an interesting story.
This was the best of the series by far in my opinion! It has suspense, mystery, cults, murder, survivalism, and great character development! There are about 3 different stories in one, but the main thread is about Dr. Isles. Again, I don’t like her much, but this story was great anyway. I never guessed the true ending, which is unusual for me. I did guess a few parts along the way, but this was the most suspenseful Tess Gerritsen book I have read. I personally don’t think I ever want to go to snowy mountains now though…
An Absence of Light by David Lindsey
This was AWFUL. It was boring and I just couldn’t get attached to ANY of the characters! I thought I would love this book since it was about the Houston Police Department’s Intelligence Division right here in Houston, TX, but all of the characters were boring, the descriptions were long-winded, and it’s never good when the most interesting character is an assassin. The main character, Marcus Graver, is a generally great guy, but David Lindsey did not do his plot justice. I stick out my tongue at the hours I wasted listening to this one…
This book switches back and forth between the modern day and Boston in the 1830′s. Honestly, the story in the 1830′s is simply way better than the little side plot in the modern day. I loved the main character in the 1830′s – a strong, young (17) Irish woman named Rose Conolly. She is the person I strive to be. I will warn all of you that there is a bunch of gory parts though since the book really does concentrate on medicine in the 1830′s, which was disgusting, and a serial killer in the 1830′s. I personally LOVED the story until the end. I thought a significant part of the plot in the end was just stupid. If you read this and want to know what part I am talking about, please email me at budgetingfunstuff *at* gmail *dot* com.
I want to read more stories based on this character, medical examiner Kat Novak. I am sure Maura Isles is supposed to resemble this character, but Kat is spunkier and less wishy-washy in my opinion. Anyway, this story centers around Kat coming across a string of overdoses that don’t seem to be just as simple as normal overdoses. The story has a little romance, a little suspense, and a lot of action. I liked it a lot even though it was difficult for me to feel too sorry for the victims since they really may have ended up dying anyway pretty quickly based on their habits.
What have you been able to read lately? Anything I can add to my list for next time?
May 26, 2011, at 6:00 am
The following is a guest post about passive income by Miss T blogs at Prairie EcoThrifter. She grew up in the Canadian prairies and still lives there today. She is passionate about saving money, being healthy, looking out for our environment, and most of all having fun. Her blog shares tips on how you too can live a green, debt free, and fun life.
If you run a Google search online, you will come across lots of people looking for professionals that can perform tasks for their businesses on a contractual basis. These people are known as freelancers. Freelancers can do everything from providing websites with content to creating websites from scratch. The opportunities are plentiful and the revenue potential is unlimited. Freelancing is a great way to start bringing some extra cash into your household. Here are three ways that you can freelance and generate passive income for years to come.
Passive Income – Online Website Writing
Online writing is one of the oldest forms of online passive income because everybody needs content. You can write for a blog or website and generate a one time fee but that doesn’t bring in the residual income. Instead, you should focus your efforts on writing for sites that will pay you income over the long term. Ehow, Helium, and Hubpages are all good websites for writers looking for passive income. You can take 15 to 30 minutes to write a short article and publish it on their websites. You will get paid each month based on the amount of traffic that your article receives and how many page views it get a month. A few articles on these sites could easily bring in a couple hundred bucks every year.
Passive Income – Online Book Writing
Another way that you can put your writing skills to the test is by writing newsletters and books for people looking for authors. Helping someone publish a book can be a rewarding experience both emotionally and financially. Most ghostwriters make the mistake of just asking for a one time fee for their writing help. Instead of requesting a flat fee for your work, you can request a percentage of the profits earned from book sales. A well marketed book with quality content will continually sell copies month after month. This will result in income for both you and the book seller. You may just find that a popular publication will bring in income for a long time.
Passive Income – Online Product Creation
Product creation is a fantastic way to earn passive income from a one time endeavor. There are always website owners looking for someone to create an online application or a plugin for a website. These products have the ability to generate a large sales volume because of their practicality and usefulness. If you have the ability to create such a product, you should do so with the stipulation that you receive residual income. You never know whether or not the technological innovation that you create will be the next great hit product. A small 10% share of the profits of a smartphone app could bring in as much money for you as a full time job.
As the Internet’s popularity continues to grow globally, freelancing opportunities will become even more plentiful. The freelancer that has the foresight to create useful products that people need will find himself bringing in consistent income on a regular basis.
So, have you ever tried freelancing? How has it improved your financial situation?
May 25, 2011, at 6:00 am
I had no idea how to jump a dead car battery until a couple of weeks ago when my neighbor needed a jump. I have only been driving for about 10 years. That doesn’t sound like much, but I have either needed a jump or assisted in giving a jump at least 5 or 6 times in that 10 years. The thing is, I never was the one who used the jumper cables. In case I am not the only person out there that missed this particular life lesson, here is how to jump a dead car battery without killing yourself or your battery.
How to Jump a Dead Car Battery
1. Turn both cars off.
2. Pick a color on the jumper cable and connect each side to the positive feed of the batteries. For example, we clipped each red clip to the positive feed out of each of our car batteries.
3. Repeat for the negative side of the batteries. We each connected the black clips of the jumper cable to the negative feed out sections.
EDIT: It has been brought to my attention that it is even safer to attach one clip to the negative side of the live battery and the other clip to the frame of the dead car to ground it.
4. Turn on the car with the good battery and start revving to juice up the dead battery.
EDIT: Also remind the person next to the dead battery to back away a bit just in case there is an issue with the dead battery.
5. Try turning on the dead car. My neighbor’s car started almost immediately but my husband said it sometimes will take a lot longer to feed in enough juice.
6. Turn off the car that had the working battery.
7. Leave on the car that had the dead battery so the alternator can charge it a bit.
8. Disconnect one color at a time and do not let the jumper cable clips touch. For example, we removed the red clip from each of our batteries and then the black clips, but we made sure to keep those far apart while we were removing them. It they touch while live, you create a short circuit. I am not 100% sure what happens, but I am assuming it is bad.
That’s how we successfully started her car without hurting ourselves or our cars, which saves us money (in case I had not explained why I am putting this on my personal finance blog, lol).
I also have printed out these instructions and are keeping them with my jumper cables. If I ever need to know when I’m not actually around my car, I’ll use my smart phone to look up this post.
Did I miss any important steps or state anything incorrectly? Am I the only one who really did not know how to do this?
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DISCLAIMER I am not a professional or a financial advisor. BFS posts are informational opinions only. Please make your own financial decisions based on personal research or see a financial advisor.
Also, there are paid links on this site. There is no obligation on your part to purchase any products advertised on this website.
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