by Claire
My grocery store has this cheesy kiosk place that buys gold and silver. My clean up of jewelry had yielded some completely random (dare I say hideous?!) gold jewelry items that I didn’t think would sell on ebay. It was a trip down memory lane to even see this stuff as they were gifts from high school boyfriends. I was definitely not wearing them anymore. So before flying out on business this afternoon and right before an orthodontist appointment for DD, I ran into the store to see what I could get for this gold. I had done a little research online but I wasn’t going to kill myself wondering if I could get something better out there with these particular item for a whole host of reasons. I ended up selling 6 pieces (2 chains, 2 rings, a pair of earrings and a pendant) for $480! I was hoping for $250 so that was a pleasant surprise! This money has gone straight to the IRS fund.
The final for 3 items on Ebay was $534–after fees and postage. Adding this to my gold sale brings the IRS fund to $1014. I threw in $1.00 (lol!) and the IRS fund is at $2,165. I am so proud!!! I still need to figure out options on selling my wedding rings but this progress feels good.
I also thought of another (hopeful) source of income that I will NOT count before hatching, but my company gives us bonuses at the end of February. We will find out in mid February what the amount is and then it is paid on February 23. While I had hoped I could put any bonus dollars toward my regular debt, that was not in the cards I suppose. I’ll still push forward on “finding” money but at least the bonus is another way to avoid new debt and stay on track.
Born and raised in Texas. I’ve at least driven through every state in the US courtesy of a roadtrip loving Dad.
I’m single with two children and a good parenting relationship with their father.
I am a “life is just half full of funny” kinda gal. Humor is my saving grace and I am thankful for it every single day. I have a strong Catholic faith and am thankful for that foundation.
I read a lot for a living but still enjoy a good book. I love biographies but in recent years have found the need for fun fictional books–sadly, for a long time I just didn’t enjoy fiction!
I love live theatre of any kind–from local productions to Broadway.
I love to scrapbook and pride myself in my kids’ albums.
I love being a mom but also love my career. I’m blessed to have found a balance allowing me to be at everything my kids need and want me to be at–while also having a career.
Favorite Quotes: Well behaved women rarely make history.
Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out. -James Bryant Conant
I have a lot of silver serving pieces that I never use because they are hard to clean and require polishing before every use. They belonged to my grandmothers.
I often think that I could sell these pieces to relax some of the financial stress I so often find myself under but then I am reminded that I am not the owner of these pieces of family history but merely the custodian for my generation.
Your old gold sounds like it had no sentimental attachment and that would make it easier to get rid of. I am considering selling my clothes dryer that I only use a few times a year. Any extra cash makes a real difference.
I agree about being the custodian…I wouldn’t sell the silver pieces either. You’d never forgive yourself.
Great job Claire!
Congratulations! I’m a new subscriber to your blog, and personal finance blogs in general, but I was prompted to leave my first comment (!) ever.
You are doing such a great job. You can just feel your momentum. Keep it up!
Awesome job scoring some extra cash with the gold trade-in!
Hopefully, when the time and price are right, you can sell your engagement ring.
About hopefully getting a bonus and having intended to use it for your “regular” debt …
Claire, I’d continue to aim for that! Keep ebaying, keeping doing PC (can you believe I’m telling you that after our first discussion about that, lol), keep e-baying, keep doing your “Real Food” events.
It’s obvious that you like a challenge! So, pretend that bonus isn’t going to happen this year.
Then see where you are in mid-March. See how much you’ve made with all those other sources of income, see if you got a bonus and how much, and then decide.
If anybody can make things happen, you can!
Just stumbled across your blog and soooo happy I did too. Love the way you track progress!!!
Struggled with credit card debt for years and finally paid them out and cancelled them. This meant I could enroll at uni to build a career.
Now, I am trying to get motivated to pay down student debt which will blow out to $35,000 by the time I graduate at the end of the year. I am from Australia, so technically I do not have to pay it back until I reach the repayment threshold (currently salary of $47,000pa) – and it does not accumulate interest – but it is adjusted through CPI at approx 3%.
I am trying feel some urgency over it, i.e. thinking of it as a personal loan with a set repayment date – otherwise it could literally take 10-20years to pay off (sadly the norm over here in Oz!).
I find these types of blogs so inspirational – so thank you for sharing your story 🙂
Good Job!
I sold a few pieces of gold jewelry that my ex gave me about a year ago. I was thrilled to A-get rid of them so I didn’t still have them around and B-make decent money selling them. I used the money to pay off a chunk of my student loan debt. Win-win.