Money! Money! Money!

(you should really sing this title to the tune of the ABBA song)

Make Money With Things You Already Own

That's right!  Make a little extra cash with items you already have around the house!

I'm not a coupon queen, a secret shopper, or in any way an expert on saving (or making) money. 

HOWEVER,

I do have a couple of tips to help you clean out your house and make a few bucks along the way!

Clothes:

With the holidays right around the corner it's a good idea to start cleaning house.  You need to get rid of the old to make room for the new!  Go through your closet, anything you haven't worn in a year needs to go!  Unless it has extreme sentimental value you need to make room.  This is a great time of year to think about what you have or haven't worn throughout the year.  I promise, if you didn't wear it last spring you won't wear it this spring.

Everyone has a thrift store in their town, which you know I'm a huge fan of.  Thrift stores don't pay you for donating your clothes though.  You know who does?  Consignment stores.  Most consignment stores are selective about what they take, meaning they may not take everything you bring them.  If you have good quality items that are in season, the stores may pay you up to 50% of what they will sell them for. 

Usually the store will give you the option of choosing the cash or store credit.  There are pluses and minuses to both.
Cash: Negative-if you decide to take cash, you won't get the full percentage of what the store values your item to be.  Instead of getting the 50% the value of what you are selling, you may get 15-20%.  Positive-you walk out of the store with cash you then put towards whatever you need.
Store credit-Negative-you can only use it in the store, not for groceries or bills.  Positive-if you shop at the store often, this option will pay off in the end.  Sometimes, if you are using the credit the day of your sale, you can use the credit for tax costs as well.

Books

Every town has a public library, a library will always take donations of used books.  Will a library give you monetary compensation for your books though? No.  Most used book stores will though!  Similar rules apply to selling used books as do selling used clothes.  The store will value the popularity and condition of an item and give you around 50% in store credit and about 15% in cash. 
I would definitely recommend taking the store credit on this one.  You may not be a big reader, but I'm sure someone you know is.  Birthdays and the holidays always seem to be around the corner; it can be awkward to buy someone clothes, but never books!  This is also a store credit that won't go out of style, you won't gain weight and never want to wear it again, and when you take it home and it falls apart you can still use it!

Electronics and Electronic Media

Amazon and Ebay are great places to sell old textbooks, movies, CD's, stereos, DVD players, or any other electronic items you may have. 
Ebay allows you to price the item at the price you would accept, then people can bid higher if they want.  A bidding war will occur when an item has a high popularity, is rare, or fills a special niche.  The negative side of Ebay is that you have to individually sell and ship each item you sell.
Amazon Market is very similar to Ebay in that you list prices and individuals from anywhere in the world can buy it.  Amazon Market is different in the way that it does not allow shoppers to bid and raise the price of an item.  On Amazon Market shoppers can compare an entire list of items matching what they want and buy from the lowest priced seller.  Amazon Market has the same negative as Ebay.
Amazon Trade-In is a specific part of the Amazon Market.  If you decide to sell to the Amazon Trade-In, Amazon will buy your items from you.  Once you list the item Amazon will set a Trade-In price, based on the popularity and condition of your item.  The positive thing about Amazon Trade In is once you agree to sell a set of items, all you have to do is print a shipping label, pack up your items, and your mailman will pick it up at your house.  The negative part of Amazon Trade-In is that Amazon may not offer you the fairest price and Amazon Trade-In will only pay you in Amazon credit, not cash.



Take all that old junk laying around your house and make some money off of it!