Day 3: How I "made" some extra money to fund our Christmas budget!

What does that look like to you??  Don't worry, I don't think you are stupid, we all know it's a bunch of coins...BUT, would you believe me if I told you I collected this and a BUNCH more from all over my house??  Well I did.  It is kind of embarrassing, and I feel like it is almost sinful.  I had money ALL OVER MY HOUSE.  Every room, almost every drawer, everywhere!!!  I didn't really start the day thinking this would be my blog post (I actually had another one in mind) but I had to find something in one of my 50 junk drawers and I started to go through it.  Low and behold I found a whole mini mason jar full of coins.  So, I thought to myself "hmmm, I wonder how much more money I have hiding in my mess of a house".   So I began my quest. It took me about an hour to go through my well organized house (HA!) and collect all the loose change.  You will honestly NEVER believe how much I collected. Are you curious??

I gathered all my coins and headed to the BANK....NOT the "coinstar" in the grocery store.  Please people, never go there...they take a percetage of your money!  Just go to your local bank and hand over the coins!!

After patiently waiting (because you all know how patient I am) Sue the teller presented me with my CASH.......$65.95!!!!  I feel almost ashamed to admit that.  For someone so concerned with budgeting money, I had all that just sitting in random hideouts all over my house!  WOW!  So, although I didn't technically "make" money, I did "find" it...so I figure that counts!!

TOTAL in the "jar" :  $172.95

Moral of the story, you may not even realize that you have money right under your nose!  Take a peek in those junk drawers!!

Day 2: Funding our Christmas Budget!

So,  I know I am supposed to tell you all about making the big bucks for our Christmas budget, but I really wanted to share how I PREPARE to SPEND the funds I make.

You see, I really do love all things Christmas, but I try and focus on what Christmas means to our family.  Above all, Christmas is a time of year to reflect on and celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Presents and trees and parties are fun, but without the birth of  Jesus it would be insignificant.  I try and teach my children about the true meaning of Christmas and let them know that all the "extras" are exactly that, extra. 

With that being said, I try and not "over-do-it" when it comes to gifts.  Around October 1st, I will make a list of all the family/friends/kids that I am planning on buying a gift for.  I will go through the gifts I have already purchased (CLEARANCE RACKS LAST CHRISTMAS...more on that later) and add those to the the appropriate name.  I will also list items that I want to purchse in the future under the persons name. This makes things a lot less confusing and a LOT more organized when I have to go out and shop.  One year I somehow ended up with 4 pairs of mittens because I forgot to go by my list and just started purchasing "things"...no bueno.

Ok, now on to the fun stuff.
 
DAY 2:  HOW I MADE EXTRA CASH FOR OUR HOLIDAY SPENDING

So there's this little website where you can buy and sell items....it's called EBAY, ever heard of it??? Yea, I thought so.  SOOOOO, I love ebay.  I have purchased many a sweet "I MUST own this immediately" items on ebay. For example, the rare Mario Bros. figurines from China for Jack's 5th birthday, or the Halloween costume that I knew Luke had to have.  BUT, I have never sold on Ebay,  it seemed scary and time consuming.  I have sold things on craigslist, but for some reason EBAY seemed like a lot more work.  WELL, I was wrong (first time for everything).  I listed a few old Halloween costumes yesterday and guess what....????  One sold in 3 minutes.  Yep. Sure did.  So, they paid me and I shipped the item.  That was it.  No meeting creepy people in parking lots at a random grocery store, no waiting around for someone who said they would buy an item and then didn't show up...nope, no hasstles.   I list an item, they pay for it, I ship it.  EASY!  Go look around your house and see what you can list on ebay...you would be SHOCKED at what sells for big money on ebay!!  Now, I only made $7 for the particular item, but the other auctions are not up yet so I will keep you posted on how much more I make! 

TOTAL in the "jar" :  $107

25 Days of earning Christmas Money!

So....excuse me for not keeping up with the blog, I birthed a child and lost all track of time.  I have found being fabulously frugal has been a lot more difficult with three children running a muck.  Although I still use coupons regularly and rarely miss a great deal, staying disciplined has been VERY hard.  I will eventually get back to highlighting coupon use and where the great deals are, but for this series of posts I wanted to focus on something that can be relevant to many, CHRISTMAS spending and budgets!  let me explain:

I love ALL things Christmas.  I love the decorations, the snow, the pine tree aroma, but especially I LOVE giving gifts.  Now, you may be asking yourself, "has Katie lost her mind, it's only October, why is she talking about Christmas??".  The question to that is no...I am actually quite clear headed (shocking).   You see, if I want to purchase gifts for all the loved ones in my life, I need to BUDGET for them.  I see too may people that overspend around Christmas time.  I have vowed that I will not be one of them.  I also REFUSE to be one of the CRAZED women running through target throwing toys mindlessly into the cart..REFUSE!  I am better then that and you should want to be too! 

O.K. so, here is the plan.  I will highlight 25 different unique ways I used to make our Christmas money this year!  EVERY penny spent on Christmas gifts this year will come from the "extra" money I earn from these 25 ways!  **Disclaimer, I respect the fact that everyone has different traditions, principals and budgets around the Holidays **

So without further ado.......

DAY 1:  How I made extra cash for our Holiday spending:

I sign up for random things.  Sometimes it is a major blessing, sometimes not so much.  About a year ago I signed up to be added to Fieldwork Denver's database.  Fieldwork Denver is a company that organizes focus groups for company's.  Basically, you sit at a round table discussing products/topics you use while people observe you behind a two way mirror.  After you sit and share your opinion on the chosen topic/product, you get paid! 

Ok, so I was a little weary when I signed up.  It sounded too good to be true, but I figured $100 to talk to other people about products/topics/current events for 80 minutes sounded like a vacation.  So I signed up and applied for every research group available.  Sometimes they called, sometimes they didn't, sometimes I didn't qualify for the group, or other times I was unavailable for the days/times requested.  But I hung in there and continued to apply.  Alas, they called, I qualified and I was available. 

I was a BIT nervous to attend my first research group, but AM SO THANKFUL I went.  First of all, the Denver Fieldwork building is in the Wells Fargo building 26 floors up with AMAZING views of the city.  Secondly, they feed you Jimmy Johns, chips, fruit, drinks,. and snacks.  Some of you may not be impressed with that but for a busy mom to three, it felt like I was on a vacation!  My group was ushered into the "round table room" to meet our facilitator.  From that point on, you basically just talked about the chosen topic with the other people at the table.  The topic for this particular round table was illegal immigration (amazing what I qualify for!).  After 80 minutes they ended and I walked out to get my $100 Visa Gift card.  Easy-Cheesy-Japanezee. 

I currently have attended 3 different research groups and have been compensated the same every time.  I did my third last week and earned $100 for our Christmas Fund.   All I had to do was talk about Milk advertisements!!

If you are interested in being added to Fildwork's database, you can find more info HERE.

My hope is that I can encourage, guide and inspire you to be wise with your spending this Christmas season.

Blessings,
K