Write it down

Something surprising has happened over the last six months, and it has to do with money. If you're squeamish about reading about dollars and cents, you might want to look elsewhere today. Speaking only for myself, I don't really like talking about money, but I'm absolutely fascinated by it. I suspect I'm not alone, but it's hard to know since I don't talk about it much.

Anyway, the surprising thing is that my online sales have become a substantial part of my income - equal to or surpassing my part-time job, and more than I make picking up free-lance writing work here and there. One reason is that I'm working at it a lot harder. And the reason I'm working at it harder is that last fall, I sat down, wrote down some financial goals for the next 12 months, then did the math and figured out how to reach them.

I usually have an endless tape looping through my head about what I'd like to do, from home improvement projects to ways to pay for college. Although we've had household budgets, I never really sat down and wrote down my personal goals, let alone figured out how to reach them. It was more of a "I'd like to re-do the dining room so I'll sell some stuff online" approach. Seat of the pants.

(There's no reason for these photos other than that I don't think you need a reason to look at color plates from an old French dictionary, and they certainly beat photos of dollar bills.)

My goals were modest, and not very exciting: Eliminate all credit card debt. Add to an emergency fund. Have a little cushion of cash that could be spent, but not without a really good reason. And contribute to my kids' college funds. I wrote down where I'd like to be by September 2012, and the money it would take to get there. Then I had to figure out how to earn it. I came up with a plan and wrote it down. And because I'd rather walk on broken glass than not meet a goal I've set down in writing, I've been making steady progress.

In fact, I've shocked myself at how much progress I've made. All because I wrote down a plan in black and white. It wasn't some nebulous I'll-get-it-done-someday kind of thing. It was a piece of paper I could see every time I opened my jewelry box, which is where I put it for safe-keeping.

It's helped me, too, to give myself a weekly goal. If you've sold online, you know there's real work involved, and it's really tempting to put it off. When I start feeling that way, I tell myself that all I have to do is have $50 in sales. Five items, ten bucks each. The actual income is less, once you subtract out the expenses, but you get the idea. Even on my busiest day, or my laziest one, I can come up with five things that are easy to photograph and quick to list.

In fact, that small goal is easy enough to reach that I can usually manage that a couple of times a week. Ten items, ten bucks each = $100 in sales. But usually things sell for more than ten bucks. Sometimes they sell for $40. Ten items, forty bucks each = $400 in sales. That starts to add up.

Thinking like this has helped me stay on track, so I'm passing it along in the hopes it might help you, too. I've got some ideas on making the best of a bad estate sale, too, so the next time I talk about money, I'll talk about that. (And since I'm going to a couple of sales this weekend that honestly don't look very promising, I might be able to put my plan into action!)

Feel free to ask me anything, and I'd love to hear your ideas on reaching your financial goals, too. 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Melissa's Antiques]

I think I've followed your original approach.. ie: I want extra money for vacation, so I'm gonna sell more stuff. I recently did this, and because I worked harder than normal, earned myself an extra $500 for vacation. But I agree with your writing it down. I set an original goal of selling at least $200 a month to cover my new truck payment (which I obviously needed, because I needed to be able to haul more junk!)

Thanks for putting this into words, as it has helped me keep my goals on track. :)

[Into Vintage]

I love this post! I too am squeamish about discussing money but sharing information and ideas to help achieve goals (even the small ones) is appealing to me.

To avoid 'putting it off,' when I'm in a picture-taking mode for my etsy shop, I photograph far more items than I can list at the moment, set them all aside in a bin near the computer and list them as time allows until that 'batch' runs out. This isn't a financial goal but perhaps a step that can contribute to achieving the goal.

Great post - thanks! PS Your jewelry box safe-keeping system makes me happy somehow.

[Simple Daisy]

What a great post!!!
Financial freedom is the key to everything in life!!! I guess that's why i've never been a keep up with the Jones' kind of girl:)

[Gina @ Vintagejunkinmytrunk]

Thanks for the timely inspiration. My part-time job has become non-existent in the last week or so, which fortunately coincided with my medical issues, so in a way it is a good thing.

My Etsy shop is still chugging along, and even though I haven't added anything new to it in weeks (because at that time, the part-time job was actually a busy every-day job) I managed to sell the same amount I would have made for that week.

So instead of mourning that loss of steady income, I'm using this time to load up the abundant inventory I have stored up until the part-time gig gets busy again. I like your weekly goal and think it's a good plan of attack. Now if I could only get this "endless loop" out of MY head!

[Maria (Magia Mia)]

Very timely Barbara. Thanks for the pep talk. :) My sales have been unusually slow the last couple months, and it creates a vicious Catch-22 cycle of "lack of sales = lack of listing enthusiasm".

Isn't if funny how the simplest baby-steps logic never fails us? My creative A.D.D overwhelms me and sabotages my focus on one step at a time. I will keep this post in my head as a reminder. :)

[glenda]

You have totally inspired me to continue to try to sell online. I love this post, and it seems like you wrote it for me today.
I do have a question, tho.
Which forum do you prefer, etsy or ebay..
or both.
blessings,
glenda

[diane]

Barbara, That is all so true, I at times get in a rut with listing items for sale in my Etsy Shops and E-bay, but I too tell myself it adds up and yes some items can be a complete surprise! And bingo $$ rolls in. I am a Realtor and with a slow market I have been paying bills with the money I have been making. So I too think a game plan in writing is something I should do! Cannot wait to see your take on a poor Estate Sale. Hugs, Diane

[laurie mapgie ethel]

Timely post and good inspiration. Online sales have been a bonus for me as well...love the craft sales that I do, but the internet has become a very good friend for me.

ps.interested to see your post on bad estate sales as heavens knows I hit a ton of those!

[Beth Leintz]

I've been on the same page as you Barbara. A few years ago I decided that I wanted to sock away some money for a special purchase only using money from my Paypal acct (Ebay and Etsy sales). Selling on Ebay and Etsy isn't hard, but it is tedious- but having a goal makes a big difference in motivating me.

[Tina]

I have many rescued treasures that need to find a good home. I get paralyzed at the photography and estimated shipping costs. I know I could figure these things out, why is it so hard? I really need to purge a few closets!

[Renee]

I am an all cash girl myself. Freedom to just budget and be a goal oriented person takes a lot off your plate. Well, that and the fact that I too enjoy french bookplates.

Smiles...Renee

[Carol Ingenthron]

Barbara, I too was inspired by your post. I've been waiting for something to motivate me to learn how to sell things on Etsy and/or Ebay. I love your weekly goal idea and goodness knows I have all kinds of things to sell!

And, like Tina (previous post), I also become paralyzed by the photography and shipping cost thing! I keep telling myself, "you won't learn if you don't try...so just do it!". What am I scared of??!!

[Vicki]

Great post Barbara. I need to start eliminating some sweet vintage clutter around here! But first...i'll look at your Etsy shop!

[Kathy]

Great post - it is so good to hear I'm not the only one who has to set goals to make it a priority! I do have a question for you. I work full time and the most daunting part of Etsy, for me, is editing the pictures to re-size them. I use a very old version of PS. Have you come up with a way to streamline that step??