“Towns Outlawing Extreme Garage Sales”: Why This Family is Already Handcuffed

A recent article on MSN.com noted that in some areas of the country, towns are seeing extreme garage sales; events that not everyone is happy about. The article notes some residents feel that these sales are getting out of hand, some turning into auto sales with “20 cars parked on the lawn” or rows of washers, dryers, and other appliances lined up for purchase.

One town council president mentioned in the article would like to limit the number of sales residents can have to four per year and place a $5 fee on each sale. I don’t think his standards are necessarily unreasonable, especially with what our family has to go through in an effort to hold our garage sales.

From the two garage sales that we typically have each year, we usually make anywhere from $400 to $600, which can make for a nice little addition to income. But planning, preparing and holding garage sales can be a lot of hard work, and municipal restrictions came make them even more difficult to carry out successfully.

Here are some of the things that we have to deal with and how we attempt to overcome their limiting effects on our garage sales.

Permits
The municipality in which we hold our garage sales requires a permit. While the permit itself is free, and I have a feeling that many sale holders probably don’t get them, we tend to err on the side of safety.

This way, should local authorities arrive (they are often out on Fridays and Saturdays checking for illegally placed garage sale signs), we’re legit in our permitting to hold the sale and won’t be shut down for any reason, negating all our hard work and preparations. While it might be a pain to drive over and pick a permit up, the time spent is worth it compared to chancing having our sale shut down.

Signs
Speaking of signs, our municipality is VERY strict regarding where garage sale signs can and can’t be placed. Putting signs on telephone poles, street signs or even in portions of our own yard that are considered municipal areas (those yard areas between the sidewalk and the street) is strictly prohibited. We’ve found from experience that putting signs in such areas will result in them being taken down by local authorities, or having to move them ourselves by police order (yes, they have made us do so on several occasions).


Garage Sale Limits
Each property in our municipality is restricted to two garage sales per calendar year. This is somewhat limiting since we just never know what the weather is going to do or what sort of luck we’re going to have with attendance.

How we try to Make up for these Limitations
While our location is fairly strict in their garage sale limitations, over the years, we’ve found ways to make up for these rules.

Take for example the sign issues. While our options are limited, we still put signs up in the yard in which we are having the sale to draw the attention of passers-by, and we place a newspaper advertisement in the local paper for about $30, which helps make up for our lack of signage as well.

While two garage sales is typically enough for our family, we have paired with other family members and friends in the past to utilize their garage sales to get rid of our stuff and make a little cash in the process without having to hold a sale of our own.

And finally, when it comes to those sales that just don’t turn out to be as profitable as we’d hoped, and we don’t have the ability to hold a third sale or pair up with neighbors, we tend to take certain leftovers to area resale shops to get rid of them and add to our sale profits, or take them to local charities so that we can get the charitable tax deduction.


Sources:
Tahmincioglu, Eve. Life Inc. “Towns outlawing extreme garage sales” April 17, 2012. http://lifeinc.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/17/11230133-towns-outlawing-extreme-garage-sales?lite

Top Picks for This Year’s Indianapolis 500 Winner

With new cars, new engines, and new faces at the track this year, it’s shaping up to be a tight field for the 96th running of the Indianapolis 500.

Having kept a live internet feed of 500 practice coverage on the background of my computer as I worked this past week, plus watching multiple hours of live Pole and Bump Day qualifying coverage this past weekend, I think I’m ready to make my picks for Sunday’s race.


Although I honestly feel that there are probably a good 25 realistic possibilities for the Indy 500 winner this year, here are my personal top five.

READ MORE...

Alternative Forms of Currency I’m Stockpiling in the Event of a Disaster

With 2012 upon us and so much focus being put on the Mayan calendar, predictions of the apocalypse, and mega-disasters in general, there has been greater attention on emergency planning lately. While I don’t think the Mayans have the date of our demise pinpointed, I do think that the idea of emergency planning as a whole, for any number of events, is a good idea.

Sometimes I find it difficult to think outside the box when it comes to various long-lasting emergency scenarios since I’ve never actually experienced one, and it can be hard to plan for every eventuality. However, in an emergency situation in which societal norms are breaking down -- including the worth of our currency and how we purchase things -- I think it’s a good idea to consider what other items could be used as forms of currency.

Food and Water
Food and water always top my list of alternative forms of currency in the event of an emergency. Long-term or short, without food and water during an emergency situation, our family would be up a creek without a paddle. Therefore, we tend to retain extra such items -- often more than we would easily use in a month or two -- in the event that we might have to utilize such supplies for bartering.
With food and water available to exchange as currency, we could get just about everything else on this list, but might not be able to reverse the situation, trying to trade something like alcohol, fuel or medical supplies for food and water.

Fuel
Whether it’s gasoline, diesel fuel, propane for heating and cooking, or whatever, having some extra fuel on hand when it comes to our emergency supplies could really come in handy.
While we tend not to go overboard in this area since we have no real expectations of escaping the Chicagoland area during a disaster, and therefore aren’t really in need of extra gasoline should a real emergency event take place, choosing instead to hunker down and hopefully wait things out. We do however keep a supply of extra camping sized propane tanks for our camp cook stove should we lose our supply of utility provided natural cooking gas. This way we still have the ability to boil water, cook, and even trade fuel should we need to barter for other supplies.

Medical Supplies
In an emergency situation, since my wife is a type I diabetic, insulin would be more important to us than gold. I ensure that my wife keeps a 4-6 month supply of diabetic supplies and insulin on hand at all times just in case. While we wouldn’t be bartering such items away in an emergency situation, we would be exchanging other forms of currency for such supplies, so in turn; these items could act as a form of currency for others.

Alcohol
You don’t have to be a drinker to keep a little alcohol on hand for bartering should an extended emergency hit. While we don’t stockpile cases of alcohol or anything like that, having a couple bottles on hand could prove useful during a long-term emergency.

Not only does alcohol have a great shelf-life, but it in an emergency situation, it could possibly be used to treat wounds, traded for other supplies, used as a pain killer, and even used as a weapon (with higher proof, flammable alcohols possibly being made into Molotov cocktail type bombs).

Precious Metals
I’ve long espoused having some silver coins on hand in the event of an emergency, not only to fight inflation, but to use as currency. While dollar bills and regular pocket change might be worthless in certain emergency situations, true silver coinage or silver bars could be of use for buying food and supplies. Its small size also makes it easy to hide, store and carry.

Weapons and Ammo
During a real emergency, all the guns in the world aren’t going to do much good without ammunition, and vice versa. Therefore, in an environment in which roaming street gangs are taking what they want, weapons and ammunition could become a new form of currency.

While I’m no gun nut, I do keep a long-range rifle and extra rounds of ammunition on hand just in case. While I hope never to have to fire a shot to defend my home or family, having extra ammunition on hand to trade for other supplies could help us outlast any sort of long-term emergency scenario.

Metal Prices are Down: Why I Prefer Buying Silver Over Gold

I own a little of both silver and gold -- not in the paper form mind you, but in its actual physical form. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a collection worth thousands of dollars or anything like that, but it’s a nice little hedge against currency devaluation and inflation. Most of my precious metal comes in the form of a small collection of silver coins and ounce bars that I built as a child and that I’ve added to over the years.

The price of silver and gold may have been down lately (under $28 and $1580 an ounce respectively at the writing of this article), but with their drop in price, my interest has risen, and I’ve been keeping an eye out for buying opportunities. I have a preference of silver in my purchases though, and here are some of the reasons why I prefer buying silver more than gold.

Buying Ability
Many people can’t afford to just run out and buy an ounce of gold at $1,500 or $1,600, or even if they can, it might be a slightly higher investment than they prefer to make all at once. I find that this is the case in my situation. I’m much more comfortable being able to go out and buy an ounce of silver for $30 or $35, which to me is a much more reasonable buy-in amount for the common person such as myself.
Add to this the fact that I can find a variety of silver and silver coin buying options at spots like antique stores, coin shops, pawn shops, garage sales, and resale shops, and it makes my buying opportunities much broader.

Silver Owning Options
I tend to find a variety of silver buying options. From silverware, bowls, jewelry, and candle sticks, to tea service sets, coins, dishware, and more, silver is a common buying option. However, finding such options isn’t as common with gold. I’m not typically going to find a solid gold candlestick or snuff box at a garage sale -- gold plated, maybe -- but such items aren’t as common at my sort of buying locations as silver pieces are. Therefore, I tend to look to buffer my silver coin collection through the types of decorative pieces I mentioned that are not only decorative and affordable, but might be functional and could also serve for their silver melt value if needed.

Peace of Mind
I’m not sure about you, but having a bunch of gold lying around the house wouldn’t really put me at ease. Of course that’s what safety deposit boxes are for, but even then, I’m not sure I’d want multiple thousands of dollars wrapped up in just a few ounces of metal. Sure, I know that over time, gold retains its value reasonably well and can act as a form of hard currency that outlives paper currencies; however, for some reason, I just feel more comfortable with owning silver than gold. Plus, were it necessary to convert the metal, I’d feel more comfortable walking into a place of business sporting a $30 silver coin than a $1,600 gold one, and I wouldn’t be as worried about getting mugged in the process.

Ease of Conversion
Speaking of conversion, in a situation where commodities might suddenly be necessary to pay for goods and services, it would be much easier to walk into a store and buy a loaf of bread using a pre-1964 90% silver dime worth $3 than it would a gold coin that’s worth $1,000. Unless I’m planning on buying a wagonload of supplies, the silver coin conversion option seems much simpler to me. There might also be a broader market for exchanging smaller value silver coins than gold versions which a far smaller portion of the general public may be able to afford or be able to produce change for.



Disclaimer:

The author is not a licensed financial or commodities professional. The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. Any action taken by the reader due to the information provided in this article is solely at the reader’s discretion.

Creating a Moving Checklist in 5 Easy Steps

The process of moving isn’t something many of us look forward to. While the relocating to a new area aspect of moving might have us somewhat excited, I haven’t met many people who can admit they look forward to all the rest that comes along with having to move.

From decluttering, closing accounts, doing address changes, packing, and making the trip, to unpacking, reestablishing roots in a new area, and getting all settled into a new home, there are plenty of stressful activities that can come along with a move. Therefore, using a moving checklist can help to stay on track.

I’ve used a moving checklist during our last several moves, and here is how I create it in five easy steps.

Step #1 – Create an Address Change Section

Typically, my first step in preparing to relocate is making a list of all those people and organizations with which we need to change our address. Sure, completing an address change form with the U.S. Postal Service is certainly a part of this first step, but I still like to ensure that we change as many addresses directly as we can think of.

Utilities, magazines, friends and family, business associates, employers, health providers, insurers, and similar contacts usually comprise the address change section of our moving checklist.

Step #2 – Figure Moving Costs
This step may be a little harder to complete since it can be difficult to predict all of -- or predict accurately -- the costs involved in relocating. Still, I find that it’s not a bad idea to at least make an attempt to do so in an effort to get an idea for what sort of expenses we’ll be facing during our move.
My moving cost figures typically entail putting numbers to items such as fuel, tolls, hotel stays, supplies, food, and professional mover estimates. I do my best to estimate as close to expected costs as possible, then once the move has taken place, I replace these estimates with exact totals.

For example, here are figures from our move out to Washington state last summer:


• Mover costs -- $300 (our friend is a mover and helped us move much of our stuff into temporary storage)

• Gas – $417.79

• Hotel accommodations – $162.74

• Food – $25.00

• Tolls – $3.25

Step #3 – Determine Travel Times
The time involved in moving can be extensive. There’s all the prep work involved in packing, ending utility service, moving, unpacking, starting new utility service, etc. It can be difficult to put timeframes with all these associated parts of the moving process, but when moving long distances, I tend to like to have an idea of how long the actual trip involved to get there is going to take.

In our case, moving from Chicago to Washington involved a lengthy trip. Having an idea of not only the length of the trip, but how long that trip was going to take, helped me better estimate the costs involved (gas, food, accommodations, etc.).

Therefore, I determined that the trip would be 2000 miles and divided that into an average of 60 miles per hour to get an hourly timeframe. I planned for two nights in a hotel at $150 a night, but since we made better time than expected, we only stayed one night, cutting our estimated expenditures in this area by nearly 50 percent.

Step #4 – Create an Inventory

In our situation, I used an inventory list to help us determine what would be going into storage, what would be going to family members, and what would be coming with us on our trip. I find that when moving, so many things can be going on that it’s easy to forget a few items here and there. I didn’t want items that were supposed to be coming with us to instead be put into storage, or vice versa.

Therefore, I made an inventory of important furniture, paperwork, toys (for our son), and other items with notations of “Take”, “Store”, or “Family” to help us deal with where things needed to be going or ending up.

Step #5 – The “To-do” List
Finally, there is the “to-do” portion of our moving checklist. This comprises a list of items to handle once we arrive at our location. Typically there are things like, opening new bank accounts, activating utilities, getting new drivers licenses, changing insurance (both car and health), finding new healthcare providers, etc.

Having this list compiled and ready to go, helps us stay on track when we arrive at our destination during a time that can be more than a little hectic.

Money Things I do that Drive My Wife Nuts

As in any good relationship, both my wife and I of course have a few things that drive each other crazy.  Being someone who writes about personal finance, I have a few things that I’ve discovered about my wife that drive me nuts when it comes to her handling of money.  However, in an effort at full disclosure, I have a few items that drive her nuts as well. 

While we’ve learned to live, and in some ways love our various financial habits, here are a few of mine that particularly get under my wife’s skin.

Over-regulate

I track every penny I spend.  While I don’t force this same sort of exactitude upon my wife, I know that she still thinks I carry it a bit too far.  However, she’s willing to let this part of our financial life go since she realizes that it not only helps us form better spending policies and look for ways to cut costs, but it also assists me in coming up with new subject matter for my personal finance writing.

Swap Fun for Finances

While this habit of mine has saved us a lot of money over the years, it has also cost us some fun in the process.  I often tend to overanalyze how costs will add up from partaking in certain activities rather than just going with the flow, which is what my wife is more apt to do.  While this tends to cut down our entertainment and miscellaneous costs, at times it also cuts down on our enjoyment of life and living.

To better balance this aspect of our financial lives, we do several things.  First off, we look for activities that we not only enjoy, but are cost effective as well, like going to the park, canoeing, camping, taking our son to the library, going out to eat at affordable family dining venues, and similar items.  And since we are doing activities together, we typically share the cost with one another, which allows us to double our spending power, or in essence, cut the cost of such fun in half so that one person isn’t carrying the entire weight of our entertainment expenditures.

Watch and Worry

Largely due to my knowledge regarding personal finances, I likely tend to worry more about them than the average person might.  You may have heard the phrase, “Ignorance is bliss.”

In some cases, I wish this was the case in our situation, and I’m sure my wife feels the same way sometimes.  While she is happy that I try my best to safeguard our personal and financial information, I sometimes take it to the extreme and spend too much time and effort worrying about the possibilities and repercussions of certain personal financial situations.  While this helps us better protect our finances through doing things like tracking expenses, watching account balances, changing passwords, and similar activities, my wife’s ability to maintain a more even keel about such issues helps balance my overprotective attitude.  

Deal in Cash

Personally, I love dealing in cash.  I find it to be reassuring and it doesn’t leave a paper or electronic trail of account or credit card numbers that can be hacked into or stolen by those without the best of intentions.

My wife is more of a credit card kind of girl and finds my love of cash somewhat silly.  However, we balance each other well in that you really almost have to have a credit (or at least a debit) card these days for certain transactions, yet by using cash in many situations in which credit card usage isn’t necessary, we decrease the chance of our card information being compromised.

Costing us Money to Save Money

I come from a family that’s great at saving money, but whose efforts sometimes lead to situations in which we end up spending $1 to save 20 cents.  Such situations remind me of my grandfather driving an extra 10 miles out of his way to save two cents a gallon on gas. 

Thankfully, self-awareness and my wife pointing out such ridiculous behavior to me over the years, has awakened me to this fact.  I’ve therefore become better at being able to look outside the immediate near-term savings to consider long-term affects and cost implications of saving $1 today only to have it cost me $10 tomorrow.

Mining the Freelance Goldfields

I’ve been watching a lot of Gold Rush and Bering Sea Gold on The Discovery Channel lately.  My four-year-old son really likes Gold Rush, and I can’t blame him since I’ve had a long-time interest in gold mining myself.

While I’ve never made my gold mining dream a reality, as a self-employed freelancer, watching these shows has made me realize just how much freelancing is like gold mining.  So in a way, I am realizing my gold mining dream, just in a different form and way.

Lots of Hours and Hard Work

As I watch these gold mining shows on television, I realize just how much work is involved, and often for a not very big payoff.  While I might not be getting down-and-dirty panning for gold or running heavy equipment, there’s certainly plenty of work involved in my freelance activities; and like gold mining, sometimes for a not very big payoff. 

My day typically starts between 7 and 8 a.m. (which I admit, isn’t all that bad); however, work often doesn’t end until eight or nine at night.  Pair this with caring for a four-year-old, and you’ve got a pretty work-filled day.

Management is Key

Gold miners must know where to dig, how to dig, what equipment to use, where to focus their time and efforts to make the most money, and in a larger operation, understand employee management and how best to utilize those employees.

While I don’t have any employees to worry about, the rest of these aforementioned aspects of gold mining do apply to my work as a freelancer.  I have to be able to know where to look for work, how to do the work, what equipment and applications I’ll need to accomplish my work, and where and in what amounts to focus my attentions and efforts in an attempt to make most efficient use of my time.

It’s a Constant Hunt for the Mother Load

In gold mining, it’s often a constant hunt for the big score, the “mother load” if you will.  And there can be a lot of “grunt” work in the search for that discovery.

In freelancing, I’ve found that you must often pay your dues and shovel through all the tailings (a term for previously mined gold rich material in which there might still be some gold, but in smaller amounts), pick up work that others didn’t find worthwhile, or dig through large amounts of work that just isn’t worth your time in search for employment that offers the opportunity for a bigger payday.

There’s Only So Much Pay Dirt in One Area

For many gold miners, a claim only offers so much pay dirt in one area.  Once that pay dirty has been processed, it’s time to making a decision -- either take a new approach to the same area or move on to a new claim.

I find that it’s the same for me in my freelance work as a writer.  There is only so much I can rake a particular topic such as “How to save money at the grocery store” over the coals until it’s played out.  Then I must decide whether it’s time to take a new approach to the subject, maybe something along the lines of “How to save money on name brand products” or “Money Saving options for single individuals at the grocery store” or decide whether to move on to a new subject area completely.

I Might Strike it Rich, I Might Strike Out, but Either Way, the Chance is There

It’s fun when I’m watching shows like Gold Rush and I see the guys catch “gold fever”.  They get a little taste of some gold-rich pay dirt and they’re suddenly running their operation late into the night to process as much of the dirt as possible.

The same thing happens to me as a freelancer.  I’ll be running along smoothly, staying productive, but not killing myself, when suddenly, BAM!  There’s a big opportunity or chance for a good payday and I find myself really pushing to get more work processed.  It’s hard work, and it might not always pan out the way I’d hoped, but the chance for a big payday is there, and for me, chasing the dream is half the fun!

My Emergency Work Fund

I recently wrote an article called “Solar Flares and the Demise of the Internet: I Have a Plan, do You?” The article was largely about my backup plan regarding what would happen should the Internet fail to be a viable work and communications option for self-employed people like me, over a lengthy period of time.

During the article, I mentioned my emergency work fund and how it was an integral part of my plan to be able to continue working for a significant period of time without available Internet service.

One of my readers asked me to go further in depth regarding my emergency work fund, which for me, consists largely of writing projects, since I’m a freelance writer; but that I think is a formula could that work for many other types of jobs as well.

Finding Work that Will Keep

As a freelancer, the Internet is an integral part of my work life. I use it as a resource for writing projects, a way to find new work and clients, and a way to stay in contact and network with customers and readers.

However, in the event of a lapse in Internet service, I need a few work projects upon which I can count. This means that such projects that I hold in reserve must have a longer shelf-life. Holding back on writing an article about current gas prices or the state of the economy and keeping it in reserve probably wouldn’t be the best idea. However, holding onto a more “evergreen” article idea regarding my experiences with a past garage sale might not be a bad move and would have a longer shelf-life.

Compiling Resources
However just having such an idea set aside might not do me much good if the time comes that I need to use it but find that I can’t gather the requisite information to complete the work. Pulling information from the Internet ahead of time and stockpiling it with the idea can have me prepared for if or when the time hits that I don’t have access to such information.

Prioritizing Higher Paying Projects
I don’t want to stockpile a bunch of my highest paying work, as in most instances, I want to get it out there and realize the profits from my efforts as soon as possible. This means that I like to keep a variety of paying work available when it comes to my emergency fund stockpile.

Depending upon the duration of my time without Internet access, I typically work on what’s left of my higher paying work first, preparing a couple decent paying pieces of work should the Internet be back up and running fairly quickly. Once I’m through with this higher paying stuff though, I’ll slowly move through the ranks down the payment scale. I’ll work on pieces that may not pay as well or that might not have the residual earning power of others but that are still viable earning options.

Outlining and Organizing

If or when I’m kept from the Internet -- or it’s kept from me -- I tend to spend part of my time outlining and organizing various work projects. This allows me to stay productive and preparing for certain aspects of work while not necessarily turning out finished work per se.

As a freelance writer, this might mean brainstorming and coming up with article ideas, outlining, proofreading, and organizing certain office and work-related housekeeping issues for which I don’t typically have a lot of time. There may also be long-term projects such as short stories, books, and similar items that often don’t have the immediate income results that short-term projects like article and blog pieces might, but that could offer bigger rewards down the road.

The Month of May is Almost Here!

I still remember listening to this Indy 500 race on the radio as we drove back from a trip to Florida. I think my fingernail marks might still be on the steering wheel of our car.

No wonder our four-year-old is a Sam Hornish Jr. fan!

And of course, we can't forget last year.

My Tips for Small Business Owners

Running my own operation was be a tough proposition, but once I made a go of it, it was greatly rewarding. While a small business may range from just one person to dozens of employees or more, certain tips and techniques can run the gambit of operation size when comes to running a business. And it’s not always the operation that makes the most money, but the one that manages that money and the operat

ion the best that lives to see another day.

Here are some of the rules that I tend to follow as an independent operator myself, and that help me maintain a steady course as I sail my own ship.

Maintain Healthy Reserves Whenever and Wherever Possible

Whether it’s in inventory, cash, credit, or supplies, I find that it’s extremely useful to have reserves on hand whenever and wherever possible. In the initial days of my own self-employed venture, had I not had the financial reserves to maintain myself through that first year when income was virtually nil, it would have been difficult to outlast that cash drought.

Now that I have my legs under me, and my work is more where I’d like it to be, I find that maintaining a cash reserve serves as peace of mind. Meanwhile, keeping inventory reserves available acts to bolster confidence while allowing me to endure increases in demand and smooth over periods where productivity may drop due to inactivity related to travel or a vacation.

The Little Things Add Up

Whether it’s expenses or income related, the little things can add up. It’s not always those big costs that can kill a business, but the little ticky-tack items that slowly creep up on you.

My first year out, some of my greatest operating costs were related to office supplies and postage. And while some of my income streams in those first few years seemed mighty miniscule, only adding up to $40 or $50 here or there, some of them grew to provide me thousands of dollars in income. Had I simply given up on them early on, I could have missed out on tens of thousands of dollars in extra revenue over the years.

Be Ready and Willing to Change

What you plan for yourself and your business might not be what ends up earning you your income. There are plenty of small business owners out there who have entered one industry or niche only to find that they are better suited to something else altogether.

Tis is exactly what happened to me. I entered one area of an industry only to realize that if I wanted to pay the bills and earn any sort of real income that I was going to have to adjust my strategy and type of work to better fit the demand that was out there rather than try to force the issue with work that just wasn’t earning me any money.

Know Yourself and Know Your Business

While it might take some time to get to know your business as a small business owner, hopefully by now, you’ll already know yourself. Understanding how far or hard to push yourself, when to take a chance, how to balance risk versus reward, and when it’s time to pack it in and call it a day can make the difference between success and failure in a small business venture.

I realized that self-growth when it came to running my own show was a combination of learning myself through learning my business and vice versa. It took me time to learn how I would react and grow in an environment where I was governed by my own rules rather than those of a company or corporation. I understood that the quicker I could meld myself and my business into one, the sooner I could make decisions that benefited both rather than one or the other.

Disclaimer: The author is not a licensed financial professional or small business advisor. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial or small business advice. Any action taken by the reader due to the information provided in this article is solely at the reader’s discretion.

Garage Sale Prep Tips

Properly preparing for a garage sale can be a lot of hard work. But if you do so ahead of time, being ready can save a lot of stress and running around the morning of.

I’ve been a part of as well as been to so many garage sales over the years, that I’ve pretty much got the whole garage sale experience down. Here are some of the things that I do ahead of time when I’m preparing to have a garage sale to ensure that I’m ready to go and that there aren’t any delays when I head out bright and early.

Change at the Ready
I don’t always have to go to the bank to get my change for a garage sale. Sometimes I have enough cash and change around the house to handle my needs. I always make sure I have plenty of five dollar bills, ones, and quarters since those are the mainstays of my garage sale change needs. I rarely price things in five or ten cent increments, therefore largely negating the need for such change, but I carry a little bit in my change container just in case.

If I don’t have my requisite change needs met at home, I’ll stop by the local bank and pick up what I need in advance of my sale. I don’t want to have to make time consuming or troublesome trips to the bank the day of.

Pre-pricing
I ensure that I get things out and priced ahead of my sale. While I risk a few price stickers or tags falling off before the sale by doing so, it’s worth it to avoid the scramble of trying to get everything priced that morning. I also don’t want people showing up to my garage sales with me not being ready, possibly risking lost sales in the process.

Tables Set
Having things on tables and organized the way I want them ahead of time, means that the morning of my garage sale is much easier. My wife and I can just moved the tables out (carefully mind you) where we want them, position other larger items, and voila! We’re set.

Signs Made and Ready
I will put an ad in the local paper the week ahead of my sale. My other form of advertising besides the ad is self-made signs. I typically place my wife in charge of signage creations since she has better handwriting.

We tend to save our old signs that have survived previous garage sales so we can re-use them. Having our signs made and ready ahead of time can save costly delays creating them the morning of our garage sale.

Have My Tool Kit Ready
I typically go into my garage sales with a “tool kit” of supplies that I’ll likely need throughout the day. I’ve found that certain items are good to have during a sale, and help keep my trips back and forth between the house to a minimum.

Here the things that I usually keep in my garage sale tool kit:

• Extra price stickers/tags
• Money box
• Scissors
• Tape
• White and colored paper (for sign making if needed)
• Pens, markers, and permanent markers
• Plastic and paper bags, and boxes (for customer purchases and after sale cleanup)
• Drinks and snacks

Be Set and Ready an Hour in Advance
If you’ve lived in the garage sale world long enough, you’ll likely be aware that even if you set your start time for 7 a.m., someone will probably arrive before that, sometimes quite a bit before.

I know that some people don’t like or appreciate early arrivals to their sales. I’ll admit that I don’t always like it myself. What I do like however, is the money they bring to these sales, and it’s worth it to me to be up and ready an hour in advance to catch these early customers.

When My Retirement Plan Falls, I Look for the Silver Lining…Dividends

I’m not a huge fan of the stock market, but I’ve learned to look at certain aspects of stocks and stock funds in a more positive light. I don’t actively invest in the stock market, but I have an IRA account that I rolled over from my previous employer’s 401(k) before I became self-employed. Since I don’t particularly enjoy the feeling of my money being at risk, I have pooled the various funds in my IRA into one fairly evenly distributed equity/bond income fund, which means I have dividends paid out (and reinvested since I’m not yet of retirement age) each month.

While this fund rides the hills and valleys that are bound to accompany any stock market, my reinvested dividends provide a silver lining of sorts when it comes to those down years that many of us with money in the stock market would prefer to forget.

Breaking Even isn’t Always a Bad Thing
I don’t really mind breaking even when it comes to stocks. Breaking even means I likely haven’t lost anything, except maybe some sleep or a few bucks to inflation while my money’s been asleep at the wheel. But otherwise, breaking even isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It might seem like between stock prices falling and dividends being paid out, I’m just treading water, but I could actually be gaining in the process, even though it doesn’t appear to be that way upon first inspection.

Dollar Cost Averaging
Dollar cost averaging can almost turn a down stock market into a good thing. Having my monthly dividends paid out in shares at a lower price, means that I can buy more shares. And the more shares I have when prices go back up, the more in dollars I’ll have in my account. Therefore, by regularly receiving shares over a long period of time at a variety of prices that are high, low and somewhere in between, I can get a pretty good average of share prices over the course of time and hopefully even out some of those bigger loss years.

My Long-term Approach
With this being the case, I tend to take a long-term approach to my stock/bond based retirement plan. In the near-term, I actually like that fund shares prices might be low. Since I’m continually gaining shares, I hope that over time these prices will eventually rise. Even if they don’t go up significantly, I’m at least gaining more shares by way of the dividends that are paid to me and being reinvested at lower prices. And if shares stagnate at the same price over the next 20 to 30 years, it’s like I’m gaining interest on my money anyway by way of the dividends I’m being paid, even if the stock shares really don’t budge much. So it’s kind of a win/win…hopefully at least.