Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Almost Free!

Tomorrow is my last day of my last full week of work.

Yes.  I'm leaving my job- and I couldn't be more excited.

I've been working on the crocheting orders I have- hooray!  I've also been throwing myself in to earning money through my online surveys and earning gift cards through Swagbucks.  I've actually already had another job offer, but I'm not interested in jumping in to another position before I've even fully left this one.

The book is on hold again.  I've noticed that if I am unhappy, the first thing to go is any creativity.  Since I've been unhappy in my "real" job for a while, you can imagine the tiny bit of work that has gotten done.  It drives me nuts because I'm so very close to the end and my beta reader has been begging me for months to finish up the next installment. Working on it!

 Speaking of books, I got an awesome and unexpected honor recently!  A friend of mine is publishing her first book soon (I'll be sure to share details of that as it progresses) and she wanted to give me an acknowledgement in it!  That piece of news absolutely has made my week.

So, here we go- I'm about to step out into the world of being unemployed.   I'm excited and plan on reviewing our budget to make sure there are no unexpected expenses that derail my wonderful break!

-Kristen

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Crafting Craziness

With the church yard sale/ craft show coming up this weekend, things have been crazy lately.

I'm using this opportunity to downsize how many crafting things I have and I am even running "Clearance" on some of the earrings I had made in the past, just to get them gone!

I've also been crocheting like crazy, trying to build up a non-existent inventory in three weeks.  I've managed some amigurumi (toys) and some dishcloths, but nothing like what I was hoping to have done!  Luckily I still have a few days in which to try to finish up a large stuffed puppy and more dishcloths.

I am hoping the items sell! I've posted some pictures of the amigurumi items on facebook and the response has been good- I even have one or two folks looking to commission their own items, so that gives me hope.

Mostly, I just really enjoy the process of crafting, crocheting especially.  I love to make things, but after a while, what do you do with all you've made?  This way, I can cover my costs for materials and continue to do things I enjoy.

-Kristen

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Free Flatbread from Chilis

If you go here, you can join the chili's email club and get a coupon for a free flatbread!  No worries, if you are already a member of their club, you just have to sign in to get your coupon.

Choose which week you want to use it (there are only two options) and choose your store, then be ready to print your coupon!

-Kristen

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Video Games

Tim and I used to play a lot of video games- now it's definitely more of a situation where Tim plays a few select titles and I play almost never.

Typically, video games hold very little value.  They are mass produced and if you purchase them when they first come out, you're looking at a $50-$60 price tag, which rapidly depreciates.

As we are getting ready for a church yard sale this weekend, I asked Tim to take a look at the boxes of video games we have sitting around gathering dust and decide if he wanted to sell any.  I came home to several piles of games, most in the $1 pile, while three to four had prices ranging from $2-$5.  Most of our games are just like new- we take very good care of everything from the disk or cartridge to the instruction booklet and case, so he felt like a few of the games could be worth a little more.

We went through the pile he wasn't sure about letting go and decided to just move out everything- we weren't playing the games, after all, so why keep them?  Just as he was about to slap $1 on them all, I suggested we check the prices on Amazon.com- just in case.

WHOA am I glad that we did!  We found 6 games that were worth $15-$25 each and of those 6, 5 have already sold- in less than 12 hours. 

Cha-Ching! 

What surprises me most is that the games that are selling the best are old Nintendo Gamecube games.  I guess it truly was the best system ever, because the value is holding to these games like crazy!

So the moral of the story is- price check your items when you decide to sell them- don't just assume you know the price.  Yes, it took us a little longer and yes, most of them were $1 games.  However, we made $100+ by spending 20 minutes making sure of our prices.  I could do that all day long.

-Kristen

Friday, June 7, 2013

Gift of Summer

Give the delicious gift of summer this Christmas.   As we are are gearing up to enjoy the summer months, stop and consider how they can help you gift this Christmas.

If you are anything like me, you end up with more garden produce than you can use.  Even if you don't garden yourself, produce is plentiful and prices are low at your local Farmer's Market.

Consider canning extra- whether it is salsa, plain tomatoes, beans, applesauce, stew ingredients (just add meat!)- whatever you want to share.  You already have it on hand anyway, all you need is a few jars and canning apparatus.  This may not be the cheapest way to go if you don't already have a pressure canner on hand.

You could also freeze excess to be used to cook special treats in December.

Jams and jellies with a fresh loaf of bread or a fun recipe for bread could make a delicious and inexpensive gift basket.

During apple season, why not use a dehydrator to make some homemade apple chips?  You could even give a gift basket made up solely of dehydrated food- fruits, veggies and beef jerky! Just plan now and make sure to seal everything in good quality foodsaver bags.   Consider home made trail mix for any "outdoorsy" friends and family.

If you can make it, you can gift it.

-Kristen


Catch up on all the 12 Months of Christmas posts here.

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Petsmart Friends and Family Discount Days!

It's one of the best times of the year if you have a pet (or more than one!) 

Petsmart has released their Friends and Family Coupons! Starting June 6th and running through June 9th, take 15% off anything in the store!  Remember, this coupon DOES stack with your regular manufacturer's coupons, so keep an eye out for the deals.

I like to stock up on cat food, dog food and cat litter while I can- the store usually runs some pretty decent deals about this time.

Thanks Joni!

-Kristen