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Archive for April, 2015

Babysitting

April 22nd, 2015 at 12:51 am

I have a BFF that has 3 kids under 5 years old (she's crazy, lol). We just found out that her oldest, my niece, who will be 5 in July, has Autism. Luckily, she is on the very high spectrum end of it. Her biggest problems are interacting with other kids, loud noises, and anxiety. As a result, she is only going to school (day care/preschool) for a couple of hours every morning. My BFF had a babysitter that was taking her to school in the mornings and picking her up, then staying with her the rest of the day until she (or her hubby) got home from work. But the babysitter can't do the job anymore, so my BFF has asked me to step on and help out.

I am completely honored.

I've known my BFF for 25 years and we've both known her hubby for about 22 years (they were HS sweeties). When my niece was 2 weeks old, I started babysitting her every week. So while it doesn't surprise me that they trust me to look after my niece, it makes me feel very special to know they feel I can handle the job, especially with my having MS (Multiple Sclerosis).

I won't be babysitting full time, that would be too much, but I'll be helping out. After a looooong day of negotiations, I agreed to accept a small payment from them every week, especially since it is a 45 minute drive to their house each way.

I'll add some of this money every week to my savings, and the rest will go towards gas money.

The extra money is nice, but there are so many other better parts. I get to spend time with my niece, who I've always had a soft spot in my heart for. I love her brothers to the moon and back, but there is just something about my niece that makes me melt. I also get to help her, by teaching her things like how to read and also to help her with some of her problems, like how to handle her anxiety (I started having panic attacks when I was 6). And I feel like I have a purpose again. After not working for 7 years, I've lost the sense of having a purpose, and this has given that feeling back to me. Not to get sappy, but this feels like a blessing for both me and my BFF, in so many ways. Smile

Old Balance: $158.86
Babysitting: $20.00
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New Balance: $178.86
(Cash $52)
(Savings Acct $126.86)

Been a week and a half

April 20th, 2015 at 02:42 am

and I was wondering if I was going to hit 2 weeks without anything to add, but tonight I sold a mirror I had listed online. Yay! Smile

Old Balance: $148.86
Mirror: $10.00
-------------------------------
New Balance: $158.86
(Cash $32)
(Savings Acct $126.86)

Half.com Direct Deposit

April 11th, 2015 at 12:05 am

Got a small direct deposit from Half.com today for a books sold (those little $0.75 books can add up). transferring it to my savings. I'm growing this account in little bits, but little bits will eventually add up to a big amount....right? Smile


Old Balance: $144.10
Half.com DD: $4.76
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New Balance: $148.86
(Cash $22)
(Savings Acct $126.86)

Soda Cans

April 7th, 2015 at 07:12 pm

I don't drink soda much anymore, but I do love me a good can of Ginger Ale. Since I don't drink it often, I tend to let my empties pile up for several months before I get around to returning them. Finally did it today and returned about 7 months worth. Got me small bonus of $3 Smile

Also sold and shipped out a dress on Ebay. Another $10.75 into the savings! Smile


Old Balance: $130.35
Soda Cans: $3
Ebay dress: 10.75
-------------------------------
New Balance: $144.10
(Cash $22)
(Savings Acct $122.10)

Shoes!

April 6th, 2015 at 09:00 pm

Oh, I love shoes! As a former fat girl, shoes were the only thing I knew I could always find in my size that would look good on me. As I always said - shoes are a fat girls best friend! I'm not longer a fat girl (at least, not on the outside; I'll always be a cake-loving fat girl on the inside, and proud of it, lol!), but I still love shoes! So you can imagine my shock and sadness when I realized that it's possible to lose so much weight that you actually go down in your shoe sizes!

I used to wear a 9 or 9.5 (preferably wide width), and now I wear between an 8 and a 9, depending on the shoe (most of them closer to 8's and no longer wide). It's not a big deal with my old sneakers, but with some of my heels and such, they just don't fit right and aren't wearable anymore. So I'm now selling some of my best friends, and I'm hoping they can go and make other people as happy as they've made me. (And I can go out and find new best friends!)

Balance: $120.35
Shoes: $10
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New Balance: $130.35
(Cash $19)
(Savings Acct $111.35)

A lot of work for -$1.30

April 3rd, 2015 at 08:56 pm

Mailed off some ebay sales today. Did better on shipping costs, but I'm still losing a lot. I tried the flat rate priority boxes, and changed the shipping costs in the auctions based on what the woman behind the counter at the post office told me. I either misunderstood or she misinformed me, because I still ended up losing about $16. Frown I'll finish up the auction I currently have on eBay, but after that, I won't list more until I figure out this shipping thing. Problem is, I hate to charge a lot for shiping, because I know as a buyer, a high shipping cost deters me from bidding on or buying an item.

I also sold a skirt today on a local online yard sale site I use. Yay Smile

And on a side note, I spend cash way too easily if I have it, and I spent $21 of my cash savings. Damn it. So that is down to $9. I need to start taking that cash and depositing it into my Savings every time I hit a certain amount so I don't spend it anymore.

So after all that, I still ended up losing $1.30 out of my overall savings. A lesson to be learned, but a hard pill to swallow.


Balance: $121.65
Ebay Sales: $16.70
Skirt: $3 (cash)
Spending: -$21.00
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New Balance: $120.35
(Cash $9)
(Savings Acct $111.35)

Seller Protection on Half.com/Ebay?

April 3rd, 2015 at 12:18 am

Today I got an email and picture saying one of the books I sold last month didn't make it to the buyer. They just received an empty envelope. So I issued a refund to the buyer for $4.34

There was no tracking or insurance on the package, and the envelope made it, but somewhere alone the way, someone opened it and the book was taken out.

Does anyone know if there is seller protection from ebay or half.com for this type of thing?

6 Sales

April 1st, 2015 at 06:47 pm

Woke up this morning and got online to see that I had 6 sales go through overnight! What a nice surprise! 2 books sold on half.com and 4 of my items on ebay sold! I'll do an official savings update once I mail the items out and see what shipping costs, but I know I've made $7.50 from the books on ebay, and $45 from the items on ebay, assuming I charged enough for shipping. I also have 2 other ebay items that look like they might sell this week, for another $10.

As much as I'm excited about this extra money, it also feels awesome to be getting things cleaned out of my house and clearing out some space in my storage unit. I know I have too many clothes and too much stuff in general, and it's great to let it go and find a new home for it Smile

In other news, nothing new on the weight loss front. I overindulged for my birthday last week, so this week I have to get back to eating healthier again. Was it worth it? Yes! lol Smile