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My wife and I were doing some Spring cleaning recently (yes, it’s Spring-like in Arizona) and as expected, we found lots of lost treasures. My wife is usually quick to get rid of stuff, but I often ask if there is some value in the stuff we want to get rid of. After both going through Financial Peace University, we were a bit closer to being on the same page with finding free money. In the end, we didn’t find a bag of hundred dollar bills, but we did find some fun money. Here are some ways you may find money in your home.
1. Money Lying Around. Some people have lots of this; we don’t. We did find some coins for the coin jar, and our biggest score was finding gift cards that still had money on them. My wife diligently went to a few websites and entered the numbers to find a little over $30. Not bad for just cleaning up the office.
2. Stuff You Need to Return. Are you one of those folks who fails to return things that you buy and don’t need, or even worse fails to return those items that are damaged or not working? Sometimes we set these things aside and either forget or get too busy to make a return. That’s free money, folks! Don’t let it slip by you.
3. Stuff You Don’t Use. As we looked at some books we had packed away, I had the thought that since they had been packed away for so long, there may be several books we didn’t actually need. We had packed them away a while back expecting to move. 🙂 It turns out that we found three boxes of books that we simply didn’t need or want. Some have been replaced by Google and some were simply outdated or no longer of interest. We have a local used books store that buys books (shout out to Half Price Books), so we will definitely pay them a visit.
4. Collectables. Some of us have collectibles that we hold on to in hopes that they will have some value one day. Others have those items that they know are of value, and if you are in need of some money, now might be a good time to cash them in. A web search or a quick trip to a local pawn shop or antique dealer might let you know whether or not you have something of value. My wife found some old coins, a collectable, and some hopefully valuable silver and serving sets that she just had in boxes. I will let you know.
5. As We Give, We Receive. We found stuff we just didn’t need and put them in two categories. The stuff we wanted to bless others with (like a nice comforter set) and stuff we could donate for a tax write-off. There are plenty of people who may be looking for what you are getting rid of, and for the rest, you can always take those to Goodwill or another charity that takes donations and provides you with a tax receipt. What you will find is that as you bless others, you will be blessed. Thanks to the universal law of “sowing and reaping†we can never give too much.
So, whose ready for Spring cleaning, NOW?
Putting off those return purchases can really add up. But its always great to discover gift cards which still have money on them! Thanks for the ideas.
Leonard @ The Wallet Doctor recently posted..How to reduce your food costs
Leonard, I’m glad you enjoyed the article. I will be doing an update because I realized you can get more in tax credit for donating books that you often can for selling them to the used book store, unless you own some classics or rare books.