Holiday Planning Series with the Squash Brothers, part II, cash management

Watch our Holiday Planning Series, Part II, as Steven and the Squash Brothers discuss cash flow planning so you have more to spend (or to save!).

Next time, debt management.

Side Hussle Series – Declutter & Make Money

We all have things lying around our homes that we have no use for anymore. Instead of holding on to them, sell them to someone who wants them and who will pay you for them. Look around, if you have unwanted electronics, clothes, furniture, books or CDs and DVDs, there’s a market.

Used Electronics – Those old phones, computers and tablets sitting around your home could make you some quick cash. Companies such as www.Gazelle.com, www.BuyMyTronics.com, www.NextWorth.com and www.uSell.com want your used electronics and will pay you for them. The items don’t even need to work! The process is largely the same for all four companies. Simply go to their websites, get a quote for your unwanted electronics, ship the items and get paid. These companies all provide free shipping and some are associated with national retailers so you can get paid right away.

Clothes, Shoes & Handbags – If you’re like me, you have items in your closet that you haven’t worn in years and chances are, you will never wear them! Consignment shops are a great option for helping you free up some closet space while making a little extra dough. A quick Google search will bring up consignment shops in your area. If you don’t have one nearby, try www.thredup.com. Thredup will mail you a bag for your unwanted items, with a shipping label so you can send your goods to them at no cost to you. They review your items and pay you up to 80% of the resale value of your clothes. Items that they don’t accept are either donated to a charity, recycled or mailed back to you.

If you have luxury clothing, jewelry or bags, you can try selling them through www.therealreal.com. They pay up to 70% of the item’s sale price. Like Thredup, The RealReal will send you a bag to mail in your luxury items. Alternatively, you may schedule a “White Glove Pick-up” with your Luxury Manager.

Furniture & Home Accessories – Like selling used clothing, consignment shops may be a good solution for selling your unwanted furniture and home accessories. These shops generally charge 50% of the sale price, but there are some advantages to selling this way. Namely that the consignment shops do the marketing for you and secondly, you don’t have to worry about strangers coming to your home. If you want to cut out the middleman, try www.Craigslist.com. Craigslist allows you to list items for free and buyers come to you. 100% of the sales proceeds are yours.

CDs and DVDs – Many independent music stores sell used CDs and DVDs. Search online for local shops in your area. Depending on the number of CDs and DVDs you are wanting to sell, they can often sort through your goods and let you know how much they can offer while you wait.

Books – There are plenty of online companies that are willing to buy back your unwanted books and text books. www.BookScouter.com will simplify the work for your by scanning 40 other websites and let you know which one will offer you the best price. For text books, www.amazon.com offers the most competitive buyback prices according to www.ExtraBucks.com.

With a little effort and some “letting go” you can free up some extra space and make a few extra bucks!

Budgets? “We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Budget”

Budgets rarely work. It takes tremendous effort to accurately record all transactions so that you have a valid budget. Then, frequently, after all this effort, you rarely come back to the budget. That means that the work had no payoff. Furthermore, people often claim that they had nonrecurring expenses. Doing so, they artificially understate their expenses, not realizing each year has some nonrecurring event.

A much easier way to test savings is to take a twelve-month period, look at cash and credit card balances at the beginning and end, check for any inflows from gifts or other non-salary items, and then measure the change. Did the cash accounts go up or did the credit cards go up? That is your savings/dis-savings for that year.

Rather than doing a budget to adjust behavior, force a change. You can do that by removing money from your discretionary spending by contributing the maximum to a 401(k) plan, by an auto debit that put funds into an investment account, and other auto payments. If your credit card balances go up, then you have to make a decision to alter behavior, such as cutting entertainment, or decide to delay goals (retire later, no new car now, etc.)

How does cash flow relate to debts? Managing your debt means getting the lowest after-tax interest rate so that you pay as much principle with each payment to pay off the loan as quickly as possible. You can deduct the interest paid on a mortgage and an equity line of credit debt. You can deduct up to $2,500 of student loan debt. But you cannot deduct the interest on most other debt, unless used for your business (watch for a post on side hussles).