"yes money"

The vacations that we're taking this week were planned and put in the 2011 budget so that we would have the money in the bank and not go into debt!  (I love knowing that there will not be a credit card bill waiting for us when we get home!)  But before we left I "found" some extra money here and there that I've tucked away for our Chattanooga trip.

I'm calling it my "yes money".  My 12 year old is SOOOOO used to hearing me say "no" when he asks me to buy something that I thought it would be nice for him to hear "yes" for a change.  My thoughts are that the "yes money" will go towards things like extra souvenirs, snacks or sightseeing things he might like to do that I hadn't already planned.   He has brought his own money to spend as well, but it'll be fun for me to treat him to things that I normally wouldn't at home!

So where did I find my "yes money"?
$95 - an insurance check for his braces (that were removed 7 months ago) that I wasn't expecting to get
$6 - sold a movie on half.com
$7 - found in my coat pocket
$19 - survey money
$5 - sold a book on half.com

So...to my 12 year old, "Yes honey, you can get that!"  ...but once it runs out....

a half.com sale and things to do today

I did pretty good with my to-do list yesterday and having it posted on-line, I think, encouraged me to work harder to get things crossed off!

Here's my list for today:
Drink 64 oz water
any kind of exercise - tennis for 1.5 hours
Eat 5 servings of fruits/veggies - 4 so far w/my Green Monster
Clip coupons for The Grocery Game
log my spending for April
vacuum upstairs
get snacks/drinks for son's baseball game
Prep movie to mail for half.com sale

In the past I've always listed my things to be sold on e-bay.  I've read that many bloggers use half.com to get rid of stuff.  Last week I posted a Danielle Steel book, but haven't had any takers yet.  Yesterday I listed (and priced to sell!) 2 movies that I watched over the weekend.  (At Blockbuster I bought 3 movies for $20.  One if for my son and he loves it and wants to keep it.  The other 2 were for me and I didn't like the movies well enough to want to watch them again in the future.  I started to put the movies in the donations box and remembered half.com!!!)  Anyway, I listed the movies for $4.99 each and have already sold one!  So, that'll be about $5 to add to our Family Fun Fund when the $$ comes in!  We should have a nice little amount in the fund by the time fall rolls around!

Last week my youngest son and I weeded out his baby books that he doesn't want anymore.  Several of them are hardbacks and in great condition.  I think I'll check half.com and see if there is any demand for children's books.  It may be worth it to list a couple just to see if anyone wants to buy them!

we "found" $40 this week!

I mentioned the other day ways I was trying to "find" some money and contribute to our Special Family Fun Fund (SFFF). I sold 2 things on ebay this week! A pair of youth snowboots and a great ski jacket (both outgrown by the boys). Between these two ebay sales, I netted about $40. Add the $52 cash that we got in exchanged for our rolled coins and our "SFFF" is up to $92! Not too bad...

What are some ways that you've been successful in "finding" extra money?

Edited to add...my neighbor just brought over my earnings from her garage sale last weekend. $15! Whoo Hoo! Not much, but that will put us over the $100 mark on our SFFF!