Learn to control money but do not allow it to control you

ninky_2

ebay - we tried it for a while but gave up. you have to have items that people search for and think about how they search for them. if it is a designer label put this in the title and description for example. selling on ebay is not like selling in a shop where people can look around and see something they like, they have to actively search for it. so you can have the best product in the world but if no one can find it they won't by it. did you get many views for your evening gown? i bet not.


i also don't like the seller fees or paypal.

Firewalker

Ninky,

to answer your question - not really. There was someone who was 'watching' it and it all came to nothing. To persist, or not to persist - this is the question. To try to sell the things we have but have not used and will, probably, never use; or to consent defeat and call it a day with E-bay.

It might have also been because we listed it on a free listing weekend - everybody lists then and items get lost in the plenty. Getting the text right is important - oh, selling...

Firewalker

Firewalker

It is not very often that one enjoys good news and it is very rare that one enjoys two pieces of good news on the same day. In this respect yesterday was a great day. First, Mouseann’s news was great – congratulations Ann and well done Mr NID. My heart goes to one of you and my hat goes off to the other.

And just when one thinks that nothing can even come close to this, a young and attractive Bulgarian tennis player, an underdog, beats Venus Williams. Emphasis on ‘Bulgarian’ and on ‘underdog’ – I am Bulgarian as well; not so young but still attractive (when I feel really brave or get really drunk might post a photo of me). And the girl is not seated – but one interesting thing was she said she knew she will beat Venus and just got on with it.

Today is the last day of June and of course the day for the monthly financial report. My accounts show that we are £26.5 in the red but I am not too bothered – in fact I think we did really well. Remember, this was the month of numerous visits to the osteopath (both by me and OH; and although we have insurance it covers only a proportion of the costs); of purchasing a tent and some camping stuff (let just hope that we will use it more than once) and of going to our friend’s birthday party last week (bought a present, stayed in B&B and costs of petrol). And of course we should not forget the ice-cream maker which has already paid for itself in delicious ice-cream (which I have stopped eating because now I know how much cream and sugar goes in it). Shouldn’t forget that it was also son number two’s birthday and our wedding anniversary – a very expensive month which we ended only £26.5 in the red.

I am not too worried also because we are not overdrawn – quite the reverse since I had a payment of expenses which we absorbed last month. In fact we are going to transfer £400 in the savings account.

So the financial health situation stands as follows:

January 2010 – (-£95,000)
July 2010 – (-£75,994)

Paid off: £19,006 (20%)
Emergency fund: £4,550

Good night and speak soon.

Firewalker

savingwannabe

Wonderful news. Would you mind if i copied the top part of your post to ann and Mr Nid?

I do love the domino effect of good news.

Well done on your month too Firewalker. I am too scared to post my picture i am not in debt but i have a nasty brother and horrid work colleagues who probably use this site as they work in commerce. Yuk!!!

williamD1964

Hi, I see the figures and I smile. Am envious to the point of turning green! Keep up the good work, just wish I could hit the credit cards as hard! Watched the tennis, was a good game, your countrywoman deserved her victory. Just a shame that Mr Murray won. Am I the only one who has taken a dislike to the guy? May have to get hold of this NID fellow. I know I signed for my Natwest card ages ago and maybe he could help me!

savingwannabe

Catch him now Jim he is on Mouseann's thread or his unenforceability thread. he is amazing a real hero.

never-in-doubt

This "NID Fellow" is here - PM me if you guys need any help regards unenforceability or defaults / ccj removal.....

All the best everyone, SW - stop trying to tout for business, anyone would think i'm living a life of freedom, why else do you think i'm here plodding on at 4am! :rotfl: :rotfl:

Take care all.....

Firewalker

Good morning NID, do you ever sleep? Or are you planning to sleep after the complete and total victory over corrupt banks and other financial institutions?

Look after yourself
Firewalker

debbiedeejay

Hi Firewalker

Your evening dress sounds lovely but I think you are right - putting it on when its a free listing weekend was probably not the best time .

Maybe nearer to Christmas may be best or nearer to the "cruise" season (if there is one!) - ladies will be looking then for a new evening dress.

Or why not try a dress agency if there is one near you? Yes they will take some commision but its another possible way of selling good quality clothes.
have a great camping weekend -will be thinking of you all!:)

Firewalker

Today Pironkova lost - I didn’t watch the game but checked on the news. Did this diminish her triumph? Probably not – after all, she was ranked 82nd and got to the Wimbledon semi-finals. She is very young and even I, who doesn’t understand tennis (which in my case applies to all ball games), could see that she combines speed and strength. Till next year...

Today, I was looking through my old posts and they made me smile. Someone recently posted on this tread saying that ‘...it can’t be that hard’ and that ‘one should live within their means’. But reading through my old posts made me realise two things – we have come a really long way and yes, it is really hard.

We have come a long way one aspect of controlling money – namely controlling expenditure. Last month’s accounts made me feel really happy and grateful – we are, and always were, among the lucky ones who have plenty – remember ‘I have plenty of nothing and nothing is plenty for me’. We live a full life – and our life at the moment is probably fuller that it was before. It is fuller, because although by watching what we spend we have cut down rather dramatically, by using some of the techniques I have been finding and/or working out we are not deprived. We don’t waste, we have become inventive about rest and recreation, we take full advantage of different offers and I don’t spend on small rubbish. Really guys, with a bit of thinking, ingenuity and inventiveness, life doesn’t have to ‘stink’ without spending all the time. Protected wants, however, are absolutely vital in the whole cutting down spending thing if it is to be sustainable. This is the way to be able to afford most of what one wants without getting into financial trouble.

It is really hard for two reasons. One, living within one’s means when these have been reduced takes a lot of creativity and ingenuity. And second, figuring out how to extend the means will take some doing. This is what I have started focusing upon – the question how to extend my means, and the means of the family unit. I want to extend our means without compromising my core beliefs and/or my ethical foundation. Extending our means will have to be sustainable without being restrictive. This means that we can try and sell what we don’t want and even more – but in the long run this is not sustainable and we will run out. I can try and get a highly paid management job but I will be getting into a straight jacket again – so it is restrictive.

Now you see why, whilst I am finding this whole process quite fun – in a very bizarre kind of way – I don’t think it is simple.

About the saying/thought of the day, we are moving to Woody Allen.

“I am not afraid of death; I just don’t want to be there when it happens.’

Firewalker