car boot should i shouldn't i???

alwaystryyourbest

hi i am trying to be morgage free in 4 years so trying to be good with money overpaying between,500 to 1000 a month ,some times more,,.
i love doing car boots,to get rid of things and make some money to throw to mortgage.
but not sure if i should as we don't get much time together as a whole family,,partner works alot but gets saturdays and sundays off,
so my question is it worth losing family time or just do one because it's more money for the mortgage??
i think i know what i should do but it would be nice to see what other people thinks,,

greent

Personally, I'd do the car boots - but limit it to, say, one every month (or fortnightly if you've masses of stuff)

Once you're mortgage free, perhaps partner could work less hours...?

michaels

I asked a question yesterday about where to draw the line between doing everyhtign to become MF and living life but didn't get much response. I have a similar dilemma with matched betting (see the Gambling intro offers loophole board) - I bring in 100GBP plus tax free each month but it often means that just before bedtime I am sitting in bed earning this money and the wife is then either on the phone or watching tv (or both). It is useful money and has taken loads of the mortgage over the last few years but is it the best use of my time?

dimbo61

What does it cost you in petrol and do the family enjoy spending sat and sun going round a market?
Life is too short so take the kids out to the park or seaside instead and shop at lidl or aldi and use quidco,moneysupermarket,cash back CC cards and Martins website to save money!!!

ztan

Carboots are good occassionally... but you do have to learn where to draw the line.

Having a life is just as important as not having a mortgage. My partner works lots of overtime and has been trying to keep it up so we'll have lots of cash when we move into our new home- but it was having a massive impact on our relationship. I was also trying to do overtime, but even doing one hour meant for me that I was doing 14 hour days, for £8 extra a day in my pay packet. It wasn't worth it.

Spending quality time together is important, but you can build it into your MFW ways. My partner and I go for walks a few times a week- it means we getting much needed exercise, we're spending one on one time together, and it costs nothing to sit and watch the sun go down on the beach.

LilacPixie

I am having a similar issue/problem. We have alot of stuff that is too glood to bin, ebay is fine but I work FT and getting to postoffice can sometimes be difficult. we have so much clutter a car boot would probably be a good way to raise cash and get rid of clutter without feeling guilty that I have binned something totally servicable and usable.

I then feel guilty because with our working hours to minimise the need for childcare plus the work I do in the evening on my website/stock weekends are the only time we get to spend together as a family and I am not convinced any potential 'profit' is worth the saturday spent sorting things out and the sunday at the actual car boot.

A bit like the whole matched betting thing. I have read the guides multiple times, I understand the concept and the methodology but at the moment I just cannot find the time to do it without impacting on my family.

I think that as the car boot season is really only spring/summer maybe limting them to 3-4 which should minimise the impact on your family.

LittleTinker

You could get the family involved.

Depending on how old the kids are I suppose, but you could ask them to help you pack up the boxes and write any labels or signs that you might want. Ask the kids how they would set out the stall too.

Also, you can get the kids to sort out some of their own bits and pieces for their own mini sale along side yours.......maybe you can throw in some of your bits and pieces too. And tell them that they can buy something new with the money they make.....or put it towards a trip to the seaside or something.

At the sale, if you take everyone along, you can take it in turns to walk round the car boot sale and see if the kids can see anything nice or if you can see any bargains that you could resell on your own stall next time.

If you get there early, the mad rush is usually over by 11.30 ish......so you still will have the afternoon for some fun time

SallyEddis

i think once a month would be a great idea, then you can have best of both worlds!!! You cant get the time back to treasure what time you do have to spend with each other!

Mara_uk7

Car booting is fun and can be profitable, Eba7 used to be good but the postage is killing it. We sell stuff on th Fb local marketplace page, no fees and the buyer collects ... So much easier and FREE !

EchoDelta

SallyEddis wrote: »

i think once a month would be a great idea, then you can have best of both worlds!!! You cant get the time back to treasure what time you do have to spend with each other!

I agree with this. Every week seems too much to me personally. Monthly you should still get rid of lots of stuff.