One Cent At A Time

A Personal finance blog for saving money and earning more and thus having a better life

5 Sacrifices To Get a Goody For Free

16 Comments

Few years back, when we decided that it is time to buy a camcorder, I was not aware of frugal living. All I knew was that I need to buy a camcorder without affecting my bank balance.

I had the money in my checking account to buy several camcorders, but wanted to have it without spending my bank balance or credit limit. I termed it, in that sense, as ‘Money Discovery’.

We considered many ideas to discover the hidden wealth, I researched about eBay and Craigslist, noted down many tips to become successful seller. We surveyed our belongings and listed sale worthy items. We discussed on how we can cut on some of the ‘not so necessary’ expenses, how we can fish some money before it flushes out.


And, after 4 months of deprivation, we finally treated ourselves with a camcorder

Here are the 5 sacrifices listed

  1. Got rid of some old faithful companions: I sold some of old, unused and unwanted furniture and electronics on eBay and Craigslist. I sacrificed a few favorite items of mine. I made $59 this way
  2. A little side business: I was experimenting with eBay business. For two months I regularly visited garage sales and bought some valuable stuff for cheap garage sale price. In turn I sold them on Craigslist and kept the difference. (I discontinued this practice after 2 months, but honestly this is good business model, but you have to quit your day job to earn significant money out of this business). You can do a little babysitting, writing articles, part-time evening job etc. There are many articles freely available over the internet on how to find part-time income opportunities. I made $150 this way, sales proceeds  came directly to my Paypal account, I took out my investment amount to checking account, and kept only the profit in Paypal. I sacrificed few hours of personal time doing this.
  3. Reduced eating out frequency: Reduced our weekly eating out to bi-weekly, and deposited $20 for each missed dinner for 3 months in my PayPal account. I made $120 this way. I sacrificed some quality time with my wife.
  4. Saved on auto insurance: I shopped furiously to get a cheaper auto insurance, once I got the cheaper insurance, for 4 months, I kept on depositing the difference between old monthly premium and new monthly premium in my PayPal account. I made $87 this way.  I really did not sacrifice anything apart from few hours finding quotes.
  5. I started commuting in colleagues car: I returned this favor to him as soon as my goal was achieved, and became his chauffeur for next 4 months. I kept aside $15 each month while I was getting driven to office.  $15 was the approximate save on monthly gasoline bill for those 4 months. I made $60 this way, transferred this money from checking account to PayPal. I Sacrificed my freedom for few months.

Now at end of 4 months, in my PayPal account I had $476, it was enough for the Sony model we were after.

You might wonder, why am I saying this was ‘free’ ? It is not uncommon that do not get enough bothered as long as our monthly expenditure remains constant or declines as compared to previous month’s.

My financial statements showed that I did not increase my spending in last 4 weeks, I had the anticipated money in my checking account what I was supposed to be having after all regular expenses and investments.

It was a camcorder for free!

I spent 2 days bidding for the camcorder under my PayPal balance, including shipping charges. And, when I finally made the winning bid, my wife and I, both smiled, a smile of satisfaction, of achieving a goal, however small it was.

If you have noticed in my other posts, I am not specifically mentioning what you should do or should not do, rather I concentrate on narrating my way of doing things, my way of investing and my way of living frugal. I sincerely hope my readers will find value in this narration and discover the hidden messages themselves. It can be hidden money, hidden wisdom or a hidden opportunity.

Do leave a comment if you want to share your opinion about my small financial success. Interested readers, if you want to read about other topics of interest, do share with me. I will be happy to research and write for you.

If you have enjoyed reading this post, do share with your friends, and be my Twitter and Facebook follower.

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About the Blogger Hi I am , a personal finance enthusiast with a career in software development. I am an immigrant to the USA since 2005, after being born and brought up in India. This 40 something technocrat lives and breathes personal finance whenever he gets time from the day job, job as a husband and a dad

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Comments

  1. This is such a great resource that you are providing and you give it away for free. I enjoy seeing websites that understand the value of providing a prime resource for free. I truly loved reading your post. Thanks!

    Reply

    • Yes blogs do provide useful information free of cost, if we charge then no one will read, as magazine powerhouses do provide many such information for free any way. I have a day job, I am not dependent on add revenue. But some people out there quit their day jobs to concentrate on writing. Blogs are a good vehicle to earn living.

      If you want to share your experience, you are welcome to be my guest author.

      Reply

  3. Thank you all of you for your nice and kind comments. Do point out the scope for improvements too. I will consider my job well done if I repeatedly receive your comments. You guys are proving to be the real energy booster at this moment.

    Reply

  4. Thanks Louis, it might be due to my background of British English, from my home country. Really appreciate your liking.

    Reply

  5. Thanks for your comments. I would appreciate if you write your own experience if you want to share with other readers. Be my guest writer.

    Reply

  10. I just added your blog site to my blogroll, I pray you would give some thought to doing the same.

    Reply

    • This is very educative. The way you achieved is not new or unique, but need a good amount of tenacity. If I see it clearly, you really paid for the camcorder, in terms of time and energy. Which is required to earn money. So I won’t say You got really for free

      Reply

  12. You may have not intended to do so, but I think you’ve managed to express the state of mind that a lot of individuals are in. The sense of wanting to aid, but not knowing how or wherever, is one thing a lot of us are going through.

    Reply

  13. Hi, I am very pleased to find your useful information via Google today. It really is helpful for everyone who searching to receive info regarding this topic. I am confident that everyone can apply for their own use. Thank you and looking forward to read more from you.

    Reply

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