Craigslist

I am no stranger to selling or buying things off of ebay or craigslist. For the past two years, my goal has been to not spend a penny for Christmas gifts. What I mean by that is, I will only spend what I make from selling things that we no longer want. It's worked out really great the past couple of years.

I would go searching the house for unwanted or un-played with items and post them on craigslist. Since, I tend to buy bargained items anyways, I generally make the same amount as what I paid. Usually, if I paid retail, it's an item the kids really wanted and those items we usually keep.

You never know what people are going to buy. My husband was just going to throw away his Law Books, but I decided to post them anyway. Fortunately, for us, they sold!

When selling any item on craigslist, make sure you spend the extra time cleaning and making it look as new as possible. People are more likely to offer less for an item that is dirty or run down. If it is clean and polished, you can ask more for it.

Just because it's craigslist doesn't mean that you can't sell new items as well. I bought this handbag at such a great price, I couldn't bear to return it so I sold it on craigslist and got a hefty profit which enabled me to buy the purse that I really wanted at the price I wanted.

It's worked out so far from the items that we sell, we make enough to buy new gifts. Three months until Christmas and our Christmas savings fund from Craigslist is nearly there. Maybe we'll have enough this year for some birthday money as well. What's even better is the space that we have gained by purging the things we no longer need and making a little extra along the way. Things that we don't sell (like clothing and shoes), we'll donate.

Since every post is better with a picture. Here's a pic of the boys (A. wasn't born yet).

Probably the only Asian Santa you will ever see. "Hey, Santa, you look awfully familiar."