We got a save the date wedding invitation a few days ago to a wedding we would really love to attend. Unfortunately, the wedding is in a very expensive location, and it would cost a lot to go. We would also want to stay a few days if we went- it is an ideal vacation area, and it is very far away, so there would be no point in just going for the wedding weekend.
We were not sure how we would pay for such and expedition and still keep up our current payment schedule. We would not go if it would mean going into debt, and we want our house/student loan paid off ASAP. That's why I'm working right now, and a huge part of getting the stuff paid off is pretending that the money I earn at my job does not exist. We were not sure how we could possibly pay for it, so we accepted that the trip would likely not happen...
...then I had an inspiration. While in a waiting room awhile ago, I picked up a (now defunct) Jane magazine. There was an interesting article about a girl who wanted to buy a particular car, and found that car for a steal. However, she did not have the required $1000 down payment, and the guy would only hold the car for a week. She set out to earn $1000 in that time- and she did it. The wedding is in six months. Because it so far away, we would need to have things like plane tickets a few months before. So we are going to try to earn the extra money we would need to take this trip- without slowing down our current payment schedule for our student loans and mortgage- in the next three months.
We are guessing that we will need about $3000 to finance this trip. I do not know if we can do it, but I love the idea of such a challenge! And if we don't get to go on the trip, at least we will have some extra to send off to our mortgage. I'm not entirely sure how we're going to do it, but I have some thoughts floating around in my head. Stay tuned for our $3000 dollar challenge!
10 comments:
When I wanted a little extra money for something special, I did a little research on E-bay - it took some time but I looked for things that I owned that were going for pretty good prices. (For instance, I had an old paperbook romance that was an early effort by a writer who later became very popular. That book is now out of print and it was selling for $25+ consistently on E-bay. Mine went for $27.50). You might be surprised if you do some searching for items that you currently have! On a few of the things I sold (clothes in my closet that I seldom wore) labels from certain stores made them go high - but I bought them originally on clearance generally. Just an idea. Good luck!
Jane
My husband does this when he wants new things for his stormtrooper costume or Star Wars collection. In fact, he bought his costume that way. He already owned an X-Wing pilot costume that he didn't want anymore. He pieced it out on Ebay and got $1100 for all the parts! He has also made costume pieces for others and has made a fair amount of money doing that.
Lately, he's been doing contract work (he's an internet developer) on the side for a friend, and he's used that money to fund a new costume he needs for a parade in December.
I can't wait to see what you wind up doing to raise that extra money!
That's quite the challenge. I'll be rooting for you!
I'm trying to earn half the money for my next Disney trip in the same way. I found a rewards site called Sunshine Rewards. This month I earned $62. I just wrote a post about it in my blog. I'm not sure how long you have to save, but you could easily earn a few hundred dollars with just a few minutes of taking surveys and clicking No to a bunch of freebie offers. I also shop regular online merchants through their link and get paid back a portion of what I spend.
I have a friend who either delivers phone books or newspapers temporarily for a cash boost of this kind of magnitude. You get up a couple of hours earlier and you have to be diligent about your bedtimes, but it otherwise doesn't cut into daily life. Something to think about.
Fab idea! I'm looking forward to following your progress. :)
We have two weddings in October to finance! We're debt free and intend to stay that way, and these events are so not in the budget! So we've put lots of stuff on Ebay and Craigslist, and are organizing a garage sale! Hopefully this will fully fund both events--we have to attend as we're part of both wedding parties! Good luck!
Hi FH,
I think it's definitely do-able. I've been taking part in the Savingadvice.com $20 Challenge. I've earned over $2000 in new income streams since January 1. I've been tracking the progress on my blog if you're interested (http://threebeansalad.savingadvice.com/0. Basically, this $2000 has come from income streams I wasn't tapping into prior to Jan 1, 2007. For me, this has primarily been babysitting, following by selling on eBay and through classifieds. Good luck!
Wow! Interesting how many people like Ebay and Craigslist. I tend to be too lazy to do the actual work of listing and selling something and just end up giving my extras to Good Will. At least I have the write off.
I can't wait to see how you do on your big Vacation Savings. Dh is saving for a new computer right now and he's working side jobs (contracting) to gather the money. It does take a toll on the family to have him busy during off time but he's motivated. :) I'm sure you will be creative and disciplined in your project.
Duckabush Blog
I am looking forward to coming back and reading about all the frugal ideas you come up with and how you've saved the $$.
Blessings...Lylah
Post a Comment