From time to time, you need to de-clutter your home. Clearing out the junk will help you become more efficient at home, will make your living space look larger or more welcoming and can make you a bunch of money.
Let’s take a look at what is in your home that you should sell right away. Things that are only losing value if you hold on to them longer. Grab them all up and have a garage sale for a few hours on a Sunday or sell them one by one.
Cell Phones
A lot of people like to hold on to an old cellular phone, just as a backup. This is a mistake in many cases because what you are holding on to is a depreciating asset. Would you hold on to a car as a backup? Of course not, because you know that it is only losing value as it gets older. The same can be said for your phone.
As far as selling your old phone, you have several options. There are many kiosks in malls, such as Eco ATM, where you can sell your phone and get money instantly. These are convenient but may only be available in larger cities.
Another option is to sell the phone yourself on eBay. If you have a high demand phone such as a high end Samsung or just about any Apple product, it should sell quickly.
One final option is to sell it via the mail with a service like Gazelle. All you have to do is visit their website to get a quote. If you like the offer, they will even pay for shipping and you get your money as soon as they receive your old phone.
One note that you must keep in mind is to be sure to wipe your phone completely. There is a lot of personal information on a cell phone, so be sure to do a full reset to return it to factory settings and clear the memory.
Used Clothing & Accessories
If you have a taste for high end clothing and purses, you probably like to get newer stuff all of the time. What are you doing with your old fashion gear though.
Well, if you have kept it in good condition, you can get some of your money back by selling it.
The best way to ditch your old clothes and get some cash is to visit a resale shop. Places like Plato’s closet and many others will buy it and give you cash the same day. There is no point in holding on to this stuff if you no longer wear it or use it and it is only losing value, so cash in.
Gift Cards
Every holiday, if you are like most people, you get a gift card or two. Sometimes these cards are to places that you like to visit and other times, the card misses the target.
This is money though and it, like everything else on this list, is a depreciating asset. Most companies have fine print in the gift card agreement that allows them to start depreciating the card after a certain period. It could start losing money in as soon as little as one year, so get rid of them before 500 dollars in cards turns into 400 or worse.
Places like Cardpool will allow you to sell those old cards or even exchange them for a card at some place that you will actually use it. It is easy and you can see your offer online.
Old Gifts
It is not only gift cards that miss the mark from time to time, actual physical gifts do as well. You probably have a few gifts unopened in your closet. Sure, you could keep them and re-gift them but you could end up in an embarrassing moment if you give them to the wrong person.
A far better option is to sell them. If your gift is unopened, you should be able to sell it rather easily on eBay or locally using an app like LetGo.
Another option, and probably a better one, if you know where the gift came from is to take it back to the store in question. Even without a receipt, you may be able to exchange it for store credit. That would allow you to get back the full retail value of the gift without settling for a low-ball offer.
Sporting Goods
We are all guilty of taking up hobbies that we give up on. We might have tried to get into golf or perhaps wanted to get into weight lifting but it never took. It is not a horrible thing to try new things, in fact it is a good thing, but it can leave you with a lot of stuff that is useless to you.
Luckily, this stuff is very easy to sell. If you do not want to sell it yourself, you can find a consignment store or sell it directly to a used sporting goods store such as Play It Again Sports.
Another option is to just sell it yourself online. Exercise equipment like treadmills in particular sells well at places like Craigslist but be prepared to take a pretty good hit. Exercise equipment in particular depreciates rather quickly.
Wrapping Things Up
If you take a quick look around your home, you may be surprised at just how much stuff that you have to sell. There are a lot of categories that are not even mentioned above such as used electronics, jewelry, etc. Why not take a clothes basket and make a run through your home and see what you have. Get rid of the clutter and get a pocket full of money that you can use to boost your savings.