If you are like me then you watch all those ridiculous TLC Extreme Couponing shows filled with jealousy, resentment, and envy. Now, I realize that the show is called Extreme for a reason and buying $3,000.00 worth of groceries and the store paying you to take them away (yes, I know I'm exaggerating a little) is a bit over the top. Still, I wish it were a daily reality not just a reality show. My brother (who at the time had no children) once asked me if having a family was expensive. I think my lip was bleeding I bit it so hard, but not laughing directly in his face was a personal triumph for me. Of course it is expensive! Everything is more expensive when you have a family. Trying to make paper money stretch without anything bouncing is a balancing act that single-income families accept as part of the deal. Our family has to do without some of the luxuries of 2-income families and that's okay, because Mommy is not a luxury I want my children to do without.
I use coupons and we only buy the things that are on sale. I make my husband's lunch to take to work every day. I have had a few of those awesome shopping trips where I saved 90% on my grocery bill and I wanted to frame it. However, it still takes a lot to keep a family of 7 well-fed and in clothes as the little ones grow (and the big ones grow too, but we don't talk about that). Adding birthday gifts, shoes, and other things to the budget is not always a possibility. To help clean out the items in our home we no longer need and purchase the ones we do need, I started selling on ebay.
Like most people I started using ebay to buy not sell. I don't remember the first few items I bought on ebay, but I remember the one that really got me hooked. I absolutely knew I was having a girl when I was pregnant the second time, but my darling husband didn't want me running out to buy a house-full of pink as soon as we found out we were expecting. I had to wait until the ultrasound (you see how completely unreasonable he can be, don't you?) Well, in the meantime, Gymboree had the cutest newborn layette collection I had ever seen. It was bright pink cupcakes and it was just the sweetest. I had to have it, but if I waited until the ultrasound it might be sold out. And it was. By the time we found out our little bundle of joy was really going to be Joy all the cute cupcake things were gone. I turned to ebay and got it for half price. I was hooked.
I started selling items much later. (The only reason I started selling was to support my ebay shopping addiction) Now, I sell on ebay as often as I can make time (which is sometimes in the middle of the night, but, hey, it works). Ebay has become a way for me to add to our income without taking too much time or energy away from more important things like my husband, my children, and the housework (yes, the housework is important too). I tend to buy items for my kids at a significant discount either on ebay or in stores, let the kids wear them for a season or two, and then sell them for as much as or more than I originally paid. This way I am able to keep up with all 5 kids and their growth spurts without it taking a huge amount out of our tight budget.
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