Many people find it hard to believe that my moderately sized Vancouver family can live the way that we do with only one income. While I may not have a job and I am a full time stay at home mom, I do bring in an income. I use the things that we already have to bring in gas money, money for vacation as well as money to put aside for saving throughout the year. It is not money that is ever missed because it is extra. Here are four simple ways that you can help your Vancouver family make money from what you already have.
- Garage Sales-This may seem like a simple solution, because it is. Throughout the year, instead of donating all of the kid’s items they cannot wear, or all those items in the house we no longer want, we keep them all in the storage unit on the back of the house then we sell it at our own garage sale during the summer. On average, selling our things like this brings in at least $100.
- Consignment Shops-Often times, we end up with too much things throughout the year to store it all. Some items such as clothing, we will take to a consignment shop to sell for us. This helps keep the storage to a minimum and helps to bring in cash we can use for other clothes for the boys as they continue to grow.
- Community Postings-My husband is a horse trader by choice. Instead of paying for something outright and keeping all the toys that he buys, he trades them for newer toys that he wants. We have come into cars, games systems, toys, clothes, movies and electronics by trading the things that he no longer wants to play with. I use community postings to post ads for child care, house cleaning and other services I can offer so that we can have a bit of extra cash and so that I can get out of the house. My husband has not figured out yet that the little kids that come over every occasionally do not belong to our friends. He does not know that we are making money on Anthony's "play dates."
- Offer Lessons-This might sound silly, but everyone learned to do something through someone. I offer lessons in baking, scrapbooking, and acrylic nail application. My husband will teach anyone how to do things to fix cars or their computers. Because we are not professionals in these subjects, we do not get to charge as much, but we get many people asking because we do not charge as much as Clark College or a professional that knows the same information.
- Can Deposits-Because Vancouver drinking water is unsafe for consumption, we drink a lot of bottled water. Those bottles add up quickly and can take up a lot of room. Washington does not offer a bottle return, but Oregon does and we are five minutes away from the border. Taking back cans has some limitations as each individual can only have up to $7.41 a day, but if you bring more people with you, each person can cash in that limit. We go once a month and end up with roughly $40 from a product we continue to purchase.
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