Finances & Money • Frugality

Funding My Fun Fund

By J. Savings

The following is a guest post from “J" from Budgets are Sexy. I was fortunate enough to meet J at a Personal Finance blogger happy hour recently and got to know more about the man behind the mohawk. J definitely puts personality into his financial articles, which makes his site a great read. Head over and consider subscribing to his RSS feed!

Well that’s a mouth full, eh? Fun Fund in itself is a hard one, but funding my fun fund, well that’s just crazy talk! but i digress…

What is a “Fun Fund”?

My “Fun Fund” – An allocated place to hold all side monies earned; to be spent on anything my heart desires, no questions asked.

Mine officially started a good 4-5 months ago, even though i’ve always bought myself a thing or two a month as I see fit. Nothing huge like over $50, but things here and there for like $20 or $35, etc. It feels good knowing you can buy yourself nice things w/out putting much thought into it.

I think it’s important for everyone to have a certain amount set aside for anything he/she wants, with no worries or psychological strings attached. Sorta like that “pay yourself first” mentality. Some people add $20 per paycheck to it, or $50 a month, or simply fund it w/ outside money brought in like myself.

Currently I have exactly $265 in my fun fund. I know this cuz it’s a huge wad of cash in a cool pirates-chest-looking thing on my night stand at home. Although hardcore pf’ers might think it’s better to invest it somewhere, and then take it as you need it, it just wouldn’t work for me….i’ll never want to spend it! This way, i take the cash w/ me when i go out shopping and use it when i find something. And if i forget to bring it, i just re-imburse myself from it so all is even.

This is how i got the $265, or rather the $350+ (when i first started):

I SELL THINGS!

haha…here’s how:

1) I walk around the house looking for things i don’t need and/or want. Seriously! I think it drives Mrs. Budgetsaresexy crazy sometimes 🙂 Be sure to peruse your OWN stuff though, not those of others. Drawers are also a great place. If you’re like me and randomly throw stuff in them, only to forget years later what’s actually in them. If you’re not sure about parting w/ an item, just ask yourself this: “Would i rather have $XX in cash for it?”

2) Clean/brush off said items, and snap 3-4 pictures of them. This is important, as a pretty picture definitely helps sell the item…even if said item is ugly or super-old. Someone will usually want it!

3) Sell them! I prefer to use Craigslist first, and then eBay if i don’t get any hits. Although there are more flakers on CL, i find the face-to-face action much more pleasant, and i usually dispose of the item quicker as well. Plus, it doesn’t cost you anything and you don’t have to worry about mailing issues. If i don’t sell it on CL after two weeks (includes 1 re-post), then i’ll give eBay a shot. I tend to list a “buy it now” price and to also upload all the pics I have of the item in order to get rid of it quicker. There are tons of other options out there too like yard sales, estate sales, and more if you do some quick research.

The $ you get in return is not only nice, but makes you feel like you really EARNED it! I think there’s a great deal of pride in that, even if it’s silly 🙂 Out of the 4-5 months doing this, i’ve now sold 5 track jackets, 2 winter coats, a baseball jersey, pair of pants, picture frame, super old stove, printer/fax machine, and a sword! hahah….i’m telling you, there are people out there that want your stuff. and Stuff = money, money, moneyyyyyy!