Decluttr -Sell Old CDs and Other Clutter – $10 Signup and $10 Referral Bonus

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decluttrDecluttr is an online service that allows you to sell your old CDs, DVDs, books, mobile phones,  and electronics. To sell your stuff you just go to the site enter the barcode of the item and get an offer. Once you’ve confirmed your order, pack all of your items – CDs, DVDs, Games, Blu-Rays and Books – into a box. Then you print a free shipping label and drop the box off at your nearest UPS shipping center. After your stuff arrives at Decluttr they will pay you the next day.

I have tried Decluttr myself and it was a pretty easy process and they did pay as they said. I sold about 20-25 CDs for a total of $10 and change. That wasn’t much, but these are CDs that hadn’t been listened to in years and would otherwise have been donated or thrown away. The $10 was just enough of an incentive to motivate me to get rid of the CDs. Now that I have verified that Decluttr works I’m going to get rid of the rest of the CDs in the house.

If you would like to sign up for Decluttr you can get a $10 bonus by clicking through my referral link and using my referral code DXR9HCGXYL. You need to sell Decluttr at least $10 of stuff to qualify for the $10 bonus.  I’ll receive a $10 bonus for the first ten qualified referrals as well.  Once you have signed up and qualified for the $10 sign up bonus you can refer new users and receive $10 per qualified referral for up to ten referrals.  That means you could make $10 for signing up and $100 for referring  your friends. That isn’t a bad deal for getting rid of some extra clutter.

How Your Company Can Make Smart Decisions For Online Operations

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By now, every business owner and entrepreneur knows that having a great online presence is essential for overall success. However, making the decisions necessary to building your online presence can be quite stressful. From choosing web hosting and design packages to devising online marketing strategies, becoming a brand with a powerful online presence can seem overwhelming.

It’s possible for your company to navigate their online sales and marketing without hitting any roadblocks, however. Here are some smart tips on how your company can make smart decisions for online operations.

Do Your Homework

This sounds like it should be obvious for just about any business decision, but you’d be surprised how many entrepreneurs rush into things without really stopping to consider their other options. Whether it’s your web hosting plan or a prospective marketing firm that claims it will be able to take your business to the next level, it’s essential that you make decisions slowly and with a lot of consideration. When it comes to your business, never rush into things. Even if a company is touting a “limited time offer,” always really consider things before signing any contracts.

Compare Services

There are many companies out there devoted to helping companies to expand and improve their presence on the internet. They all have their own pros and cons. For this reason, it’s essential that you take the time to compare services. Look for companies that have a track record of success with brans similar to yours, as what’s ideal for one brand might not be so ideal for another.

Know The Value Of Design

These days customers tend to make a lot of split second decisions. With the plethora of goods and services available online, customers are more inclined to be swayed by first impressions. This is why great design is so important. Customers will often make buying decisions based on the emotions that the design of a website or logo evokes within them. For this reason, it’s crucial that your design is something that you’ve put a lot of work and thought into, rather than something you assemble haphazardly to get it over with.

Create A Budget

It can be easy to overspend when you’re launching your online brand. For this reason, you should lay out a budget before you begin looking at different services and hosting providers. By knowing how much you’re willing to spend in each area from the beginning, you’re less likely to go over budget.

Creating a home for your company on the internet can be a challenge, but it’s integral for your company’s success. Customers are attracted to companies with stellar online presences, so make sure that your brand is up to par.

September 2016 Net Worth Update

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penniesIn order to keep track of my financial progress or lack of progress I have decided to calculate my net worth each month.

My net worth as of 9/1/2016 is as follows.

Assets
Cash – $3313.19 (-$1080.23)
IRA – $23,904.31 (+$64.57)
Roth IRA – $10,378.74 (+$58.49)
Solo 401k – 992.54 (NA)
Car/Stuff – $4600 (-$100)

Liabilities
Student Loan – $129,663.70 ($111.47)

Net Worth = $-86,474.92

My net worth increased by $46.84 since the last update. An increase is better than a decrease but my net worth is still less than it was in July. I need some bigger increases. I’ve put in a couple of job applications the past week. I’m hoping one of those comes through so I can increase my income.

Although I paid over $700 on my student loan last month the balance only decreased a little over $100. Since the loan charges over $600 a month interest it is really difficult to make progress on paying down the loan. I need to increase my income dramatically to be able to get ahead on this loan.

I’ve been using Personal Capital (affiliate link) to help track my net worth. It keeps track of all of my financial accounts and my student loan making it pretty easy to calculate my net worth each month. It is free to sign up. If you would like to sign up I’d appreciate you using my link. All blog income, including affiliate income, goes to paying down my student loan.

Personal Capital

August Income – $1824.38

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Here is a breakdown of my income for August.

Job $0
Interest $1.52
Online Income $143.40
Amazon FBA $1551.92
Uber $7.61
Cash Back $119.93
Total $1824.38

My income was pretty good in August considering I didn’t have any job income. I was aiming to make about as much in August as in July and I came within $40 which I consider close enough. The big contributor to my income this month was Amazon FBA.  I sold almost all of the inventory I bought in July from the hardware store that was going out of business. Unfortunately, I didn’t find another great source of inventory like the hardware store in August so next month’s FBA income will be considerably less. When you are doing Retail Arbitrage (RA) you constantly have to be finding new inventory. That is a skill I still need to improve. In the long run I think my FBA business will do better if I focus on wholesale and private label products. I don’t have any wholesale or private label products yet.

My cash back income was a lot less in August. The $1000 in cash back in July was an anomaly. I still made over $100 in cash back in August which is pretty good for extra money. If you sign up for Mr. Rebates you can help me make more cash back and earn cash back for yourself as well.  Later this month I am going to write a post with all the cash back sites I use.

Although I’ve done okay without a job the last couple of months I am looking to get another job in order to increase my income and meet some financial goals.

August Expenses – $1673.22

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Here is a breakdown of my expenses for August.

Household $403.21
Entertainment $6.49
Transportation $77.70
Food $184.14
Student Loan $749.40
Travel $89.14
Phone $36.79
Health $126.35
Total $1673.22

My August expenses were nice and low. I’m quite happy with the total expenses for the month. If you deduct the $749.40 I paid towards my student loan then my total expenses for the month were under $1000 which is my stretch goal for every month. The extra paid towards my student loan in August came from my online income. I have committed to using all income earned from my blogs to pay down my student loan.  If you buy something or sign up for a service through one of the affiliate links on this site the money I earn in commission will go towards my student loan. It had been a few months since I had made an extra payment which resulted in the large payment in August. I need to start making the payments every month I have online income so it isn’t such a hit to my checking account when I make the extra payment.

The only expense category I wasn’t happy with in August was the food category. I spent way too much money on food in August. Some of that was due to my Vegas trip where I paid over $16 for a Shake Shack (overrated) meal. Even without the trip my food spending would have been way too high. I’m aiming to cut that expense in half this month.

Other than that I expect my expenses in September to be pretty similar to August.