This will be your Frugalist Friday ever when you find out how to make money on Craiglist and from the Food on the Table Sweepstakes.
Make Money on Craigslist
Recently I have been sorting through things I don’t need like old furniture and appliances. I was inspired by Life As Mom’s post several weeks ago about selling something and decided to give Craiglist a go.
In the last two weeks, I’ve posted an antique couch, an ottoman, and a refrigerator. I received inquiries within 24 hours. All items were out of my house within three days! I made money and reduced clutter.
What to know before you post
Before I posted, I checked out Lifehacker’s Seller’s Guide to Craiglist. I found two tips to be most helpful:
- Photos
If you have an option, always post a picture. If you were a buyer, wouldn’t you want to see a photo first? I staged my furniture in my living room and made sure I had plenty of natural light. It’s definitely easier than food photography!
- Research Similar Postings
Craigslist also serves as somewhat of a Blue Book for household items. I did some research on similar refrigerator postings to determine a reasonable price. When I was reading through the posts, the ones that drew my attention were the most descriptive. I used that as a model for my posts. I was very specific when describing my refrigerator including the size, brand, year, model, and price.
What have your experiences been with Craiglist?
Sweepstakes for a $250 Gift Card at the Grocery of Your Choice!
Food on the Table is hosting a giveaway for a gift card up to $250 at the grocery store of your choice. For those of you who haven’t heard of Food on the Table, it is an online service that integrates the sale items from your store into a meal plan and organized grocery list based on your family’s preferences.
Rules
- The giveaway lasts from the time of this posting through midnight, CST on Friday, July 2, 2010 and is open to all U.S. Residents.
- To enter, share one of your favorite tips for avoiding the “What’s for dinner” 4 o’clock panic. Limit one comment per person.
- For an extra entry, “like” Food on the Table on Facebook. Please leave a comment for this extra entry.
- For an extra entry each day, tweet about this post and then come back here and include a link to your tweet in a comment. For this entry to count, you must link back to your tweet from the comments. Limit one tweet per person per day.
- On Saturday, July 3, 2010 I will use Random.org to select a winning comment number.
- I will notify the winner by e-mail to ask their preferred grocery store and their shipping address, so please be sure to leave a valid e-mail address when you comment. I will never share your e-mail address with anyone for any reason.
- The winner has 48 hours from when I sent the e-mail to respond and claim the prize. If I don’t receive a response, I’ll go back to Random.org to select another winner.
Prizes
- If there are 400 entries, one winner will receive a $50 gift card.
- If there are 1,200 entries, one winner will receive a $125 gift card.
- If there are 2,000 entries, one winner will receive a $250 gift card.
What does this mean? The more friends you tell, the more money you’ll be able to win!
Related posts:
67 Comments until now
My menu and grocery list are done on Monday. I love knowing ahead of time what I will be having for dinner and Jack loves it too.
[email address removed. ed.]
I have “liked” Food on the Table and I know I will enjoy their page.
[email address removed. ed.]
Menu planning has saved me from coming home stressed about dinner, it’s just me and my husband right now but I don’t like having to fly by the seat of my pants. I love cooking when I have the time and energy, not when it’s 5:30 and I’m opening the fridge for the upteenth time!
Meal Planning!! I love to plan our meals ahead of time. and for the other half of your post- I’ve made some good money selling things on Ebay and our local classified website, but I haven’t sold anything on Craigslist yet.
To avoid the 4 o’clock “What am I gonna do bout dinner!” panic I will prepare the dish in the morning. This is especially helpful when we have late afternoon commitments and I would otherwise have very little time to prepare the dish. I simply heat the oven, pop the meal in, have the children set the table and wait for daddy to arrive! It’s a “wife-saver”!
Preparing ahead of time as much and the best I can do. Meals for the week, purchases made and ready to cook, bake and assemble. I try to have a couple of easy back up methods in the cupbord in case something needs to be done differently at the last minute!
Thanks.
I keep baggies of shredded chicken (that I make in the crockpot) in the freezer for quick meals that I can throw together. We often use it for stir-fry, salad, or soup.
I have to agree, menu planning is the biggest way to avoid a dinner time panic! Knowing that you have a plan and that you have all the ingredients is a lifesaver!
I love the cook ahead method in which you cook once a month and freeze lots of tasty meals for the duration!
I like food on the table on FB!
I LOVE the meal planning and it tells you whats on sale and recipes to go along with it!
I have fallen madly in love with my slow cooker, which has saved me from that panic many an evening. I’d say at least two meals a week are prepared in that thing, and it’s great for leftovers too.
Using nap time is a great help. Prep, prep, prep during that time and throwing the meal together at 5 isn’t such a big deal!
[...] 2010 – Author: FOTT We’re giving away up to $250 worth of grocery money. Be sure to read the Frugal Friday post from last week and comment on the post and our Facebook page for your chance at free [...]
Having a meal plan and freezer meals in the freezer help me!
Menu planning is my lifesaver. I know whats for dinner so I don’t have to worry about last minute trips to the store. Also, if possible I cook while my 3 boys are napping….or at least do most of my prepwork. It makes that 5 o’clock hour so much more enjoyable!
Gotta say doing my menu plan every Sunday night. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done.
Thanks, Amanda! I’m happy you like it!
Someone just shared this same trick with me on Saturday. Great idea!
Agreed – it makes a huge difference!
I haven’t sold anything on eBay yet
I like Food on the Table on FB!
My life saver is to meal plan. If I don’t meal plan, we don’t eat (together as a family). Or we eat out every night. I use my blog as my motivation to meal plan and it has worked for me for the past 9 months!
Liked you on Facebook!
Meal planning for sure! Or frozen pizza.
planning my meals one week in advance really does help I know everyone will like it because I ask for everyone’s opinion and then print out my shopping list it makes dinner sooo much easier and the kids love having a menu!
My tip to avoid that PANIC is to always have my pantry stocked with Pasta & sauces ….
I Like you on FB Birdie skolfield
To avoid that panic I always meal plan, but remain flexible depending on weather, plans, etc. I just make sure to have plenty of quick things like eggs and veggies on hand for dinner as well.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Food on the Table, peter drunker. peter drunker said: Cashing in this Summer: Making Money on Craigslist plus $250 …: This will be your Frugalist Friday ever when you… http://bit.ly/cRnzd5 [...]
I have a list and menu planned ahead so we know what’s for dinner.
I like you on Facebook
I avoid the 4 o’clock panic by meal planning ahead of time…and it works most of the time!! Crockpot meals really help with the panic because I’ve done all the hard work that morning!!
I like Food on the Table on FB!
I have a “theme” night for each day of the week so I can always remember what I’ve planned. example: Monday, mexican night, tuesday- fish night, etc.
I like fott on FB
just tweeted about this giveaway:
https://twitter.com/integrativemom
In our house we have a couple of go to easy meals that can be used if menu planning failed, or perhaps its more brain failure. Anyway one of them is having flatbread/greek pitas in the freezer, along with pepperoni & canadian bacon. Then its make your own pizzas, cheese is always in the fridge along with what veggies are in there, we use bottled spaghetti sauce, so it to is always on hand. A simple salad and its done. Then we have the go to recipe that is loved and cooks fast. 1lb hamburger or ground turkey, brown and season with salt & pepper, add 1 small can tomato sauce, crumble up a couple of handfuls of Doritos(this is the extra spicy seasoning and some crunch) 1 can chili- another pantry staple, and grate some cheese, heat thru and let cheese melt and eat. Yummy, fast and always popular. These do not get used frequently but are easy to do and to keep from ordering pizza or eating out. (Different doritos add different flavors)
[...] forget! We’re giving away up to $250 worth of grocery money. Be sure to read the Frugal Friday post from last week and comment on the post and our Facebook page for your chance at free [...]
Great idea, Holly! Thanks for the follow!
We freeze leftover portions so there is always a variety of meals at the ready to thaw out on those evenings when meal planning didn’t work out for one reason or another.
Thanks for the chance!!
I’ve also liked Food on the Table on Facebook (Amanda Davis) Thanks again!
I believe fresh is best so I don’t buy convenience foods also due to the expense and sodium content. I use my crockpot alot to fix meats ahead of time i.e. shredded chicken for salads, tacos, casseroles, etc.
I also chop my veggies like peppers, onions, etc. ahead of time and either freeze them or keep in containers in the fridge for quick meals like stir fry. I find that if I have one day in the kitchen a week and cook, then we can eat off that the rest of the week. The hardest thing I’ve found is keeping a teenagers belly full! Any ideas on that would be grately appreciated.
Happy cooking!
I meal plan and structure it around the week i know i’m going to have. if i know i’ll be busy i’ll crockpot or heat something from the freezer.
I “like” you on facebook!
I precook hamburger and chicken to keep in the freezer to pull out and make quick dinners.
another tweet out! https://twitter.com/integrativemom
another tweet out!
I try and set up a meal plan for the upcoming week on Saturday or Sunday, and spend a little time in the kitchen with my husband prepping anything we can in advance to store in the fridge. This makes it super easy to whip up dinner when we get home from work, tired and hungry already.
Using a menu planner – even a hand written one that is available on the fridge to glance at is very helpful. I try and make sure that at breakfast or lunch, depending on the type of prep involved on the menu, I get out necessary items for dinner. If I know tomorrow’s meal requires thawed meat, I might take it out the day before at lunch and put it in the fridge so it’s almost thawed by the next night. I find I’m less likely to eat out – even when I don’t feel like cooking – if I have meat thawed. I also enlist the kids to help keep me on task. If you do it long enough – you’ll make a new habit and everyone will remember to check the menu, gather the ingredients, and thaw the meat.
I liked you on Facebook. (Spritti Bee)
http://twitter.com/sprittibee/statuses/17254043434 Tweet!
I try to double recipes so that we have enough for leftovers. If I do this a couple of times a week, it usually leaves something in the fridge for those dinner panic moments.
I usually sit down every Sunday evening (after dinner) and go through my binders. I tear our recipes from a few of my fave cooking magazines and put them in page protectors, slip them in my binder and I am good to go. I can pull them out when I am cooking, they stay dry and they are easy to store. Makes my meal planning a breeze!
Sprittebee – Great idea to get the family involved in the menu and prep!
Precooked meat always helps in a bind!
Thanks for the “like”!
Flatbread pizzas are always a hit.
Broccoli and Mac N’ Cheese take 15 minutes to make. Put some French Bread in the overn and you have yourself an acceptable fast and yummy dinner!
LIKE Food on the Table on Facebook
(name:Erin M.)
My favorite summer easy meal tip is that I always have roasted chicken breast in the fridge. We use to make quick tacos, quesadillas, salads, etc. And it takes no time outof my schedule to roast it one night when I’m making dinner anyway.
Pantry and Freezer delight!
This is when we have a family challenge to see what meal to come up with from whatever we have in the pantry or freezer. This helps with cleaning the pantry out with stuff that gets pushed to the back and forgotten!
I like you on FB! I am so excited to try your service!! I totally need help with saving $ and meal planning!
Retweeted this. http://twitter.com/ladyirish30/status/17594612548 @jen_r_horn
Always try to have a list and have meals planned ahead of time.
tweeted this. http://twitter.com/ladyirish30/status/17594612548
To avoid the 4 o’clock panic I usually try and plan a weeks worth of meals over the weekends, but that doesn’t always happen. In those cases, after lunch I start thinking about what to make, so if I need to make a quick stop at the store I can do so.
Add your Comment!