Hey! I can take a hint!

So last week I revisited my Black belt frugality series and added a few extra things, i.e ideas and/ or encouragement.  I was amazed to see the interest in this one post.  My previous post about weight loss sat there all forlorn to the sound of crickets chirruping.  So I have taken the hint.  You guys care more about frugality in all it's many forms.  Weight loss...not so much.  That's cool.  I can live with that.  No hurt feelings (sniff, sniff).  Nah seriously, I want the posts I write to be relevant to you guys.  Otherwise I'm just sounding off.  Fun as that can be sometimes, it isn't what I'm shooting for.

But now I'm at a loss.  What do I write about?  My garden is to bed for the winter and I have released all my frugal tidbits.  What I need to do then is to write about new frugal things I've discovered.  That doesn't happen every week.  Hmmmmmm.

I KNOW!  E-Commerce!  No, I'm not talking about online shopping.  I'm talking about online selling.  I kid you not.  I have become a proponent of online selling of handmade goods.  There are many crafty selling websites out there; Pintrest, Etsy, even Amazon to name a few.  I would say choose the one that works for you.  I use Etsy.  I started my Etsy shop to sell doll clothes in March of last year.  I sold mainly cloth baby doll diapers at first, but as the holidays get closer my Etsy shop has started to regularly sell.  I used to think I would need to set up a booth at a local fair/festival to be able to sell my doll clothes.  With my online shop that hasn't been the case.  A small .20 fee lists each item for 4 months.  If that item sells, Etsy takes 3.5%.  I can print shipping labels through them and everything.  I've been keeping a little Quicken account for my "business" to keep track of income verses expenses.  I wanted to make sure this was working.  Though just starting out, I've managed to clear approximately $200 in profit give or take.  That's after all expenses: Etsy fees, Supplies, Etc.  I'm not having to rent a booth.  I don't have to lug everything from home to whatever festival I'm attending.  Instead I'm able to sell all over.  In fact I've sold quite a few items to people in Canada!

I write about this because, if you are staying home and crafty, this can give you a way to bring in a bit extra doing what you enjoy.  My funds either go into the general home fund, or they help support my composition doll habit.  While not exactly a full income right now, it helps some.  It helps a lot.  And it helps me stay home and do other things around the home to help save money.  It's a win, win.  So if you have a craft you like to make and sell.  I highly suggest trying an online selling site.  They recommend you start off with 10 items.  I started with 7 and worked my way up to 10.  Now I have 30...well, 29.  I just sold something today.  I have to get back to sewing.

Well what do you know.  I had something to share today.  Go figure.  Have a blessed week!