As I work today at home, I look back at what I have been doing so far to get my website up and started. So far, I have been talking about my goals for this year, and next. Here on this specific Blog I will be focusing my efforts towards debt reduction.

Let’s face it if you are here on this blog you are looking for easy ways to get out of debt. Personally, I am in serious debt and I am barely making it by each month. I figure if something does not change by this summer I will be in over my head and will be officially in credit limbo. I have listened to many others, I have researched many  supposed solutions to my debt problem. But, it all seems to land me in more trouble then I was already in. I am blessed with a wife who cares but I’m not really sure how long that will last. After all over 70% of all divorces are because of money issues, but that is another story (I hope not to write about).

My debt looks like such:

1. House Mortgage: I do not consider this part of my debt (not yet anyway).
2. Second Mortgage: I do consider this debt       $39.000
3. Student Loan:                                                      $22.000
4. Credit Card Debt                                                 $25,000
5. Car Loans:                                                            $35,000
6. Medical:                                                                $  1,000

                                                               Total:              $122,000

Quite Scary when you look at it. This doesn’t even include daily living expenses such as food, utilities, gas and other misc items. I’m sure I’m not the only one out there in debt but I must start attacking this before it becomes out of control.

How did I get here? That is a good question and a hard one for me to answer. I have no children, no expensive habits to add to the debt, just small habbits (we will talk about little changes later). I would have to say that enjoying life’s fun things have taken there toll. Trips that I did not save for, new computers, and a basement full of things I do not use is where a lot of my money was spent. The rest, well without looking into past receipts I’m not sure where it disappeared to.

Where do I start??? Well there is a lot of information about where to start most of that information talks about consolidating, restructuring loans… and looking into your monthly spending. I do believe that all of these items are on the money (no pun attended) but they lack the foundation that is needed to sustain your change in life. Let’s face it this is a life style change that is needed. Just like losing weight or any other goal we have, it is impossible unless we look inside and make that initial change and that initial change needs to be a self esteem change.

How do we change our self esteem to tackle our debt? Well that is what this web-journey is all about! The first thing I/you should do is:

1. Clean the clutter that holds me back!!!

Steps to clean my clutter without spending too much money (you should actually make money!):

1. Set up an eBay account! (I have had an account since 1998 if you have any questions please ask!)
2. Set up a separate bank account for Internet income. (most banks offer free checking and free savings accounts, you might need to deposit $25). My bank manager actually set up two checking accounts (one primary and one sub primary) for Internet dealings and one savings. I suggest you do the same if you can. Also make sure you can have free bill payment on your account. If the bank does not offer this for free walk to the next bank!
3. Set up a paypal account to your sub-primary account. Offering Paypal on eBay is a god sent in this day and age, take advantage of it! The fees are worth making up to 40% more on any auction.
4. Clean the clutter that you consider to be a work space. I’m not talking about relocating the clutter, if it is your spouses or siblings tell them before throwing it away, TRUST ME you will need them on your side! If your clutter includes collectibles or anything worth value put it on eBay. I will get into how to list items more later.
5. Look around your house and garage for sell-able items.
6. Sign up for Auctiva. This site is a free eBay management site. Here you can use templates to make your items look better, add more pictures and schedule your auctions all for free. Try it out once you get use to it this site will net you extra bucks.  Remember to take good pictures.

OK that is plenty to do for the first couple weeks. If you have clutter like me it may take a month or more. In addition if you work already, put aside an hour or so per night, turn up the music and tackle this step. You should plan your days like this:

• Monday — Clean up clutter and look for items to sell
• Tuesday —Clean up clutter and look for more items
• Wednesday — Take pictures of all your items and upload them to your computer (name a file on your desktop “Ebay March”
• Thursday — Clean up clutter and upload your pictures to Auctiva. Once set up in Auctiva you can do these two things at the same time. Set up you upload and start cleaning, check you computer from time to time.
• Friday —- Create your auctions, pick your templates and Schedule your auction for Sunday at 6pm-8pm. If you have more then one of the same item schedule one for Sunday and the other for Thursday or Friday at 6pm.  Make your all of your auctions 7 day auctions starting at $0.99. Don’t freak out starting at this price. You are cleaning the clutter. People will buy! Make sure you pick the right category and use only keyterms in your listing. (if you have any questions leave me a post).
• Saturday — Clean clutter and schedule more auctions (spend only a couple hours today on this).
• Sunday — Enjoy the day. Don’t look at the clutter, Don’t look at the Auctions. Just relax!!!! Do what you love to do.

Remember this is the Foundation that you are working one. If you build a poor foundation you will not build a sound way of getting out of debt. If you are working too hard or too fast on the foundation chances are that it will not last and you will burn out. Remember our life is what we are trying to reclaim being stressed out does not help.

Please leave me feedback, I’m always looking for new ways and love to hear success stories. Lets do this together.

Next post–I will talk about building an eBay store, What it takes and the steps we need to take to keep it moving.

You can find my other blogs at Hipbuddah.com

It has taken about one and a half months to get started on my website. I’m not just talking about starting a blog but also starting a web-store and stocking it. This blog will show you what I have done the troubles and successes but mostly the time consuming mistakes that I have made and the dumb things I have done.

One of my problems is that I am a hands on person and I have a day job (teacher). Some days I would come home completely exhausted and didn’t even want to look at my computer and some days I was excited as all can be. 

 I look at it this way. I am not getting younger (big epiphany there) and my money seems to be going completely to someone else. What is the fun in that. Credit Cards, Student Loans, Car Payments, House Payments, and everything else that tears at our wallets. What I am hoping to do is with this web journey, if you will, is to create enough money to pay for my student loan, credit cards and car payments. But, I just don’t want to create a way to make money I want to make my life better. I have been told by numerous people and books that you must write out your goals in order to have a chance of accomplishing anything. I agree so I have listed my goals  below.

My Goals for this year (the year before I turn 40 years old) are:

1. Lose 40-50 pounds (I’m a big  boy and it is not healthy anymore)
2. Create a website to make money to help pay for my debts.
3. Help others when I am successful. I guess I love Karma, I would not be a teacher otherwise.
4. Last but not least is to get a Mercedes Diesel sedan and turn it into a veggie car. (One needs a hobby right).

So far, I have started a website and I have made a ZenCart store and I will begin promoting it. Through this website and through a web promotion site. I will list everything I have done and the cost that I have paid. In addition, I will give you the sites that has helped me figure out many of my problems that I came across.

It is my hope that this blog will be used as a message board as well as a place of help.