I am disgusted with the political climate right now. We work hard and pinch our pennies to make sure we stay as far out of debt as we can. We forgo the big toys until we can pay for them outright, we don’t carry a credit card balance, we put into retirement funds only to watch it disappear and for what?

Legislation being passed to help out everyone who has been irresponsible. Look at the auto industry bailouts. $13 billion to come up with a restructuring plan. The plan? Ask for $30billion more.

Here and I thought bankruptcy made the company restructure to survive. What happened to letting a company go under if they cannot produce a product that people want to buy? One goes under, another may take its place. Keeping the market fresh and assuring new, innovative products to be introduced.

A day after signing the “stimulus package” our president is contemplating help for people with their mortgages. Years ago there was much ado about how everyone deserves a house of their own. Even if they can’t afford it, they deserve it. What happened to earning it?

Then I listen to the radio and at least a couple times an hour there is a commercial for a credit counseling company “If you have more than $10,000 in credit debt, we can greatly reduce what you owe.” WHAT?!? Why are we even bothering with paying off our credit cards? Why are we bothering with saving pennies, paying our mortgage? Frustrating.

I guess it has been already proven there are more people with hands out voting for people promising to fill those hands regardless of personal responsibility.

Anyway, it just seems silly to me to write about saving money when it might be easier to just put my hand out.

We’ll see.

A great way to save some cash is to find items you need on Craigslist.com. If you have never looked there, it is worth visiting. Choose your city and surf the “for sale” section for what you’re looking for. It is also a great way to unload junk that has been sitting around collecting dust.

This fall I sold my 150 gallon aquarium for more than I initially paid for it. While that may sound awesome, the truth is I bought it at an estate auction for a song. I will be picking up a TV this evening that we found on Craigslist as well.

The one major caution in all this is to be very aware not only about what you are buying or who you are selling to, but also the situation you are entering into. There has to be a level of caution involved when making a transaction with a complete stranger.

Bring a buddy and avoid inviting someone into your house. Basic precautions will make all of us feel a little safer. That heavy fish tank I sold? The person who bought it didn’t have a way to pick it up, so he offered me $100 to deliver it to him. Yup, okay, that fit me to a T! I wasn’t all that keen on having someone come pick it up anyway.

I have found when selling stuff that I have to be persistent with it. My Baby Bjorn and some other stuff hasn’t sold yet. In surfing the categories, it looks like folks list the same thing every day until it sells instead of once. Using a lot of key words in the post helps search results, too.

Good luck!
Tony