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Money Experiment – 4 days, $269 to Target

My money experiment is getting more and more exciting as the new year comes close. I have set myself a target of $1000 to scrape before the clock hits midnight of 1/1/2009. I have managed to gather $731 since the experiment started on 11/12/2008. The experiment has been nothing short of a thrill ride and I have enjoyed every moment of it. I had not expected that I’d even come close to saving almost a grand in less than 2 months. If you’re curious to know whether I’m going to end the experiment on 12/31/2008, then to be honest, I’m not sure either. My goal is to hit the $1000 in the next 4 days. If I’m able to reach that goal, then I’d really be inclined to carry over the experiment to the next year. If I don’t reach the goal, then I might be double inclined to continue the experiment for some more time. I might bring in some changes and come up with new ways to save money. My intention behind this experiment has not been to make $1000 in 2 months. I started this experiment to educate myself about managing money the right way. I had been too laid back with my finances the past year or so. As a result, I did face a few setbacks financially. I was very close to being bankrupt. This experiment, nonetheless, has taught me a lot of things and today I can proudly say that I’m in a much better and confident position financially than I was 3 months ago. The other goal of the experiment was to help people out there who have been going through a similar situation. I have been getting emails from my readers regularly telling me how this experiment has motivated them to manage their own finances in a better manner. I’m really honored and humbled by the response.

Coming back to the topic of this post, I still have 4 days left and I’m about $269 away from my goal of $1000. I have a few things lined up for the next 4 days that might help me get through the finish line just in time. The yard sale that I had started last week has had mixed response so far. I wasn’t much surprised because most of the stuff that I was trying to get rid of was pretty much junk that no one else would want to have in their home either. I ended up giving away majority of the stuff to Goodwill last night. However, I did manage to make around $40.

I have a few more inquiries for some of the remaining stuff. I’m looking to make another $50-$75 tomorrow if everything goes according to the plan. I have an expired rebate that I’m looking to get a refund on. But again, I’m not sure if it is worth >$200. Worst case scenario, I’m gonna have to start looking again at some more junk that I might be able to get rid of. Let us see how it all unwinds in the next 4 days. I’m a little nervous but at the same time very excited too. If nothing else, I can proudly say that this experiment taught me to value money like never before. Every penny in the $731 has been a result of a lot of hard work and some smart saving which I feel was the very message behind this experiment.