@MMND: Thanks for the encouragement. I’m not sure I can scrape up 11K worth of stuff, but I’m sure I have a least a couple hundred bucks worth of junk to get rid of.

This sounds like a job for personal marketing! I think it works well to create an actual picture of the result you want, in addition to mental visualization. For example, you could label three envelopes with a Sharpie: Emergency Fund, Retirement Fund, Fun Fund. Then take pictures of yourself stuffing $225, $196 and $37 into them, respectively. Be sure to look like it’s fun! Deliver those images with an automatic slide show, like a screensaver, and voila! You see yourself every day in a world where some of the outcomes you want are already true.

Another idea would be to make 10 stacks of $1 bills with $100′s on top, so you can take what looks like a picture of that outcome too.

If you can recall, I sold a BUNCH of our stuff a few months ago and made over $11,000. Obviously not something that can be done every year, but boy did it feel awesome to lighten our load!

You seem to have some good, doable plans here. Congrats!

That’s exactly how I use it, in fact. I’d like to say there’s some compelling reason why this time is best (like, the mind is more receptive or some such), but heck, it’s just when I think of it.

I’m still considering which of my side hustles would be most valuable. I’m most drawn to working on this blog, but it’s the one I’m most concerned about the ethics of monetizing. I don’t feel it’s right to make money, for example, on AdSense ads for payday loans.

There’s also the whole aspect of “it’s a frugality blog. How can I make money teaching people how to avoid spending money?”

I think I need to research the market for other options – like the costuming blog, or the French language micro-site – a little bit better before I make a final decision.

Your side hustles have some potential as well. Is there one you prefer to start with and see how things go? I sold some items on ebay and craigslist, and was surprised how the small amounts of money added up in my savings account. However, they were a few hundred dollars not $10,000.