I wanted to upgrade my 12 year-old mountain bike and had my eye on the following item from bikes direct.com:
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/full-suspension-mountain-bikes/fantomds-eagle-sx-pro-full-suspension.htmHowever, spending almost $1300 on a bicycle (the price is $200 higher now thanks to a weaker dollar and costlier shipping) really chafed on my mustachian ethos. It seemed like a very consumer-sucka move to buy a shiny new toy for four figures when I had not yet secured my financial freedom and already had a functional bike. Plus my spouse had just lost their job and it looked like we might have a breakeven year if I could keep my job
and keep expenses down! My stache was down $150k, which really didn't put me in the mood to spend a paycheck. I struggled with this for months.
Finally, I made a deal with myself.
If I could sell my old bike and earn the entire difference in price by doing things I would not otherwise do, then I could buy the bike. This way, I was not spending my salary or reducing my savings rate to buy a shiny manufactured object.
The pandemic complicated things. Most gig work, yard sales, or selling plasma would expose my family to more risk. However, I could sell some of the junk around me online and just tell people to pick it up off my front porch. I just asked people to drop the cash in my mailbox. Most of the following items sold within 24 hours of posting. All were sold with no exposure risk.
Legend:* given to me for free by acquaintances / family who didn't need it
** found on people's trash piles
Here's how I raised the funds during a pandemic:$425 - sale of old bike (surprising because this was $100 more than I paid for it 5 years earlier. Sold within hours. Thanks Covid!)
$200 - sign on bonus for credit card used to buy the bike
$150 - sign on bonus for another credit card used for an insurance payment (also shopped for new insurance to save a small amount but didn't count that because I would have done it anyway)
$100 - recycled a few hundred pounds of lead - actual chunks of toxic lead - the previous owner stored under my backyard barn
$64 - sold an old computer on Facebook *
$60 - sold some old chairs on Let-go
$35 - sold two unreliable chainsaws on Facebook
$30 - sold an old computer (assembled from old spare parts) on Letgo *
$30 - sold a piece of stained glass on Letgo *
$30 - sold an unreliable weed eater on Letgo
$25 - sold 4 bicycle tires on Craigslist **
$20 - sold an old stroller on Facebook
$20 - sold an old grill we never use on Facebook
$20 - sold a glass storm door on Facebook **
$15 - sold an antique push mower to a neighbor **
$10 - sold an old record player without a stylus and an old amp without a volume button on Facebook *
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$1234 Total so farStill to be sold when I get around to it:$15 - bed frame *
$15 - old bike rack
$20 - 2 near-mint hub caps for a '61 Impala found in my backyard barn
? - an iPad 4th generation *
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$45 to go and the bike is paid for
This was probably a very low hourly rate, but I feel good about keeping the pedal to the metal on my FIRE goals. I'm also glad I invested my $1200 stimulus check instead of buying a bike. The experience makes me think about starting an eBay business or a side gig liquidating my friends' junk.