The First Three Steps to Swoopo & Green Shoots – A Weekend Review
27. Jun, 2009 
3 Comments
You know how when you’re walking around you often see pennies on the ground? I never pick them up, personally, because I figure it is just not worth the money. The ground is dirty, who knows where the penny has been, and really, it is just a penny. But what about a nickle? Or a dime? Or a quarter? Do you pick those up off the ground?
This past week, my fiancee and I got in the possession of a number of pennies. We’ve been spending our evenings rolling them into 50 cent tubes so that we can cash them in at the bank. It takes a bit of time, but by the end of it, we’ll probably have earned ourselves between $250 and $300, all from pennies.
Makes me really re-think whether it is worth picking those pennies up off the ground… they add up fast!
Searching For Serenity
I’m everywhere! Well, not quite everywhere, but Saving For Serenity was featured in a number of places this week. I was on, among others, ChristianPF, Fiscal Fizzle, Weakonomics, Oblivious Investor, Sun Life Financial, Get Money Energy, and The Simple Dollar. The Simple Dollar linking to me lead to my highest traffic day yet. Thanks Trent!
I was also one of the editor’s choices for The Carnival of Personal Finance held at The Suburban Dollar.
Around the Web in Personal Finance
My favorite article this week comes from Get Rich Slowly. Over the years, JD has consistently gotten better at writing, communicating, and conveying important personal finance information. In this post, he answers a reader’s question about the first three steps to financial freedom. If you’re stuck, you’re at a loss, what is the first thing that you do to get out of the hole? Is there a magic formula? What’s the right answer?
Here’s the secret: There’s no one right answer. Some choices are better than others, it’s true, but the best way to take control of your finances is to do something. Action beats inaction. Taking any step in the right direction will help Kay move closer to financial stability.
JD goes on to list the first three steps that he would take, in order to “stop the bleeding”. They are to reduce expenses, build savings, and tackle debt. This is similar to what I’ve done/am doing to get financially free. I started with a spending record, which shocked me into spending less. Since then I’ve also reduced a number of my fixed expenses. I used my tax return to jump start my emergency savings, I’ve started an incredibly meager long term savings fund, and I’ve started to slowly pay down my debt. These three steps are key to the first stages of financial freedom.
I’m often amazed at human psychology. Bad Money Advice is as well, which is why he wrote about Swoopo, an online auction site with some interesting rules. It is basically a completely legitamite scam, which makes his article one of the most fascinating ones I read this week. He writes
After a brief investigation, I have concluded that:
1. You would have to be a complete idiot to spend money on this site.
2. I am a complete idiot for not thinking of it first.
He goes on to dissasemble how Swoopo makes their money, how Swoopo got that idea, and how Swoopo has been covered by media. Absolutely fascinating. Also, if anyone is interested, I’m holding an auction for a dollar.
Finally, I have to give a shout out to The Weakonomist this week, simply because he managed to explain something to me that was confusing me. Every once in awhile I’d hear this term “green shoot” in regards to the economy and have no idea what they were talking about. So what is a green shoot? Seeing as it is spring time, grass and plants are growing.
With each new blade of grass things start to look and feel better. What would make you feel better about the economy though? Perhaps better than expected unemployment reports? Green shoot. Bottoming out of home prices – green shoot. Deflation concerns eased – green shoot. Every bit of good news that clues us into economic recovery is a new blade of grass. Green shoots are any sign of economic growth or recovery.
Thank you for answering the question I did not know that I had.
Related posts
- What Kind of Money Do You Want?
- The Biggest Barrier to Financial Freedom is Ourselves
- Motivation
- Saving For Serenity Added to Greatnexus
- Facing the Unexpected, or, Adventures with Broken Computers
- Less Posting on Saving For Serenity
- The Great Blog Off
- The Credit Crisis Explained
- Guest Post @ Moolanomy
- The Entertainment Matrix
Matt Goulart
If you pick up those dirty pennies, you can put them in a lingerie bag and wash them in a dishwasher or (if you’re sure the zipper works on the bag) in a clothes washer. We don’t roll them, though, we take them to the credit union that has a cash counting machine. It does add up – a mason jar of change is usually about $50, so a couple times a year I buy groceries with found change.
[Reply]
Congrats on getting around the web!! I remember asking whether I should pick up pennies like that. I do, sometimes. I think I should try it and keep them separate, just to see how much I can "make" in a year like that. The most I’ve found that way was $5, in a national park once. I’d like to find a better way of collecting/rolling them all to deposit into a bank, though.
[Reply]
Now days pennies are used for bidding on auction sites. Lot of penny auction websites has emerged these days. Bidding on some auctions sites is also a good option. There are many websites which people say scam or fraud. But a new site is coming for you. You will always be in a win-win situation.
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