Setting up

Creating an account was easy. I actually had one from college that I had never used. You need to disclose your email address, address and phone number. They try to make sure only real people sign up. It’s best to create a paypal account and link it to your ebay account to make transactions smoother.

Listing an Item for Sale

I used the auction feature but you also have the option to set a fixed price (buy it now). This review is going to focus on the auction style of selling. As a first time user, they told me I could list my item for free (no listing fee) and I was excited about that. It seemed like a risk-free way of trying ebay out.  I’m not sure if they offer that all the time but read the disclosures. Unfortunately, it was not totally free because of all the “extras” I wanted. The free listing only allows one picture and it doesn’t allow that picture to be enlarged. To have more pictures you have to pay extra. To have bigger pictures you also have to pay extra. I wanted my listing to have a reserve price (which allows you to keep your item if no one bids up to that amount) and that costs extra too (the charge depends on your reserve price). All in all, for 2 items I paid $9. Not too bad, but not free either.

The Bidding Process

My items were listed for 10 days (which also costs extra, standard is 7) and the first 5 were the most excruciating days of my life. I kept checking but I had no bids. What was frustrating was that I could see that many people had looked at the item and 9 people were “watching” it. Finally, I got my first bid. I was excited but not hopeful. I still had a long way to go before it reached my reserve price (i made the initial bid low like is recommended). I got a bunch of questions from buyers mostly about international mailing which I had opted out of because it seemed more complicated. The real bidding didn’t start until 2hrs before the deadline but it was not enough to get the items to a price I was comfortable selling at.  Sadly, neither one of my items sold.

Relisting

I decided that it would be worth the effort to try and relist my items. It seemed like people waited till the last minute to bid and that showed me that at least some people were interested in the items. I offered international shipping this time around and hopefully it will make a difference. I think the fact that I don’t have a rating (because I’m new to ebay) is not helping my case but I am hopeful I will sell this time around. I paid about $7 to relist (i lowered my reserve) and if it does not sell, I will try some other avenue. If you’re interested, I’m selling a Prada and Calvin Klein bag.

Conclusion

I think ebay is useful. It might be best for newbies to sell small electronics or things that people can be sure about (like books and vcrs). Apparel seems to be something that people with higher ratings do better with. Your rating from half.com is shared with ebay so if you want, you can sell books there first. The problem I’ve had is that none of my half.com customers leave feedback. Also, don’t get to excited if a lot of people are watching your item. At some point 15 people were watching it but I had zero bids. Some google research pointed out that a lot of people watch items similar to what they have so they can get an idea on how to price their item.

All in all, I think it’s work a shot. $15 is an acceptable gamble for me and if it doesn’t work out, there’s always craigslist. What has been your experience with ebay? Do you have any other tips for newbies?

These three books motivated me at different times, in different ways. They made me look at why I was broke, why my business was broke, and helped me discover my path for investing in the future.

Book 1 – You’re Broke Because You Want To Be by Larry Winget

When I read it: summer 2008

Main Takeaway: Your success is up to one person: You! How bad do you want it?

This book is an easy read. It’s short, and broken up nicely.

This book is NOT easy to read. It will really make you feel like crap. It will beat you down and expose every excuse you use to remain broke.

And it motivated me more than probably any other financial book I’ve ever read. At the time I read it, it was exactly what I needed. I had recently got my bankruptcy discharged, and was well, pretty darn broke. I wasn’t living on the streets broke, but I was broke.

The book doesn’t break any ground technique wise (spend less than you earn!), but the presentation gets the message through. You’re broke because you want to be. You’re broke because you spend too much on shoes, or fancy food, or tech gadgets. You’re broke because you won’t get a second job, or take a risk and start your own business.

This book isn’t for everyone, but it hit me at the right time and every few months I go back and look at some of the worksheets.

If you need some motivation financially, this is the book for you.

Book 2 – The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber

When I read it: Fall 2008

My Main Takeaway: Build a business that can run and profit with YOU

If you own a business you must read this book.

If you are thinking about starting a business, you need to read this book.

This book pushed me to really step back and look at where I was spending my time at work, and where I needed to be spending my time.

It taught me most importantly how to systematize and document everything. I didn’t realize how much of my work I could have others (employees, contractors, accountant, etc) do and not feel guilty about that, until I read this book.

Book 3 – Killing Sacred Cows by Garret B. Gunderson

When I read it: Winter 2008

Main Takeaway: What you’ve been fed about saving for retirement is bunk

This book will rock your world if you’ve ever thought that maybe “buy and hold” wasn’t the best strategy for you.

This book rocks the boat of:

• The Sacred 401K (Gunderson would tell you not to participate, even with a employer match)
• Insurance (He recommends Whole life vs. Term and spends a chapter explaining why)
• Savings (He argues cash sitting in an account not being touched is exactly what banks want)

The book has a lot of New Agey themes that could have been toned down a bit, but if you can gloss over those, there is some fantastic content here.

This book taught me to value cash flow (investments that produce cash…dividends, rent receipts, ect) over any other investment. It lines up very well with small business owners who see the value in investing in things they can control, rather than gambling your broker or some CEO to have a great quarter so your stock skyrockets.

Screw stocks. That’s the basic premise. And as someone who fell into the trap of believing stocks would make me wildly rich, I whole heartedly agree.

Invest in what you can control. Anything else is just gambling.

What finance books rocked your world?

I don’t mean what financial or business books did you like. I mean, which ones dramatically improved your financial life or changed how you approach investing/money?

Wallstrip was a video blog that focused usually on a specific stock or issue. It covered the Apple iPhone, the auto bailout, and plenty of other high flying stocks and topics.

Wallstrip was acquired by CBS (for a rumored cool 5 million) in May of 2007 when stocks were still going strong and a “TARP” was still a plastic cover.

Things have changed. 401K’s have been ripped to shreds. My Dad says he “plans on working until he is 90″. He was only slightly joking.

Wallstrip was probably never profitable. CBS has scrapped the regular schedule of Wallstrip.

Even though I’m not a traditional investor any longer, I love following the markets. I also think there are new and more exciting ways to “invest” than ever before, ala Lending Club.

I’d actually love to do a video blog like Wallstrip. I’d probably do more of a layman’s approach to investing. I’d look for ideas outside the “buy and hold” box that we are told over and over again. I’m big fans of both Howard Lindzon’s blog as well as Fred Wilson’s VC blog, and they were both involved with Wallstrip.

Any other Wallstrip fans missing new episodes?

Health blogs were going to be the new personal finance blogs.

Well, that proved a bit of a bust. Health and fitness blogs did grow in 2008, but personal finance is still where it’s at. Hands down. Just look at the growth of being frugal, get rich slowly, moolanomy, or any other quality finance blog.

Just to reinforce the point, I’ve gotten a number of emails from new startups in the financial arena. Being a sucker for new web things (especially in the finance arena), here’s a few to check out:

Spendster.org

Run by the National Endowment for Financial Education, spendster.org is place to share videos, and stories about the stupid purchases we’ve all made.

Hmmm….I really should make a video with that furby I still have somewhere…

Here’s an example of users showing the “stuff” they never should have bought.

Tipd.com

Launching today is a financially focused news site, tipd.com. It reminds me a ton of Pinyo’s pfbuzz.com. I like pfbuzz, and always find interesting stories there. I’ll keep my eye on tipd.com and knowing one of the founders, I expect to see a number of posts from other bloggers regarding tipd.com the rest of the week.

(I recently visited Sharebuilder’s corporate office in Bellevue. This is the story of my field trip. Sometimes I just need to get out of the house…)

Wanting to know more about Sharebuilder. I discovered that they were just across the pond (no, not London) over in Bellevue, not 20 minutes from where I live and work. So, I e-mailed and requested a visit to checkout Sharebuilder headquarters in person.

Meet and greet

I arranged to meet with Ashley, a friendly company PR spokesperson, to show me around their large warehouse office in Bellevue.

Their building was in the middle of remodeling or “Oranging” (they were purchased by ING in Dec. for 220 million) the building, transitioning from their dominant green logo to their new “orange” powered one.

The Lobby….nice

The office had a very friendly receptionist, and front desk and a little coffee room with a flat screen TV playing CNBC (of course). The walls were adorned with some print media ads that Sharebuilder had run over the years.

After taking a few pictures of the lobby area, I got to see the main open office area (but no pictures were allowed, sorry!) which was very impressive. It reminded me of that huge trading floor that UBS has in a giant hanger…only much smaller. Lots of room to breathe though. Probably a 60 foot ceiling at least.

After seeing the main office area, I sat down with Ashley in a conference room and went through some questions I had about Sharebuilder.

The Highlights

• Sharebuilder has a very high level of female customers. 40% compared to 20% with most brokerages
• The typical Sharebuilder customer is much, much younger than traditional brokerages
• Sharebuilder has partnerships with Walmart, Costco and others. The goal being to introduce investing to the non-traditional wall street client

Sharebuilder vs. Zecco

When I asked about why someone would choose Sharebuilder over Zecco, the response I received was essential that “we are serving different markets”. Fair enough. I was hoping for some juicy gossip, but alas, my reporting/interrogating skills were not quite sharp enough.

No blog?

I asked about a company blog (they do not have one) and if that’s something they might launch at some point. It doesn’t sound like it. Sharebuilder wants to “let customers research on their own”. They offer easy to use tools for their clients, but if you’re looking for specific investment advice, you need to look elsewhere.

“Not wall-street”

Sharebuilder is very non-“wall-street” and that is intentional. Their headquarters is in a warehouse near Seattle. They cater to new investors, even if they can only invest $100 a month (or less!). The company was venture funded, and a “Seattle startup”, but they “don’t see themselves as a start-up anymore”.

When I decided to start investing (albeit a very small amount) again last month, I knew I needed to be careful. I had lost too much money, and made too many mistakes in the past with stocks/forex (learn how to trade forex).

Deciding to “invest” and not “trade” was a big step for me. I am 100% committed to long-term investing. I decided to go ahead and open an account with ShareBuilder. If you are interested in signing up for sharebuilder make sure you visit my sharebuilder promotion page for more details (to which I’ll be adding too based on my trip today).

Note: the links here do earn me a small commission if you decide to sign up for Sharebuilder (like this one: Buy Stocks for $4 ). Just so you know you’re supporting my field trips (which keep me sane!). So thanks!

P.S. – If you’re a company in the financial services industry and would like me to visit and review your service or product, I’ll do it! I’m looking for more field trip Friday opportunities. Big Disclaimer: If you’re outside Seattle…you gotta pay my way : ) Sorry, but I’m kinda broke.

Update 1/16 – $400 earned so far! Sign up now and get your $25 bonus!
Update 1/26 – $600 earned so far! Almost there!

Lending Club has announced a very generous new bonus program. You’ll receive a $25 credit in your lending account when you signup through my little link here.

I’ve been writing and doing some consulting work for Lending Club since the summer now. It’s been a great experience. Without this side job I’d probably still be living in my office. Take a look at my most recent article about cheap date ideas (it even made the digg homepage! wohoo!).

When you signup using this link, not only will you receive a $25 bonus, but I will too!

Emergency Fund Savings

I’m trying to save up $1000 for a personal emergency fund by the end of January. I’ll pledge to put every $25 referral I earn from this into that fund. Any amounts over $1000 I’ll be putting towards my most pressing debt (IRS at the moment). Please sign-up and I’ll keep a running tab of my referrals/fund amount in the comments section below.

Current Emergency Fund Balance: $250.05

So…did I make the list?

No, I don’t consider this a finance blog. Plus, I wouldn’t have made the top 30 anyway. Maybe the honorable mention section. Sure, I rant about money and the like, but I rant about women as well. Anyway, make sure and go check out the list, these blogs are all top-notch!

In no particular order…

My top 5

1. Clever Dude – Two reasons I like Clever Dude. 1. He’s Clever and 2. Like me he’s found writing has helped him deal with his debt.

2. BloggingAwayDebt – Tricia over at Blogging Away Debt always has great down dirty real life tips and experiences about dealing with debt. She is almost down to 20K in debt, from starting at over 37K.

3. Get Rich Slowly – JD’s stuff is always great. We were talking awhile back about doing some sort of business contest, but it never got off the ground. No worries though, I’m doing OK and GRS continues to be a great finance blog. His latest post about budgeting with an irregular income I think was written just for me!

4. Dumb Little Man – This blog should really be Smart Little Man….maybe that was taken. In any case while posts here aren’t always finance related…many are, and the content kicks butt. His business posts, like this one on referrals is the stuff I really love.

5. NCN Blog – No Credit Needed? That’s what I want! No credit would mean no debt! NCN has a very practical blog about all things finance related. Plus, if you’ve ever listened to his podcast, you just know he might be the next Dave Ramsey.

What say you!?

What 5 finance/debt related blogs SHOULD I be reading?

I was lucky to get to be a beta-tester of the new online finance application mint.com. I wouldn’t usually write reviews like this, but I even shared this site with some of my family members because I thought it was so cool.

This is what I’ve been waiting for in a finance application

This has been the application I’ve been waiting for. The interface is slick, and the auto-updates of your accounts seamless. I easily added my wells fargo checking accounts as well as a few of my personal credit card accounts. Once I get my financial situation a bit more stable (if that ever happens), I will definitely be using mint to manage, monitor, and analyze my spending.

Main Interface

The main overview of your accounts gives a great snapshot of your latest transactions, alerts and more. Obviously my financial health is bad (and I haven’t even imported all my accounts. Mint.com can’t handle collection accounts)

Analyze Spending…easily

Mint.com makes analyzing and tagging transactions really, really easy. Sadly, it recognizes (truthfully…grrr) that my "most frequented merchant" is "overdraft fee". Darn!

Favorite Feature

Probably my favorite feature is the ability to receive text messages when an account reaches a certain threshold. For example, lets say you want to receive a text when your checking account falls below $100.

Bugs and gripes

The one feature of mint that seemed to annoy me (that I probably just need to tweak a bit in my settings) was the e-mails I would receive of "large deposits" in my bank account. That’s great and all, but I got an e-mail this morning of a large deposit, that was dated August 28th. Not exactly current.

More Screenshots

Main Tabs

I need to update some of my "tags"

My search begins

I’m searching for a check cashing place…ohh look, an interesting Google ad:

Christian Faith Financial….that sounds great! I’m a Christian!

Oh, all I need to do is overcome evil with good! (payday loans are good!?). Look, they want to help me “the Christian way”. I’m touched. Let’s dig deeper.

OK, just filled that all out. Oh wait, what is this…

This is NOT a credit application? What did I just fill out? But, that’s OK, they want to help me in “the Christian way”. I’m sure everything is going to be fine.

Wait….are all your sponsors, partners, and advertising Christians too? Wow. That’s impressive. I’m so glad I decided to go with you guys. Wait, hang on a sec, I’m getting a SMS on my phone. Oh gosh, now I’ve got 3 SMS’s….Man, I must really be loved. I’m getting like 5 text messages a minute…wait a minute…

Christian Faith Financial. You’re official dead to me. You’re the first one on my dead to me board. I started it just for you. You make me sick.