Lynda Hammond - Garage Sale Gals Guide to Making Money Off Your Stuff, The

My name is Lynda and I am a bargain hunter. In this book youll learn ways to make the most money off your stuffthings you have gathering dust in your closet, your attic, or your garage. Whether youre selling online, in antique or consignment stores, pawn shops, or from your own driveway, this book can help. Living frugally and knowing how, what, and where to sell things can be a lifesaver. It has been for me, and learning it started at an early age.

When I was growing up in Columbus, Ohio, we didnt have much money. Mom raised me and my two older brothers alone on a secretarys salary. I learned that I had to respect and work for money. I earned cash by going door to door, up and down Eastmoor Boulevard, looking for odd jobs. I would wash dishes, clean out cupboards, rake leaves, and shovel snow for about $2.

I was ten years old when I walked two miles to the bank next to the Super Duper Grocery Store and opened my first savings account with a baby food jar full of quarters. For birthdays and for Christmas, my grandma gave us rolls of coins; and off to the bank Id go. Im still programmed to pick up a penny whenever I see itIm so determined that Ill inadvertently stop traffic on a busy sidewalk to bend down and pick it up. Embarrassed? Me? Hardly!

My point is that small change you find between the sofa cushionssomething we may ignore or take for granted can make a big difference in your life. While at the same time, some of the stuff you have sitting around your housethings you dont need or want, a Roseville pottery planter, costume jewelry from your mom, or maybe a toy you had as a kid, can also lead to a lot of jars full of quarters.

Thanks to babysitting jobs, I eventually began taking dollar bills to the bank. That money helped put me through college. In 1985, I graduated from The Ohio State University with a degree in broadcast journalism. Soon I landed a news reporters position at the CBS affiliate, KDLH-TV in freezing but beautiful Duluth, Minnesota, where I continued on the path of frugal livingI had to on my annual $10,800 salary! For almost fifteen years, I hop-scotched across the country living the dream and working my way up to the coveted position of news anchor.

In 1997, the cushy life for me all came crashing down when I lost my anchoring position at a station in Kentucky. It was a good gig and Id been there three yearsgosh I thought things were going along swimmingly. But management wanted to go a different direction. I was devastated. Television news was the only thing I knew how to do, or so I thought.

Just three months later, my husband, Kevin, who was also in television news, got a news directors position at WXIN-TV in Indianapolis. We both happily made the move, but when a job in television for me never materialized, I spiraled into depression, filling my time by making sugar cookies (and eating them) and sitting on the couch watching old black-and-white who-dun-it movies.

The one thing that did take my mind off the job search (or lack thereof) was the new house we were building. We had moved so often that we didnt have a lot of furniture or tchotchkes for decorating. Those childhood lessons of working hard and spending little came racing back. No, I didnt go door to door looking for odd jobs, but I did go from garage sale to garage sale making bargain buysit beat paying retail at furniture stores. I ended up decorating the entire house using garage sale finds. The funny thing is, just a few years before, you would have been hard pressed to find me anywhere near a garage sale, let alone at one.

After four years, another blow. Kevin lost his job at the station when new management took over. We tried to get jobs to make ends meet but no one would hire us, saying we were over qualified. Two months later, on September 11, 2001, the world changed. The terrorist attacks on the United States caused heartache and havoc. The economy weakened as people, fearing another attack, opted to stay home rather than travel. People were laid off and jobs were scarce.

Thank goodness for garage sales. To make ends meet, Kevin and I would buy somethingsay an old vasefor $1, and sell it in online auctions for $20. We paid the house payment and bills for three months this way. Eventually, in 2002, both Kevin and I got jobs in ArizonaKevin with the Associated Press and me at ABC 15 as a fill-in health reporter, producera temporary job filling in for a woman on maternity leave.

After losing my job that time in Kentucky, I had a one-track mind. All I wanted was to be back in the business; but it was one of those be-careful-what-you-wish-for things, because once I got back into a busy and hectic newsroom, I wanted out. I had lost the fire. Instead, I came up with a way to turn my garage saling passion into more than just a hobby.

It was scary leaving television news for good and embarking on a new challenge, especially for a career in garage saling. After pondering several ideas which included driving bargain hunters in an old school bus from sale to saleand that wouldnt have been pretty since I dont know how to drive a busI came up with a plan to help put garage saling where I think it belongs, in mainstream media. In 2004, I started my website, www.GarageSaleGal.com as a portal for garage sale enthusiasts. I also went back to televisionnot as an anchorbut as the Garage Sale Gal. I began appearing on Phoenix TV stations as the expert on garage saling, while at the same time promoting my website. And get this; I even became a teacher. I taught courses on garage sale buying and selling at Mesa Community College in Arizona. I also took my passion to print media by writing three sample Garage Sale Gal columns for