SIDE HUSTLE UPDATE

Well, a couple weeks ago I posted about my 2020 side hustle: decluttering my music collection.

I was planning on selling one item per week (52 for the year).  With a busy life, it's hard to have time to do the layout for many eBay sales. 

Well, I got into a roll.   So far I've sold 6 items and got $197.25!   Quite the hall

1. $150 for Morrissey "You are the Quarry" LP.  Good.  I am sick and tired of Morrissey.
2. $10 for The Damned "Machine Gun Ettiquette" cassette
3. $13.50 for Depeche Mode "Behind The Wheel / Route 66" extended remixes cassette
4. $4.25 for Depeche Mode "Behind The Wheel / Route 66" regular single cassette
5. $11.50 for Morrissey "Irish Blood, English Heart" 4 song 7" record
6.  $8 for Nirvana "Nevermind" cassette

Never realized just how hip cassettes really got once again.  Many new albums are now out on cassette once again, and these original releases are fetching some good prices.  I'm going to have to dig through my milk carton of cassettes and see what I can offload.  I've got a few hundred.   I do plan on keeping ones that I do not have in any other format.

Still have 4 active items as well as two more going on sale tomorrow morning.

Beastie Boys "Shadrach" cassette single  starting at $25.  Has tracks not available anywhere else like "Your Sister's Def".  They have a great sense of humor.

Pink Floyd "A Nice Pair" cassette.   The first 2 albums on (IMO the 2 best) starting at $10

The Herbfarm Cookbook autographed by Jerry Traunfeld.   The Herbfarm was THE place to have an over the top dining experience in the Seattle area when he ran it. Reservations were booked months out.   Starting at $7

Bauhaus "Gotham" double vinyl.  selling for $100.  This is not only the best live recording of the seminal goth band for 1999, but also includes a cover of Dead Can Dance's "Severance" both live AND in the studio.   

It is long out of print and the only vinyl release of this.  Very very  limited in availability.  I made my copy cheaper than the person in Germany who is selling a few he has on hand.  Other than that, no other sales and none sold in the past few months.

It will surely sell

Pro Tip:  Have your eBay auctions end on a Sunday.  It's the day that has the highest amount of sales.

That is why I am starting 2 new auctions tomorrow.  

One is a limited edition Franz Ferdinand remix of "Take Me Out" (Daft Punk Remix).  I think I played it once and never made it to the end..

The other is a near mint copy of The Human Beinz "Nobody But Me" 45  from 1967.  A Garage/Mod classic from 1967 but is one of those songs that gets stuck in your head for days.  My wife hates it...

I was honestly surprised that they go for around $10.  Mine is super clean and shiny and will start at $4.  It's hard to find many near mint records from 52 years ago.  This will sell.

So what do you think?  Fun?  I think so.   

My question to you out there is if I should sell some of my "holy grail" recordings.  I do have some ultra rare records from The Cure, The Beatles, Johnny Cash, Billie Holliday, and The White Stripes.   I am quite hesitant, but can fetch over $500 for these items.  My wife is telling me to wait on the White Stripes records and I do think I will hang on to my mono Beatles White Album for a while longer.   

The one that I have that blows my mind at the price online is The Cure's "Paris" LP, a real rare benefit concert album.   This is going for up to $700 now.. I got it for $20 back in 1992.  I am just no the biggest fan of live concert records...

Sell?  Keep? Wait until The Cure releases a new album?  IF they do...   

Your thoughts?

DECEMBER 2019 DIVIDENDS

A new year and a new decade.  It always brings a bit of reflection and refreshment. 
Thanks to the person in the photo below, my 2019 was the best year of my life.

I do all of this for her.

So far 2020 has had a bit of a rough start, with the Iran thing and all.   But I am an eternal optimist at heart.  Plus, I balance it out with a dystopian worldview.   The world is going to hell, but you gotta enjoy every second of life.  If you wake up every morning like it is Christmas Day, I guarantee it will add years to your life.  Well, Christmas Day MINUS the kid waking you up at 5am to see what Santa brings...

Back to the dividends..


At the end of the 3rd month of each quarter, I get a bit melancholy.  I'll have ot wait until March to earn a dividend payment almost every single day.

This December, I got 46 different dividends for a grand total of $1.601.10  I like having a permanent passive income stream.  A lot.

And I took every single penny of it and bought more shares to make this payment compound.

This is an increase of 17.93% from 2018's $1,357.72.   

12/2/19	AFL	$23.76
12/2/19	AWR	$7.63
12/2/19	CMI	$39.33
12/2/19	INTC	$26.78
12/2/19	PFE	$19.80
12/2/19	PSX	$16.20
12/3/19	WRK	$52.08
12/4/19	UPS	$35.52
12/4/19	UL	$24.56
12/5/19	DFS	$24.20
12/6/19	AMGN	$26.10
12/6/19	BA	$51.38
12/6/19	SO	$50.84
12/10/19	CVX	$45.22
12/10/19	EMR	$17.00
12/10/19	HE	$48.00
12/10/19	IBM	$45.36
12/10/19	JNJ	$33.25
12/10/19	TGT	$34.98
12/10/19	WHF	$235.76
12/11/19	MAIN	$20.50
12/12/19	ADM	$29.75
12/12/19	CNP	$36.51
12/12/19	MSFT	$17.34
12/12/19	SBSI	$35.65
12/12/19	SBSI	$3.45
12/12/19	MMM	$31.68
12/13/19	AVA	$36.04
12/13/19	FLO	$36.10
12/13/19	O	$15.21
12/13/19	TSN	$11.34
12/16/19	APLE	$40.90
12/16/19	KO	$37.20
12/16/19	MCD	$37.50
12/16/19	ORI	$42.20
12/19/19	GM	$42.56
12/19/19	HD	$16.32
12/19/19	QCOM	$45.26
12/26/19	EAT	$28.88
12/26/19	LVS	$50.05
12/26/19	MAIN	$24.00
12/27/19	BAC	$24.12
12/27/19	CLDT	$21.45
12/30/19	TROW	$35.72
12/31/19	NWE	$35.08
12/31/19	TRV	$12.30	$1601.10

The big one was the special dividend by WHF.  A whopping $235.76.    Crossing my fingers for more "special payments" from them.

Seeing numbers like this motivates me to see this hit the $2,000.  I'll have to invest quite a bit to have it go up by 25%.   Let's see if I can do this

Cheers!

ANNUAL SHARE BUY TO MATCH SPENDING - UPDATE

Back in August, I decided I was going to buy the equivalent amount of shares that I spent at as many companies I can find where I can actually track my spending.   Here is the blog post I wrote about it.

If I am going to spend $200 on coffee at Starbucks, I will match it with $200 in shares.  Think of it as a way to get my money back.   In the long run, my coffee will be free!

I tracked Costco, Target, Apple, Starbucks, AT&T, Home Depot, and Bed Bath and Beyond. 

Pepsi owns Lays chips, Doritos, Sabra, Rold Gold, Life cereal, etc.  I think the toilet paper at Costco is made by Kimberly Clark, but I kept it simple.   I would love to track other companies, but it's nearly impossible to break down the groceries and household items from Colgate, Johnson and Johnson, Kimberly Clark, and Pepsi unless I spend an insane amount of time logging all my purchases.

I would have included McDonalds, but I spent less than $100 there in 2019.  They are out. Same with Walmart.  The closest Walmart to my home is not close and it is an awful store.

My big challenge is Apple.  I spent far too much there.  My computer died, replaced that.  And I also bought quite a bit of shows and games.  One of my 2020 resolutions is to cut that cost by 90%.

Here's my update as of today on my progress.

GOAL	GOAL	SO FAR	REMAINING	%
AAPL (+ iTunes)	$9,695.46	$0.00	$9,695.46	0.00%
BBBY	$270.14	$0.00	$270.14	0.00%
COST	$1,395.80	$0.00	$1,395.80	0.00%
HD	$754.01	$0.00	$754.01	0.00%
SBUX	$172.63	$175.19	-$2.56	101.48%
T	$3,006.81	$858.37	$2,148.44	28.55%
TGT	$4,085.92	$0.00	$4,085.92	0.00%
	$19,380.77	$1,033.56	$18,347.21	5.33%

Starbucks - DONE!

I know what you're thinking... WTF is John doing spending almost $10,000 at Apple?   Yeah, WTF!!!

Well, I am 3 days into 2020, and I have already bought 5.33% of my goal

What do you all think?