Sold the TV

Ok, I have cleaned house and sold the TV for 10 bucks. It really was a crappy one, but this guy's stuff was in storage for another 2 weeks so he needed a beater to keep up his TV addiction. As far as strategy goes for the other 40 I need, I think what's good for the goose is good for the gander. I'll just buy and sell something again and hopefully make the money.

New Level - $49.25 to $98.50

I sold the movies for $30. I am rockin'! Now I have to double $49.25 and I have put no thought into how. I guess if I made $50 before then I can do it again the same way. I'll get back to you after some thought.

New Level - $19.25 to $38.5

I sold the VCR! I ended up getting $20 for it, so it was worth it in the long run. I did end up having to drive a bit to get the stuff (maybe 10 kms) and also drive a bit to sell it (19.5kms). I figure I should charge myself for gas since this isn't supposed to affect my real life money. This website indicates that my Toyota Corrolla should consume 5.5L/100km. Since the average cost of gas around my area is about $1.10/L, I should charge myself about 6c/km. But Since there is some wear and tear, as well as extra km's added to the car, I'll up this to 7c/km. I figure I went about 29.5km for this project, so I should charge myself $2.07 in gas. $1.32+$20-$2.07=$19.25

My strategy for this level will be to wait until I sell the tapes tonight. I'm supposed to be getting $30 for them, and they are coming to my place, so I won't have to charge myself gasoline! Yipee!

New Level - $1.32 to $2.64

Well, it looks like the coin hunt beat out the VCR Sale, but just barely. I'm supposed to sell the VCR and all the VCR Tapes today. I think I'll make between $40 and $50, so this is going to be a HUGE boost. And I still have the TV if someone want to buy it some day (but it really is crappy so I might just give it away). It's amazing what you can get for free these days. My new strategy on this level is simply to complete my transactions today. Simple.

VHS Tapes

I reduced the price of the VHS tapes and got a few bites. I think I'm going to sell these really soon and get a nice price to boot! Stay tuned.

Where's my buyer

My VCR buyer seems to have fallen off the map. He won't respond to my e-mails anymore. I don't know if he doesn't want it anymore, but I'll keep bugging him. I also found another penny, so I'm only 2 cents away from completing the current double up.

It's a race!

I found another dime. Not sure if I'll find the three pennies I need to complete the current double-up, or if I will get this VCR sold before that. I guess it doesn't really matter, since the VCR sale will boost me up a few levels either way. But - for the record... found a dime.

10 Bucks!

I finally have an offer for the free VCR that i picked up. I've been offered 10 bucks and I have agreed to it. (No other offers, means I should take it while I can get it). We just have to co-ordinate the deal and I will more than oct-up (what's the real term for 8x?) This is a big boost, and I still have 37 movies to boot! (and a crappy TV)

Does this count?

So I'm walking in the mall beside one of those fountains that everyone throws thier coins in. I start drooling over the coins, wishing I could jump in and grab them all. My daydream includes a vision of me in the middle of the fountain throwing the coins up in the air in jubulation while they fall back all around me. Once I wake up from my dream I notice that some kid is literally reaching into the fountain taking money out. "HEY!", I think. "How come he can do that." Well, instead of stealing them he starts trying to skip them on the water. One of them skips right out of the water and lands right in front of me. No one seems to notice, so I pick it up. The funny part is the kid is the one that ended up getting in trouble, but I was the one that walked away with one of the coins - a dime. I figure the fountain gods wanted me to have it. Found a few pennies too. Up to $1.11. 13 cents to go.

35 cents!

Oh baby! I just found a quarter near the vending machine, and then on my way back to my desk I found another dime! I'm at 99 cents now! Only 25 cents to go for my double up. It looks like I might double up before I get my offering ready. That's ok. I'll just charge $1.24 for it instead of 62 cents.

Not since I have been a kid have I cared about finding coins so much.

Another penny

I wonder when i will stop posting that I found a penny. I imagine when I am trying to double $50,000 to $100,000, I won't really care that I found a penny. Anyways, that's not yet. FOUND A PENNY! I have something else in the works that would be creating value for money. Stay tuned...

No Bites

Wow! I can't believe no one has jumped at the chance for $2 movies. I have had a few questions, but that's it. Maybe everyone is downloading thier movies, but still... Two bucks! I have tried all the sites I am used to using on my other blog, One Green Paper Flip. Maybe I should think about Ebay-ing them, although I'm not sure they'd make enough with the Ebay fees.

Here's an interesting post on Gerrard's website at Double Your Way to a Million. Maybe I should think about that, because I'm sure not creating value here. I'm just taking advantage of other people's difference in perceived value. I wonder what my "piping system" is? Well I have 62 cents to invest - scratch that... 63! I found a penny today at lunch. It's a good day. We'll see what I can think of for my 63 cents.

New Level - $0.62 to $1.24

I'm starting to love my local grocery store. I found a penny near the bank machine and then I found another dime in the SAME SPOT as last time! I pretended to drop something and then bent over to pick it up. I should get an Oscar! This is enough to complete my current step! Now I'm on $0.62 to $1.24. I am less than 19 double ups away from paying off my mortgage! I still think I will zoom way past these levels once I can sell the video tapes, TV and VCR I picked up. My main strategy at the moment is to concentrate on selling this stuff off and then see where I end up.

Jackpot!

Awesome! I went to pick up that free TV that was advertised in the local on line board. It was supposed to be a 13 in TV, but turned out to be a 19 in TV. It's old, but it still works. I can probably advertise at the local university. I have 51 cents to buy a pen and paper to do the advertising. The BEST part is that the guy threw in a decent VCR and 37 action movies that are in good condition. Awesome! If I can even sell these for two bucks a piece, then this find could be worth close to 100 bucks. If I even get half that, then that would be 164 times-ing my money instead of doubling it. Awesome!

Another dime!

I still feel silly posting that I found a dime, but you can imagine my exhilaration when I saw a dime a the local grocery store. The problem was that it was in some lady's feet while she was paying. Now how to heck can I get that dime without looking wierd. BAM! She accidently kicked said coin to the side and YOINK! It's in my pocket. Still trying to find something for free to sell. I found an old TV on line, but it's from the 80's. Not sure if I can sell it for anything.

A dime!

Went to the Greek Fest tonight. When I was paying for the Gyros, I noticed a dime on the ground. I thought, "How do I pick this up in front of all these people?" EUREKA! I bent down to tie my shoe... YOINK! Up to 41 cents. Only 19 cents to go. Look out Trump!

New strategy

Ok, I have decided that I can spend the rest of my life picking coins off the ground, or I can do something else that is hopefully quicker to get me up a few levels here. I was thinking that there's probably not much I can invest in or buy for 30 cents that will help me in my cause. Anything that cheap, people would probably give away. Hmmm.... give away, eh? That's right. People are always trying to get rid of thier old junk. I think I'll surf some local for sale boards to see if I can't find something for free that is small enough to fit in my car. Stay tuned....

Found a penny

Well, I found another penny. I feel kind of silly running around town picking up pennies, but this really is the easiest way to get to the next level. All it takes is one quarter and I'm almost there. In the future, I will be more creative, but then again, I'm not allowed to think about the future projects yet. I was in the local grocery store near the checkouts when I saw this penny on the ground. It was really busy so I felt silly picking it up. I kicked it to a less conspicous aisle and then picked it up. I'm at 31 cents now, which is 29 cents to my next goal. Here penny, penny, penny!

New Level - 30c doubling to 60c

Everytime I reach a new level, I will start a post to discuss how I can double the current amount.

30c is not a lot of cash. I got here by finding change on the ground. That is a good way to double again. There's not much I can try to buy that someone would pay more for. I think for now I am a floor cleaner.

The Rules

Ok, I am a firm believer that when you do something like this, you need a FIRM set of rules, and you can't break them for any thing. So you had better make sure your rules are correct in the first place. Only under the most extreme circumstance could you break them - for example you realise that your rules weren't very good to begin with and must improve them. As I said below, this has been done before and is greatly based on This Website. The idea first came about from some guy named Stuart Goldsmith. Now I don't know this guy, but isn't that an awesome last name for something like this? Here's his 8 page report that includes his version of the rules.

The 8 Page Stuart Goldsmith Report

Now I like a lot of his rules, but some of them I don't. I realise that he is a millionaire and a lot of people say that I should just follow his formula, but I would argue that there is more than one way to skin a cat. The important part is making a solid set of rules and sticking to them... no matter what. Everyone is different and what will make Stuart Goldsmith rich, is not necessarily what will do it for me. I know myself better than anyone and I firmly believe that the below rules are my best way to my goal. By the way - my goal is not a million dollars.... for this project, it is paying off my mortgage. If I do that then I'll start another one to make the million dollars.

Rule1: I cannot use any of my "real life" money for anything related to this project. This project MUST stand on it's own. If I lose everything, then I will only lose what I didn't have in the first place.

Rule 2: If the current step results in more than doubling, then this becomes the new benchmark for doubling. For example, If I have $5 and need to double to $10, but somehow I turn it into $12, then I now have $12 and need to try to double to $24.

Rule 3: If the current action results in less than doubling, then I can use all the money to keep trying to complete the doubling. For example, if I have $5 and I turn that into $7, then I still need to complete the doubling, but I can now use the $7 to do it.

Rule 4: I can only concentrate on the current doubling effort. I cannot speculate how I will double larger amounts of money in the future. This will reduce the chance of me getting overwhelmed or bogged down. I can always double what I have and that is all that matters.

Rule 5: I cannot spend one cent of this money until I have enough to pay off my mortgage. Of course, I can spend it to further the project, but no "withdrawls".

Rule 6: I cannot use any hidden resources - ie. no photocopying from work... I'd have to do it at the local copy place.

Rule 7: If I end up with less than half of my money, then I am downgraded to doubling from there.

Rule 12: I can get the money any way legally possible. I can work, trade, buy stocks - anything legal to double it.

Well, there are my rules that will work for me.

A Quarter! I'm Rich!

Holy Camoly with Jam Pies and Pickled Pizzas! On my way to the washroom at work, I figured I would check the vending machine change return thingy and guess what I found? A whole quarter! I just 5 times-ed my money! Now I have 30 cents and I have to figure out a way to get it to 60 cents. I can see how this is going to get more difficult as time goes on. Still, I should be able to handle finding 30 cents somewhere. I'd better come up with my rules fast!

The post that started it all

Ok I just found a blog where this guy is going to find a penny and keep doubling it until he has a million dollars. He's supposed to think of creative (legal) ways to make the money. There are a few rules, like all investing, etc. must come from the money produced from here and NONE of it can come from outside sources, etc. Check out his site for the general idea.

Double Your Way to a Million

Now my project will be heavily based on this guys plan, except I am going to make a few adjustments as I see fit. One change I see already is that once you double to your next level, you must spend the additional money on yourself as a treat. I think that's silly. You'll just end up slowing yourself down. I think that when I acheive a level and manage to overshoot it, then that simply becomes the next level. Say I have $4 and manage to more than double it by buying and selling something and I get $10. Well, then I acheived my goal and the next amount I want to acheive is $20. Seems silly to spend $2 on myself and then try to double to only $16. Hey, if I did better than expected, I should be rewarded by trying to double to something higher.

I'll come up with my official rules later. I couldn't help going out and trying to find my first penny. It actually took a while, but when I found that penny, I found anohter and then three in a row! Five cents! I never thought I would be excited to have five cents, but that means I already doubled to 2c and then overdoubled to 5c! Now I have to try to turn it into 10 cents. Yee haw. The way to do that is likely to just keep looking for change on the ground. I'll keep you posted and I'll do up my blog a bit nicer as time permits.