HOW TO TURN YOUR JUNK INTO A POT OF GOLD AND... NEVER GO BROKE

Need some cash? LEE BOYCE walks you through the smartest tricks from his must-read book on surviving the big squeeze

THOUSANDS of us are sitting on a goldmine – we just don’t realise it. Old DVDs gathering dust, clothes that are now vintage treasures and defunct electronics containing valuable parts are among the gems many of us no longer use.

So if you totted up all items you own around the home, you could be sitting on thousands – or even tens of thousands – of euro worth of possessions.

Many of us are guilty of either piling up clutter, or binning perfectly good items in springclean frenzies.

It’s time to change your mindset – and to help you navigate the cost-ofliving squeeze, I’m going to reveal simple tricks to turn the hidden value in your home into cash.

From how to sell items for the most money to the secret to becoming a king or queen of the car boot trade, I’ll guide you through every step.

All the advice comes from my book Never Go Broke (available in all good bookshops), written with Storage Hunters presenter Jesse McClure.

Starting with an empty pot, I’ll show you how to slowly build up a standalone cash pile from items in your home.

Later I’ll show you how to use this money to become a parttime buyer and seller of all manner of items, turning your cash into more money.

Get it right and it’ll soon become an addictive, exciting – and lucrative – hobby. . .

SELLING ITEMS IN YOUR HOME

LOOK at any items in your home that you no longer use or want as potential money-makers.

Don’t be tempted to bin anything at this stage. Put items you’re selling in a separate box and create an inventory.

Selling these items is better for the environment (and your soonto-be created pot of cash).

MULTIMEDIA: Academic books tend to hold their prices well. With CDs and DVDs, it’s collectors’ items that fetch the most – for example, the original Star Wars films.

VINYL:

With a huge revival in vinyl, it’s vital that you dig through any collection you intend to sell carefully – some can sell for big bucks, especially from star artists or if it is an obscure pressing. For example, The Joshua Tree by U2, while a huge album, sold far more copies in CD format than vinyl. That rarity means that vinyl copies in good condition can now fetch up to €100.

The website Discogs is a good place to get an idea of the value.

CLOTHES: While you may update your wardrobe regularly, some items you no longer wear can fall into the vintage category, especially designer goods. It is believed we’re sitting on billions of euro worth unworn clothes. Use eBay or a specialist resale website such as Depop or Vinted – just check the fees carefully, take good photographs and write detailed descriptions of the clothes you want to sell.

Or use Facebook Marketplace, which is free of fees for items sold locally, or consider a car boot sale. Brands such as M&S and Next usually do well at car boot sales.

ELECTRONICS: If you upgrade your television, sell your old one. There is a huge market for second-hand TVs, especially from parents who will buy them for teenagers. You’re likely to get at least €50 or upwards from Facebook Marketplace, DoneDeal or Adverts.ie – and someone will come to pick it up. Same goes for phones – many of us upgrade and leave old ones to gather dust in drawers. But their parts still have value. See how much your old model is selling for on eBay or a specialist phone resale website.

VIDEO GAMES: There has also been a huge revival in retro gaming. Old Nintendo and Sega games and consoles that many families have stashed in the loft have grown hugely in value. Check out prices on the website of secondhand retailer CeX to get an idea of how much your lot is worth.

Some games have become rare and sought-after, especially if in good condition and with the box and manual. For example, Pokemon Blue and Red Game Boy cartridges usually sell for up to €45. But, in mint, boxed condition, they can fetch €1,000 – or more!

FURNITURE:

If you have a bulky item you want to get rid of, make sure you know what it’s made from – some woods are highly sought-after and expensive. Even the price of MDF has rocketed in the past few years.

I ordered a new sofa last week and the company wanted me to pay to take the old one away. Instead, I listed it on Facebook Marketplace and have found a committed buyer.

COINS:

You could be sitting on some that are worth a pretty penny!

INSTRUMENTS: One of the strongest resale items, according to eBay, is used instruments in good condition. Parents often prefer to buy second-hand in case their child’s new-found passion is short-lived. Again, Facebook Marketplace can be a good bet, with a buyer turning up to take that guitar off your hands without fees.

CASH FOR TRASH FINDS

THERE really is free money lurking on the streets. I’ve lost count of the times I have gone for a walk locally and seen furniture with a ‘free, take me’ sign, or skips full of salvageable items. Our job is to see these as moneymaking opportunities with a small amount of effort. It won’t make you a fortune, but they can be little gains that build up.

SWOOP ON NEIGHBOURS:

Often, people leave packing to move out of their home until the last minute. Big, clunky items can get left behind and movers are happy for you to take things such as furniture and bicycles off their hands (just ask permission first). You can then clean these up and resell them.

FREE FINDS:

One of the earliest Never Go Broke thrills you will get is turning your first ‘freebie’ into cash. The key to this is upcycling. Tutorials on YouTube will help you salvage old furniture finds into something resellable, with a little TLC (tender loving creativity) and small outlay.

DIG THROUGH THE TRASH:

Again, you’d be surprised what gets binned. We’re not talking about going through people’s household rubbish. But more likely communal areas where items are often cast aside. Examples we’ve seen include a bird cage and a branded beer bucket.

JAM JARS, WINE BOTTLES AND CORK:

All of these sell on eBay for small amounts. Often, people use them for craft projects. When we checked, 30 clean jam jars were selling for €10 on eBay, and ten glass ramekin dishes for a fiver.

INK CARTRIDGES, LEGO AND COPPER:

You can earn up to €1.50 posting used and empty ink cartridges via specialist websites. Old Lego can be recycled for money, and if you’re having house renovations, ensure builders aren’t taking away valuable materials; for example, you can get about €4,000 a tonne for copper wire.

OPEN A SPECIAL BANK ACCOUNT:

Before you wade into my world of Never Go Broke, open a secondary bank account. This way, you can see your gains and you won’t lose it in the world of day-to-day spending. One trick to give you an instant head start is to switch an old current account you opened years ago but don’t use much to a new one offering a bonus. If you save money from a finance-related task, such as using a comparison website to drive down your insurance bill, you could move the difference into your secondary account to see a tangible cash boost from your work.

Other simple wins that you can put into this secondary account can be cash-makers such as renting out your driveway.

You’ll also need a smartphone and internet connection. It doesn’t need to be the latest model of phone but essentially, you’ll require a phone to take advantage of the moneymaking apps. And lastly, while Facebook Marketplace is a good place to sell items, watch out for scammers and never click on any links in private messages.

PLAY THE POST-IT NOTE GAME:

Go into any room in your home. Select half-a-dozen items and write down a rough price you’d accept for each one on a Post-it note and stick it on. Now go away and research each item online and write down what you’d actually get. After you catch the bug, you can do the entire room and add up the total value. It’s a perfect exercise in realising how much money you could make on items you no longer use.

CASH IN ON YOUR TALENTS:

Can you sew a button? Are you good at DIY jobs? Do you have a knack for teaching a subject or a specialist knowledge? If the answer to any of these is yes, you can list your skills on websites such as Fiverr and Upwork, or post on social media, and then charge an hourly rate.