How much money’s down the back of the sofa?
… And can you exchange your clutter for cash? Part Marie Kondo-style sort-out, part curiosity, Nicky Dawson finds the wasted wealth lying around her house
THE PENNIES
We all know the joke about rummaging down the back of the sofa for a few extra pennies when you’re strapped for cash. Then there are the people who put loose change in a money jar. But how do you actually cash in your, er, cash?
It turns out those piles of loose coppers can really add up! I collected as much change as I could find (my hubby is a fiend for emptying his pockets as soon as he walks in the door) and set about sorting it out.
Now, you have a couple of options. The first is to spend it, but it could take a serious amount of time to count out even the cost of a pint of milk (around 49p) in coppers.
You could sort the coins, put them in money bags (available from the bank) and cash them in there. But, with so many people using online banking, many don’t have a local branch to visit – and banks that are still on the high street mostly only take change from their own customers.
The other option is a change machine – these are usually found in supermarkets or at railway stations.
I sorted my pile into pounds and 50p pieces first, and had a total of £19.50 already. The rest, I fed into a coin machine and walked away with £30.57! TOTAL: £50.07 VERDICT: Easy money!
STRAY GIFT VOUCHERS
Often bought with much love and thought, a gift voucher means you can actually treat yourself to something you really want. But how many of us actually spend them? A recent survey estimated we throw away £300 million worth a year in unused or outof-date cards.
All cards have different expiry dates, generally ranging from six months to a year. And, with the high street under pressure, there’s the additional risk that the shop could go bust. Other cards that often get forgotten are for theatre tickets or ‘experience days’.
I searched the house and came up with cards for a variety of high-street stores and book tokens – some dating back to last Christmas! TOTAL: £204
VERDICT: What a fool I am! I would never knowingly waste £200. Time to go shopping!
BOOKS
If your bookshelves are bowing under the weight of your collection, or you
just have a few summer blockbusters you’ve already read, you can make some money out of your books.
There are various websites around I signed up to – for example, ziffit.com – which promise you cash for your second-hand tomes, from novels and textbooks to cookbooks and kids’ books.
You sign up for an account and then, by entering the bar code on the back of the book (they all have one), they tell you how much your unwanted book is worth. Mine ranged from 20p to over £2.
Once you’ve done the trade, you parcel up the books and drop them off at a local pickup point. Postage is free and you can choose how to be paid, from a bank transfer to a cash voucher.
They don’t accept all books, so my collection of Rebus thrillers is back on the shelf but, from about 25 titles I offered, they took 10. TOTAL: £9.81
VERDICT: A bit fiddly, and I will still have to make a trip to the charity shop, but who would turn down almost £10?
CLUTTER
My children’s no-longer-used toddler beds have been sitting in my spare room for ages. I dusted them off, took pictures and posted them on a local mums’ Facebook site and on Gumtree.
Originally bought from John Lewis, they would cost £120 new. I advertised them on the sites, asking for £90 for the pair or £50 each.
After a bit of haggling, I sold the beds separately for £40 each within three weeks. I specified collection only, so there was no postage or delivery fees for me to worry about. TOTAL: £80
VERDICT: Again – easy money! But be realistic about the price, as buyers are searching for bargains.
‘I would never knowingly waste £200. Time to go shopping!’