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Knight news
Well i got my sign... last modified: Saturday, September 19, 2009 (10:44:47 AM) Firstoff i want to thank everyone who responded to my previous blog. i appreciate all your comments and your encouragement!!! *hugs*
Well as you read i was going back and forth between thinking of selling my collection or not selling my collection. Of course i love my pieces (what collector doesnt, ya know?), but i love my family even more and i finally got the sign that i was looking for, for a decision. Yesterday i was working and i got a phone call from my mother. She informed me that her hours have been cut... in half!!! Instead of working an 8 hour shift, her employer informed her she will now be working only 4 hours a day (just enough to maintain her health insurance.. thank God!!!). So now I will...yet again... be the primary breadwinner in my family (of just me and my mom). Im just grateful that they didnt eliminate her job completely because we never would have made it with just my job and buying her medications on top of paying normal bills (which would be around $600 a month if she had no ins...omgosh we got out like bandits, thank you God thank you God >_<). Hopefully as time goes on she can find another position within our company (the school district we work at). But even they are suffering from the loss of TEN THOUSAND kids!!! Yup, ten thousand kids have seriously just up and left the district in one year alone!!! And the only way were funded is through the number of kids we have. so if that number goes down dramatically (like it has) then our funding goes down EVEN MORE dramatically... hours cut, jobs lost, funding to programs eliminated, etc (sorry i dont mean to be all doom and gloom but its just depressing >_<). well anyways, getting back on track... As i said i was asking for a sign to sell majority of the collection b/c i just felt like my heart wasnt into it anymore and it was eating away at $ we didnt have. So i got it. And so it begins... ill be putting an update on Anime Beta about selling off probably 90% of what i have... the only sections that arent going to be for sale are my Batman items, Gargoyles items (because they were with me from the beginning), two of my Rilezu's (the one from Saiunkoku and the other from Vampire Knight) and a few various cels and sketches that are special to me. heh, i went through the entire collection last night and said to myself "ok, is this really special and meaningful to me or is it just cool looking?"... and boy was it TOUGH!!! >_< but getting down to the nitty gritty and really asesseing things, i feel like im at peace now with my decision. Ive come full circle, so to speak. Originally when i started this collection (back in 2007...dang has it be almost 2 years so far???) i was primarily going to collect Batman cels (hence the name "Knight Visions") and got distracted by a TON of different things along the way. Now i wish i hadnt have given in to those things but well, whats that saying "if wishes were horses"? oh well. So ill start with Anime Beta and hopefully ill be able to sell quite a bit there (though my first attempt at a sale went terribly badly ... no takers on anything >_<) then if that doesnt get rid of everything, ill go to ebay *sniff*. Thank you again for everything my friends *BIG hugs*!!! I appreciate all of your kindness and encouragement. :) Wish me luck! Much love, Amy
Having to face and make such a decision is hard. You are really brave for doing this, and for facing your decision head-on. And, from your blog entry, it sounds like you made the right choice for yourself. Inner peace is one of the most precious things you can have. If you feel that, then you know you are doing the right thing. Good luck to you on your sales. And good luck to both you and your mom! *hugs*
It''s a tough time to sell. I wouldn''t suggest trying to sell off your collection all in one go nor starting off at already too low prices unless you really want to move it quickly. Sometimes even placing everything on a bargain doesn''t really help in moving things. It marginally helps but not significantly. That said, I''m glad you''re able to sort out what you''d like to keep or not. That''s really good. Now just be patient in selling and don''t get discouraged if your first sale doesn''t go that well. Just remember what''s the point of selling your collection to help your family if you only get back such a small portion that you can probably raise or save for some other way? Your heartache of letting your collection go, might not be worth the funds you raise in the end. So anyway, I wish the best for you and your family.
Hi, Amy! I sympathise with you. Over here where I work, half of the kids are leaving next month and that means our hours will definitely be cut as well. But let''s stay strong, okay? I''m sure things will get better soon. Also, I''m glad you feel good with your decision. All the best! *hugs*
*hugs* I''m sorry about your mom''s hours getting cut. Things are tough everywhere now. Hang in there hunny. I''m praying for you guys. ;D
I agree with hajimenokizu - make sure that you get as much as you can for your treasured cels and sketches. If there are other ways to save money, do those before getting rid of cels that you''ll really miss. Without knowing you personally, here are some easy ways to save lots of money each month that I, personally, have tried: (1) Change your cell phone plan to the most basic one available. Don''t use features that cost extra, like texting or internet access. (2) Drop your cable down to basic, or if it is already at basic, drop cable tv services altogether. With a digital converter box, you can still watch network tv and most public library systems have a *really* good selection of movies and tv on DVD that you can check out for free. (3) Don''t eat out. This goes for coffee, too. (4) For a little while, try to avoid buying more expensive items like meat. Pasta and rice are usually cheap and quite filling. I wouldn''t suggest this long-term, but for a month or two would be okay from a dietary stand-point. I hope that your mother can either find another job, or get her boss to give her some more hours. Going from 8 to 4 is quite a cut! GOOD LUCK!
Good Luck in the future. I know here in Alaska the job market is tight too.
Amy, you are smart to be grateful the situation could''ve been tougher for everyone. =) Glad you still see the silver lining during these tough times. As for selling your collection the decision between selling prized material possessions and doing what needs to be done to help loved ones usually is clear, but at times it takes reflection. For the record we are licensed financial planners so this is one thing we specialize in. Hope you do not mind us sharing. =) You may not want to necessarily sell everything at once, but definitely take offers AND contact anyone who has previously expressed interest in your collection. We also wouldn''t be so quick to dismiss selling the entire collection. Simply b/c the other shoe as it were, may drop. Doesn''t it make sense to create a plan (just in case), instead of being forced to react to a stressful situation? =) Worse case you do not use your back up plan but it can give you the peace of mind knowing you have an ace up the sleeve, right? Since we do not know how tight things are for you financially, whether you live on your own, at home, if you are at school, or if you are independent, etc, there are A LOT of unknowns. All of these factors affect how important it is to sell your possessions but it may come down to it in the future. It is great you are considering what to place on the offering block now. However, the first thing we would strongly suggest you doing is to STOP buying immediately non-essentials and that especially applies to cels. Cutting other expenses that are not absolutely necessary helps to improve the financial situation too. Entertainment (cancel non-essentials like cable, watching movies outside, buying dvds/comics/games), buying name brand foods -generics from Safeway and CostCo- are great. Also as much as possible eat in and make it a FUN family event! Brown bagging lunches can be fun, healthier and much more affordable too. =) Oh, another thing to consider is to reduce retirement contributi
Oh, another thing to consider is to reduce retirement contributions (temporarily) if everyone is employed too. Lastly, as financial planners we would definitely recommend TONS more but due to privacy concerns we will not post too many specifics here. If you want to know more, just use contact us on our gallery. Good luck and keep us posted. =) |
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