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Nik-chick
Feb-17-2004, 5:13pm
Okay, so the topic description cut off the "g". That's probably how I'd have said it anyhow.

Besides setting money that you already have aside (I work 12hrs a week and take money from Mommy and Daddy as it is), how do you fund MAS?

Selling AVON didn't work out for me because I don't like asking my friends to buy from me (total strangers I probably could, but you just can't sell door to door these days). That, and an Avon lady who doesn't wear make-up normally is an odd thing. *LOL*

Anything ya'll would suggest? I wanna replace Dobie Lazarus (tho I'm keeping him ofcourse) and I just don't want anything within a price range I could reasonably ask my folks for (atleast, not perminantly, temp sure).

mandofiddle
Feb-17-2004, 5:28pm
Hmmm... Here are a couple ideas. May or may not be a fit. How about...

temp jobs through a temp agency (great for college students, I did it)
selling old clothes to a used clothing store such as buffalo exchange
babysitting
selling plasma (if you're REALLY desparate)

Thats all I got...

Lee
Feb-17-2004, 5:42pm
If you can get along with other people, living together with a group in a rented house with a half dozen bedrooms or so makes for a very inexpensive living arrangement.
Don't think of your car as a fashion statement. buy used.
Not having kids helps with the funds. But that usually happens only when there's no spouse and a one-person mortgage can get expensive, so this idea might be a wash.
Become a part time piano tuner. There is money to be made, and you make your own hours. What you learn will also make you a better overall musician. If you're mechanically inclined as well, piano repairs can bring in great cash.
Clean houses.

jim simpson
Feb-17-2004, 5:45pm
I have managed to maintain an instrument fund by playing Bluegrass live and by buying, selling, & trading instruments. I try to keep 2 mandolins so I have a backup when one is getting refretted, etc. or even to play at a gig if I break a string. The problem is one is always favored over the other so it's a constant battle of one-upmanship. I think I would be better off keeping two of the same make and model provided they both play and sound alike.
You could alway try busking!

mad dawg
Feb-17-2004, 5:51pm
Cruise the flea markets and garage sales for "finds", and sell them on eBay using subjective adjectives such as "sweet", "unique", "hot".

Lee
Feb-17-2004, 5:52pm
Busking?
The trouble with buying and selling mandos is your inclination is to always move up in quality on the ones that you keep.

Lee
Feb-17-2004, 5:54pm
Rather than flea markets and garage sales, go dumpster diving at places like Sam's Club, Walmart, and such. Then sell at flea markets, but be sure and get registered with a tax ID number.

neal
Feb-17-2004, 5:55pm
Become a mortgage broker. Just walk into an office, maybe 3 or 4 and tell them you'd like to start. There's a dozen in your town. Then you can buy this (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3705128301&category=10179) . Just so you know, I have no interest in this, I just came across it and found it a real beauty. Good luck!

Lee
Feb-17-2004, 6:00pm
Very tempting, Neal. I've no tuning jobs tonight so maybe I'll head over to Sam's Club later on.

John Flynn
Feb-17-2004, 6:26pm
Find a doctor or lawyer that bought a Gil, Nugget, Dude or MM as an investment and convince them that they need someone to play it regularly to keep it "opened up." Don't tell them about what happened to your mando, however!
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Michael H Geimer
Feb-17-2004, 7:46pm
Nik,
The busking bit might work for you, 'cause you sing too, right?

I recently funded a GAS attack by selling off older unused instruments. See what you've got around that might fetch a couple duckets, then go busking with Dobie ... the sympathy factor of a duct-taped mando might actually help!

Best of luck,
- Benig

Jack Roberts
Feb-17-2004, 8:43pm
I'd love to sell of my Leicas and Nikons from when I was doing a lot of photography (no time anymore.) But then they would be gone.

mandroid
Feb-17-2004, 9:27pm
No Car, no insurance costs, no girlfriend
live in hovels,.... I call it Involuntary simplicity. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

Brookside
Feb-17-2004, 9:59pm
Read Walden by Thoreau. All you need is a one room cabin, 2 acres of beans and a few mandolins.

John Rosett
Feb-18-2004, 12:04am
i'm with you all on the simplicity thing.
my wife and i live in a little 550 sq ft house, and i transport my expensive mandos and guitars around in a $250. pickup truck.
for me, it's all about what's really important. i mean, if you don't have a car, you can walk, but if you don't have a mandolin,what are you gonna do, sing?
john

mikeomando
Feb-18-2004, 12:18am
Food is optional. Turn off the heat and put on a sweater. When you get paid, set aside some mando money first. I'm still trying to recover from a mando I bought last year. Wouldn't change a thing.

Ajvessey
Feb-18-2004, 3:22am
Just scrounge around your house for all the useless stuff you bought and never use and then sell it on Ebay. That's always a great way to make some cash.

John Rosett
Feb-18-2004, 9:01am
mikeomando-
don't turn OFF the heat, you might ruin that mandolin. better to just get rid of your house and go live on someone's couch. now we're talkin' some serious money saving!
john

levin4now
Feb-18-2004, 12:18pm
I funded my first mando purchase by selling on EBAY the diecast collectibles I had that I realized I certainly didn't need. So, if you've got any hobbies from your past that may have garnered some collectibles along the way - sell em on ebay...I also saved money I got for birthdays for a few years.

I just sold (today) a Neil Young book on EBAY. I've sold NASCAR collectibles, an Irish songbook, Monty Python books, computer parts, bird guides, etc... However, my recent selling spree is to fund a computer overhaul at home.

Now I don't have anything to sell for my current state of MAS.

Randy
Feb-18-2004, 12:26pm
Never, ever spend your change. I can save 3 to 5 hundred a year just by putting all my quarters in a jar. And it's painless. Also ask all your family and friends to give you instrument money for birthdays, Christmas, etc. Explain to them what you are saving for and they'll understand. I've bought 2 guitars, 2 mando's, and a banjo all within the past few years doing this.

duuuude
Feb-18-2004, 12:47pm
I guess a mask & gun are out of the question? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

Christine W
Feb-18-2004, 1:01pm
I agree with the simplicity thing.
I just sold my Wrangler because it was eating me alive. In gas alone I was spending 150.00-180.00 a month + repaira and upkeep. It was a total ego car must have been a
" early mid-life crisis thing " I learned my lesson. Think simple.

Yard sales are great Just empty out all your old junk and clutter you don't need anymore and make some extra $$$$$.

Sell cds,videos and dvds you don't listen to or watch anymore. These things add up
Oh and the Bucket o change before mentioned is great

bratsche
Feb-18-2004, 1:15pm
Yard sales are also great for buying your necessity stuff - as are Goodwill and Salvation Army type thrift stores and eBay.

My frugal motto is "never buy anything new - except underwear!"

bratsche

Russ(String-Alley)
Feb-18-2004, 1:43pm
here's my list (NOT RECOMMENDED FOR ANYONE!!)

a 12 step program:

1. Return bottles and cans from your buddies
2. Sell your blood by the pint (or medical research duties)
3. Find that "well-to-do" relative you never met
4. sell all your worldly possesions on E-bay
5. Eat only Noodles Ramen ( hey its 3$ for a weeks worth of eats!)
6. Get that 2nd job you never knew you wanted
7. collect scrap metals for cash and relive the sit-com "sanford and son"
8. use a stocking as a halloween mask and visit the nearest bank and tell them you need mandolin money ( really NOT recommended!!! )
9. obtain a credit card (at loanshark rates) and put yourself into hock for the next two to three years
10. sell recipes to those expensive cookies you keep hearing about
11. check the space between the couch everywhere you go
12. get that 3rd job you knew you really didn't want

keep saving and hunt out the best you can afford.
Best of luck on it.

cheers
Russ

Frank Russell
Feb-18-2004, 2:50pm
My new A9 is called "Federal Tax Refund 2003."

mandofiddle
Feb-18-2004, 3:10pm
Y'all are making me think about going to a thrift store this weekend to see what I can pick up to sell on eBay. #That and going through the garage to see what I can get rid of, plus CDs, etc... #eBay is a really good resource for this kinda stuff. #I used to have a neighbor who would go to yard sales and buy old video games. #Atari, Nintendo, etc, type games, and sell the on eBay for quite a hefty profit. #I've been wanting to buy a guitar for a while now. #I had one a few years back but had to sell it when i was unemployed. #I borrowed one for a few weeks about 2 months ago and got a DVD on bluegrass rhythm playing, but then had to give the guitar back. #Bummer, cuz I had just figured out how to play a decent BG rhythm, and even wrote a few tunes on the guitar in a slightly different style than what I usually write on the mando. #Okay, I think I just talked myself into searching for "sellables" #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

Nik-chick
Feb-18-2004, 8:17pm
WOW! I didn't expect that many replies, esp not that fast! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif Thank you!

A lot of that won't apply to me 'cause I already live with my folks 2.5 days a week and in the dorm the other 4.5 (which they pay for-it's close enough to drive once a week, but not daily). I drive Papaw's old truck (sentamental value), own almost no first-hand clothing (except my underwear as Bratsche said), can't give blood and won't scrimp any more on food than I already do (I've gone as far as I can and it still be nutritious...no Ramen noodles are not nutritious, look at the sodium content, tho I eat the ones in the cups w/ veggies from time to time just not regularly).

I have a list of things I already own to sell on Ebay (from my stereo to some old Star Trek collectables). That was already in the plan. Where I was/am semi-stuck is what to invest that money in reselling after that. Thanks for the suggestions on where to get more stuff to sell! That was great, though dumpster digging will get one arrested for vegrancy here. Thanks for bringing up marketable skills that I might use even tho I don't have any openings on my schedual where I could really take on another job. I could actually buy "parts or repair" computers and fix them. I've thought about that before. It's about all I know how to do (besides change oil, and I couldn't beat the prices of professionals around here anyhow). I was also thinking about buying off of Ebay and selling in classifieds. I might also look into weather or not Mary Kay has any online selling restrictions like Avon did. Why tell ya'll all of this, 'cause you shared your ideas-there are mine.

Russ: Um...I'll pass.

Benig: I do sing, but there's no "too" to it. *L* I'm not much of a mandolinist; I've always admitted that. That, and I panic infront of people still, tho I'm getting better about that (hopefully ALOT better soon since I have an audition on the 5th to be a music minor).

levin4now
Feb-18-2004, 10:06pm
I love the child credit and EIC I've gotten lately on my tax returns...but alas we need the money for life, not new mandolins.

CharlieKnuth
Feb-19-2004, 6:55am
I once bought a Flatiron Octave mandolin with the money I got for "volunteering" for a medical experiment at NIH. I donated lung tissue a couple of times and spent the day in their Intensive Care Unit while going through the procedure. Not an easy thing to do nor an altogether pleasant experience, but I sure enjoyed the octave mandolin. That was dear to me until it was stolen a couple of years ago. Nothing like extracting a pound of flesh for a mandolin.

Lee
Feb-19-2004, 1:31pm
OK, so I'm gonna sound like a broken record. I bet your college has a piano on campus. They must employ someone to tune it. Find out who he is and ask him to show you how to tune a piano. Do you hang around musician's much? Your customer base can start there. Sixty dollars is a very reasonable charge for a tuning job and it'll take you just under two hours once you get a handle on it.
Forbes magazine did a study a few years ago to determine what job paid the most money with the least amount of stress. The Piano Tuner won.

freddyu
Feb-19-2004, 1:43pm
levin4now... yeah baby,..that child tax credit... one of those Bush tax breaks for the rich I've been so shameless in accepting. Sure am glad I really don't need it to raise my 4 kids, $1600 comes close to buying that f9 now.

Tom C
Feb-19-2004, 1:57pm
I say we set up a scholarship to send a mando to Nik-chick. Hey, I'd rather help buy a fellow member a mando than to send somebody I will never know to mando classes.
-But I'm doing that anyway.

mandofiddle
Feb-19-2004, 2:19pm
I'd pitch in a couple bucks if somebody else set it up...

Ken Sager
Feb-19-2004, 2:41pm
Here's a tip:
If you simply don't have the money now then start looking at every expenditure and compare each to the mandolin you want and where you would be a year from now. A year from now will you regret not buying X vs. a year from now will you regret not having enough money for your mandolin?

Start today.

Put some money away every day by NOT spending it on something you don't need. Stick it under the mattress. Open a second savings account just for this money. Do whatever it takes to make a clear distinction that this money is for your next mandolin.

I've been doing this for years, and now I have another mando on the way (mailed a check yesterday), and an octave is being built for delivery in May. I've paid cash for all my instruments this way and I haven't sacrificed anything I didn't need.

It also helps to buy a mandolin that won't decrease in value too much as you play it so when you're ready to do it again you'll be able to get out what you paid, plus have more money from your daily effort of saving.

Make saving money a deliberate, daily act. Just don't forget to have fun and live a little while you're saving.

Good luck,
Ken

Mandodoc
Feb-19-2004, 2:48pm
With all the people with MAS on here I'll bet somebody has a servicable Mandolin that they are not using that Nikki would love to have. Even maybe as a long term loan until she can purchase one in the future. A round back that is hanging on the wall, a flat back that isn't your sound, a Lloyd Loar sitting in a glass case???

Ken Sager
Feb-19-2004, 2:53pm
With all the people with MAS on here I'll bet somebody has a servicable Mandolin that they are not using that Nikki would love to have. #Even maybe as a long term loan until she can purchase one in the future. #A round back that is hanging on the wall, a flat back that isn't your sound, a Lloyd Loar sitting in a glass case???
She has one, and like the rest of us wants another one.

I have a few, but would like a few more. Maybe somebody could send a few of theirs to to me to play for awhile... http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Ken

Mandodoc
Feb-19-2004, 3:12pm
If I remember correctly she ran over her Mandolin with her truck and duct taped it back together so she could still play it. I think that was the story...
jon

Mando4Life
Feb-19-2004, 3:26pm
Nik-Chick,

I'e got an old Kentucky 630. Just sitting around collecting dust now (over a year now). Email me. I'm moving and need to get rid of things anyway. No Joke.

Wayne

BenE
Feb-19-2004, 3:29pm
COOL!

Ken Sager
Feb-19-2004, 3:39pm
See, there I go sticking my foot in it again...

KS

Nik-chick
Feb-19-2004, 3:54pm
Your trying to help me out is so sweet. But, there are a lot of people on this board with families and kids that would have a lot more trouble than I would coming up with the money for another one. Make those offers to them, not me. I couldn't borrow anyone's mandolin or anything like that anyway. Not knowing I deserve that so much less than other people on here who can actually play. I'm still trying to get access to the practice rooms or over my nerves enough to practice in my room where other people can hear. It's great to know there's such a wonderful supportive community tho. Those are good ideas for someone who needs/deserves it more, tho.

My folks have offered me one to learn on. I just have to find one that's a little starter (whatever the cheapest thing that will hold a tune is, because I couldn't ask them for more than that-much less anyone else). That'll probably be in the next month or two. Dobie and I will be fine 'til then. I was just thinking about saving up for something else on the long term. I'm fine. Thank you.

Mandodoc
Feb-19-2004, 5:16pm
Nik you deserve it as much as anyone. You have the mandopassion and you need an instrument to play on. Get with Wayne and see what you can do, he made a wonderful/sincere offer there. I'm sure you are much better than you think you are and that when you play in the dorms you have fans you don't even know about. I know you have fans here on the board that you don't know about.
jon

elenbrandt
Feb-19-2004, 9:30pm
Girlfriend...let me tell you the tried and true way.

First and foremost -- develop "the plan". Whenever I want anything important in my life, I think about what it is that I ultimately really want. I get my picture clear, and then I start putting it out into the universe...and somehow the universe always provides what you need.

Mystical hooey -- not really, it has always worked for me.

Having decided what you need, meditate on it. You may not get what you "want" right away -- but you will get what you need. From what you have described in your state of mando-development -- that offer of the Kentucky is a sign from the Universe to "use it" for a while and begin the process of saving for the instrument that will come after it.

Probably the only thing I have learned in my 50 nasty years, is to be a little more patient and trust that what I really need will arrive at the door, (usually just as I need it and not a moment before.) Your great instrument hasn't come to you, because you probably don't yet know what it is and aren't quite ready for it to drop in.

Does that make any sense? cheers...

Django Fret
Feb-19-2004, 11:53pm
Nik-chick, based on the helpful responses you've received so far (not to mention all the commotion when you posted your picture in that well-read thread), here is another idea to consider...

Why not try to get a free mandolin from a mandolin builder or manufacturer in exchange for your endorsement of it? I can see the Nik-chick "pick" getting a lot of exposure on the Cafe, and I bet at least one of them will recognize the value they would get in exchange for the promotional consideration. Who wouldn't think positively about a builder or company that helped you out in your situation?

Just be sure to put a link to their Web site in your signature and post some pictures of you playing it.

Nik-chick
Feb-20-2004, 12:10am
D'Jango: I think I'll stick to getting a basic starter mando. *L* That's the most creative responce, tho. (I think that's only an option if you can play the thing *L*)

Seriously, I'm headed up to Portland where I bought Dobie. I might find something in my price range that I like once again. That's what my friend up there does is starter instruments, lessons and jams mostly. Now that I have a good reason to use the gas to get up there (class project) I'll get to go look. If I find something low priced there, my Dad might get it for me, in which case this may all be solved.

Mando4Life
Feb-20-2004, 8:29am
Nik-chick,

I hope you find what you're looking for up in Portland. If not, the offer still stands. Short term, long term, whatever.

Wayne

Nik-chick
Feb-24-2004, 3:36pm
Thank you, Wayne. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif I really appriciate this.

fatt-dad
Feb-26-2004, 12:14pm
Having just returned from Carnival in Panama, I note the many ways people try to make money. How 'bout going to a festival with cleaning supplies and charging $1.00 to freshen the sanican? Well in Panama, it may have been a dime, but, you got the idea.

f-d

Lee
Feb-26-2004, 1:12pm
Fatt-Dad; that's a rather gross way to make money. At a festival I'd pay NOT to clean the sanicans.

Mando4Life
Feb-26-2004, 1:13pm
Nikki,

All I ask is you play it and enjoy it. Make sure to check the pick compartment when you get it, it'll have some things you'll need.

Wayne

Mandodoc
Feb-27-2004, 3:53pm
Wayne and Nik, I am so glad that this is going to work out, the Kentucky 630 is going to be used instead of collecting dust, Nik let us all know how it feels.
jon

thistle3585
Feb-27-2004, 4:21pm
To fund my MAS, although the money seems to end up elsewhwere,I referee hockey games. If you don't skate, then how about football, basketball, volleyball etc. Its a great way to get excercise and make money, I just don't suggest soccer. Never referee a game where parents have easy access to the playing field.<g> Hockey pays between $20-$50 per game depending on age group.