When I was a pawnbroker, there was street slang to tell people where you were at in your life without the rest of the world knowing what you were talking about.

If you were “going on vacation”… You were heading to jail.

If you came “back from vacation”…  You just got out of jail.

And if your “money’s funny”… You didn’t have any.  Mostly, because you just got out of jail.

About 10 years ago I started thinking it would be a great idea to use eBay to make a little chunk of change and have fun in the process. I started to collect the things in my life that were no longer useful to me, but may have a use for others. Then I started living in the illusion that I was going to make LOTS of money. It all went into a closet and then a small chest of drawers and then spilled over into the garage. Well, years passed and I still hadn’t put anything up on eBay.

Then the unthinkable happened. I got off my butt and posted several items. All of them sold for varying prices. It wasn’t until I did the numbers that I realized, when all was said and done, I was only netting  $7.14 per hour.

That is less than minimum wage in the state of California.

Where were my millions? And did I really think making less than minimum wage was “fun”? My money was definitely funny.

I immediately went through all the “stuff” I was saving for eBay and donated it. But… old habits die hard. I still had a small chest of drawers with things that I felt would make a decent chunk of change. I recently went through them again and can’t for the life of me figure out why I kept some of it.

Donating.

Again.

Focus on what’s really valuable to you. Sometimes your time and effort are worth more than cold hard cash.

Are your fears or misperceptions about making money, keeping you from being truly successful.

What is your time really worth?

Don’t let your money get funny.