I know who stole my hundred bucks...

"We need $125 for your son's fall cross country fees, Mrs Jackson." 

Any conversation that begins like that in this economy is bound to give me a stomach ache.  Number one, that's a lot of cash for me these days...  I need A Plan to actually produce that kind of money  under my current budget constraints.  More on The Plan in a minute.  Number two, exactly what the hell costs $125 with respect to middle schoolers running around a track anyway?  It's not like they even get to keep the jersey, which is actually a cheapie little nylon pullover with minimal style.  "Fees went up, you know, with THE BUDGET CUTS." was the answer I was given when I asked why it cost so much.  BUDGET CUTS are the current bane of my exisistance and seem to be the reason for every complaint I make to the three schools my three children attend (one elementary, a middle school, and high school).  I know all about BUDGET CUTS.  After two layoffs in two years, I can hack a budget up with surgical precision. Though the BUDGET CUTS dodge seemed like a pretty thin answer to me, I sighed and let it go, my motherhood induced ADD mind already churning with ideas on how to get the cash. 

The Plan, as it turned out, was pretty simple: I sold some stuff.  I have A LOT of stuff. I probably could have just adjusted my budget here and there and found the cash that way, but I'm a little lazy and fast cash ala CraigsList (baby bike seat and tandem, never used) and Amazon (books... I have a CRAP TON of books) got me the money within a week.  All I had to do was upload and wait for the sale, which came very quickly.  No one, it seems, wants to buy "new" stuff these days- certainly not new baby items that get used for six months and placed in a garage.  No to New Books, too- every financial advisor out there is saying to buy USED, so all my brand-new-meant-to-read-them books that cost me full price just flew out my door at half price or less.  No big deal, I thought... I know my very excellent library has them anyway...  which sort of makes my buying them in the first place look all the more absurd.  All these people buying my used stuff... way smarter than me.  Things I'll never read, use, want to dust... crammed into my shelves and closets, waiting to be turned to cash.  As the economy forces me to be more frugal, I find myself actually feeling had.  My son gets to be on the team, I don't have as many books and baby things cluttering up my house, but judging by the amount of crap still laying around here, this fight isn't over by a long shot.