Money-Code

February 11, 2026
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Where to Source Inventory for Reselling (What’s Actually Worth Your Time)

When people ask where the best places are to find items to resell on eBay or Facebook Marketplace, my answer has evolved a lot over time. I’ve sourced inventory from just about everywhere, and some places consistently outperform others depending on your goal. If your objective is fast-moving inventory and steady cash flow, not just chasing the biggest possible ROI, the sourcing strategy matters more than most people realize.

For most resellers, Goodwill and thrift stores are still the best starting point. Yes, Goodwill prices items with resale value in mind. They know the market better than they used to, and truly premium items are often priced higher. But the game isn’t always about squeezing every last dollar out of a flip. Sometimes the smarter move is buying something slightly higher-priced that will sell quickly, instead of chasing maximum profit and sitting on dead inventory for months. Fast sales free up time, space, and mental bandwidth, which is worth more than an extra few dollars in margin.

That also means you shouldn’t automatically dismiss higher-priced items at thrift stores. Even when something seems expensive for a thrift store, they don’t always know exactly what they have. If the comps support it and the item will move quickly, it can still be a good buy. Velocity matters.

If you’re looking for maximum profit potential, free is hard to beat. Craigslist’s free section is one of the most underrated sourcing areas out there. I check it regularly, often during short breaks or downtime. There’s a lot of junk, no question. Pallets, couches, mattresses, things nobody wants to deal with. But mixed in are genuinely valuable items. I’ve found ski boots, tools, and other niche items that cost nothing and flipped for solid profits on eBay. The key is consistency. The free section moves fast, and the good stuff disappears daily.

Ironically, two of the places I like the least for sourcing are Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist, at least when you’re searching for specific items. These platforms are crowded with sellers who understand value. Everyone has a smartphone now. It takes seconds to look up sold comps or ask an AI what something is worth. That means most listings are priced close to market value, leaving very little room for profit. You can still lowball and occasionally win, but it’s far less reliable than it used to be.

When you do see something genuinely underpriced on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist, you have to move fast and aggressively. Hundreds of other resellers are looking at the same listings with the same mindset. If an item has been sitting for months, that’s usually a red flag. Most experienced resellers would have already bought it if the margin was there.

One of the most profitable sourcing areas, especially when you’re starting out, is your own house. People consistently underestimate how much value is sitting on their shelves, in closets, in storage bins, or in the attic. Once you start listing, it becomes obvious. Vintage clothing, old electronics, media like VHS tapes, bags, accessories, and random collectibles add up quickly. I’m still convinced I have thousands of dollars in sellable items at home that I haven’t even touched yet. And the best part is that this inventory costs you nothing and clears physical and mental space.

Another overlooked sourcing option is local resource or reuse centers. These are essentially Goodwill-style stores focused on home improvement materials. People donate hardware, shelving, brackets, knobs, hinges, pipes, and construction leftovers. Contractors, renovators, and DIY folks shop there to save money. I’ve bought items for pennies that sold online for $15 to $20 or more. These places reward creativity and niche knowledge and often have very little competition from traditional resellers.

The biggest takeaway is to think beyond the obvious and to align your sourcing strategy with your goals. Fast sales versus maximum profit. Time versus margin. Consistency versus occasional home runs. There’s no single perfect source, but there are definitely better ones depending on how you want to run your operation.

If you’ve found interesting or unconventional sourcing spots that work for you, I’d genuinely love to hear about them. If it’s not too secret, drop a comment and share.

February 10, 2026
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eBay Flipping Lessons Learned: Why This Time It’s Actually Working

This is not my first time flipping items on eBay. In fact, it’s probably my third or fourth serious attempt over the years. But this run is different. It’s the most successful I’ve ever been, and when I look back at how I used to flip compared to how I do it now, the differences are significant. The strategy, the tools, and the mindset have all changed, and that’s why this time it’s working.

In the past, most of my flipping revolved around arbitrage. I would search eBay itself for undervalued items, buy them, and immediately relist them at a higher price. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it didn’t. It was inconsistent, competitive, and often came down to timing and luck. On top of that, the technology simply wasn’t there yet. Photos required a digital camera, editing was slow, and every listing description had to be written manually. The entire process was friction-heavy.

Sourcing opportunities have also changed dramatically. In my area, there are far more thrift stores than there were years ago. Places like Goodwill are everywhere now, which creates constant opportunities to find inventory. At the same time, competition is higher, and stores like Goodwill are much better at understanding market value. They often price items at roughly half of what they believe it could resell for. Occasionally, something slips through the cracks and gets priced far too low. Those are the wins worth waiting for.

One of the biggest changes this time around is that I no longer do eBay-to-eBay arbitrage. I am not buying items on eBay and trying to relist them. Where I do allow some arbitrage is on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist. Even there, it requires speed, discipline, and selectivity. The good deals disappear fast. You have to know your products, know your margins, and be willing to walk away if the numbers don’t make sense.

Where I’ve had the most consistent success sourcing inventory is Goodwill. The key lesson here is to stop buying junk. Just because something is cheap does not mean it’s worth flipping. A $7 item you can sell for $14 is rarely worth the time, effort, and fees. But a $4 item that can sell for $40 absolutely is. The difference is focus. I stick to categories where I understand value. Electronics, musical gear, hard goods, and certain bags have been strong for me. Clothing is tempting, but I’m not good at it yet. Instead of forcing it, I’m slowly experimenting while staying in my comfort zone.

Technology is a massive advantage now. Tools like SellRays, Flipper, Google Lens, and eBay’s sold listings make pricing far less of a guessing game. You can check comps in real time while standing in the store. The downside is that everyone else can too, which makes discipline even more important. Knowing what to skip is just as valuable as knowing what to buy.

Time has become one of my most important metrics. I used to overthink photos and listings. Now I optimize for speed. I take 10 to 15 photos per item using my phone. I have a simple lighting setup and a basic backdrop made from a sheet or pillowcase. I edit directly inside eBay, usually just cropping and adjusting brightness if needed. The entire photo process takes a couple of minutes per item.

AI has completely changed listing creation. I paste my photos into ChatGPT and ask it to generate a listing title, description, and pricing. The pricing is often optimistic, so I adjust it based on sold comps, but the descriptions are strong and the titles are usually SEO-friendly. This alone saves a massive amount of time and removes one of the biggest mental barriers to listing consistently.

Consistency is another major difference this time. In the past, I would source a bunch of items, list them all at once, then do nothing for days. Now I keep a running box of inventory. Items from Goodwill, my house, Craigslist, or Facebook Marketplace all go into that box. Every day, I aim to list two to five items and schedule them so eBay sees at least one new listing daily. I have not missed a day of listing during this run, and I currently have items scheduled out nearly two weeks in advance. That steady cadence has been a game changer.

Finally, knowing my numbers has been critical. In the past, I tracked everything loosely in spreadsheets and often underestimated expenses. Shipping, fees, mileage, supplies, and time all add up. This time, I use Flipwise to track everything. It pulls eBay data automatically, tracks sourcing dates, days listed, fees, shipping costs, and expenses. I log mileage, storage supplies, cleaning tools, and even the monthly cost of the app itself.

The result is clarity. I know exactly what I gross and what I net each month. That net number is what matters, because it feeds directly into the Growth Fund I wrote about previously. Seeing real profits, not fuzzy estimates, keeps me motivated and disciplined.

If you’re thinking about getting into flipping, my biggest takeaway is this: strategy matters more than effort. Focus on what you know. Move fast but be selective. Use modern tools. Stay consistent. And track your numbers honestly. This approach is working for me, and I believe it can work for others willing to treat flipping like a system instead of a hustle.

February 9, 2026
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The Growth Fund: Building Wealth Starting From Zero

One idea has been stuck in my head for a long time: what happens if you truly start from nothing and focus only on compounding what you create? No credit cards. No leverage through debt. No shortcuts. Just attention, effort, and systems designed to turn zero into something meaningful. This blog post is the beginning of that experiment.

The project I started on January 1 is simple in theory. I wanted to see how much money I could generate starting from zero dollars, then compound it instead of spending it. The rule I set for myself is that none of the money earned goes toward paying down debt or lifestyle expenses. Every dollar feeds what I call the Growth Fund. The goal is to build a pool of capital that eventually allows me to invest in larger assets like property, rentals, land, or even small cash-flow businesses like vending machines.

The Growth Fund itself is currently focused on stocks. That is risky, and I am aware of it. But stocks are one of the fastest compounders available when paired with discipline and education. My plan includes a mix of simple stock trades, potential swing trades, and eventually options once the account size and confidence justify it. This is not about gambling. It is about learning how capital moves and how patience and structure can multiply effort.

To fund the Growth Fund, I had to solve the first problem: how do you get money into an account when you are starting with nothing? The most obvious answer was flipping. At the end of December, I went to Goodwill and bought a few items purely as a test. Those sold quickly. From there, I started going through my own house and realized how many undervalued items were just sitting around unused.

Over roughly sixty days, counting late December, all of January, and the first week of February, I grossed about $6,500 and netted roughly $4,500 after fees and costs. That is real money created from things that were either deeply underpriced or already owned. I use a program called Flipwise to track everything, which helps keep this project honest and measurable. Every net dollar goes directly into a Schwab account that now serves as the Growth Fund.

While flipping funded the first phase, February marks the beginning of phase two. Digital assets and equity assets. This blog is one of them. I also own several old websites that were originally built for affiliate marketing years ago. They have been dormant, but the domains are still active. Over the next couple of months, my plan is to bring those back online and leverage programs like Amazon Associates. The goal is not overnight success but creating small, scalable systems that generate income while I am not actively flipping items.

On top of that, I am experimenting with smaller side hustles during downtime. Branded surveys, focus groups, and similar opportunities that pay in gift cards. The conversion strategy is simple. My household buys the gift cards from me at face value, and that cash goes straight into the Growth Fund. It is not fancy, but it turns idle time into investable capital. More importantly, it reinforces the idea that money can be created from places most people ignore.

At its core, this project is an exercise in focus. For myself, and for the people around me. I want to prove that starting with nothing is not an excuse. It is a starting line. With attention, systems, and consistency, zero can become momentum. I do not know how far this will go or how fast it will grow. That uncertainty is the point. This is Money Code in practice, not theory.

If you are reading this and wondering whether it is possible to build wealth without debt, without a second job, and without a massive starting advantage, this experiment is for you too. I will keep documenting the process as it unfolds.

February 8, 2026
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Essential Free WordPress Plugins Every Website Should Use

One of the biggest advantages of using WordPress is the massive ecosystem of free plugins available.

If there’s a feature you want to add to your site, chances are someone has already built it. Plugins are essentially add-ons you can install to extend your site’s functionality without writing custom code.

That said, I’ll admit it. I’ve been called a bit of a plugin junkie in the past, and the label is not entirely undeserved. There is a downside to all this free software. Installing too many plugins can slow down your site, cause conflicts, or introduce security risks if you are not careful.

With that in mind, here are a few plugins I consistently recommend, along with what they do.

1. All In One WP Security
Nobody wants to deal with a hacked website. This free plugin walks you through practical steps to harden your WordPress installation and protect your site from common threats. Follow the setup instructions and you will dramatically improve your baseline security.
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2. UpdraftPlus
Backing up your site to an external location is a must. This plugin makes it easy to schedule automatic backups and store them off-site.
My hosting provider runs daily backups, but I like having a redundant copy. I have mine configured to upload to Dropbox for peace of mind.
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3. W3 Total Cache
Site speed matters for both users and search engines. This plugin helps improve load times through caching and optimization.
I typically enable features like page caching, browser caching, and file minification to keep things running efficiently.
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4. Smush
Large image files are one of the most common causes of slow page loads. Smush compresses images automatically without noticeably reducing quality.
If your posts include a lot of images, be sure to enable lazy loading so images only load when users scroll to them.
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5. Yoast SEO
WordPress does a decent job with SEO out of the box, but this plugin helps fine-tune on-page optimization.
It allows you to customize titles and meta descriptions while offering guidance on readability and best practices. I do not obsess over getting every indicator to turn green, but I do take their recommendations seriously for content I want to rank.
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6. Pretty Links
The free version of Pretty Links lets you turn long, messy affiliate URLs into clean, readable links.
This makes it easy to update tracking links in one place if they change and keeps your site looking professional. I also use it to create short, memorable URLs for content, like custom page or episode links.
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February 7, 2026
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Money Comes to Me Abundantly and Freely (Because I’m Paying Attention)

One of the most consistent habits I’ve kept over the years is a simple mantra:
Money comes to me abundantly and freely. I see it everywhere.
I say it often. Quietly. Repeatedly. Sometimes daily. And no, this isn’t about believing the universe is magically dropping checks from the sky.

It’s about training awareness.

I don’t personally believe money manifests just because you say the words. What I do believe is that language shapes attention. When you repeat something like this, especially in a calm, meditative way, your brain starts scanning for proof. Opportunities that would normally pass unnoticed suddenly stand out. Ideas connect faster. You start asking better questions. You stop assuming “that’s not for me” and start wondering “how could this work?”

The key part of this mantra isn’t just the affirmation. It’s the because.

Money comes to me abundantly and freely because I work hard.
Because I think out of the box.
Because I hustle.
Because I’m observant.
Because I try things.
Because I deserve it.
Because I want it.

That “because” matters. It turns the mantra from wishful thinking into alignment. You’re not asking for money, you’re reminding yourself why you’re capable of finding it. You’re reinforcing behaviors that actually lead to monetization. Effort. Curiosity. Willingness to experiment. Patience when something doesn’t work the first time.

When you approach monetization from this mindset, something shifts. You stop looking for a single big idea and start noticing small ones everywhere. A product someone undervalued. A digital asset that could be improved. A tool that saves time. A gap in a marketplace. A workflow that could be automated. Money opportunities are rarely hidden. They’re usually ignored.

This is why I think one of the very first steps to building side income or wealth is internal, not tactical. Before funnels, before ads, before AI tools, you have to genuinely believe that opportunities exist around you right now. Not later. Not when you’re “ready.” Right now. That belief changes how you move through the world. It changes what you click on, what you save, what you test, and what you follow up on.

Once that awareness is there, the tactics become easier. Surveys turn into seed money. Small flips become capital. Digital products become experiments instead of pressure-filled launches. AI becomes a helper, not a crutch. Each small win reinforces the mantra again, creating a feedback loop between mindset and action.

Money doesn’t come from saying the words alone. It comes from what the words train you to notice and do. If you can hold the belief that money comes to you abundantly and freely because you are active, observant, and willing to act, you start playing a very different game. And that game has opportunities everywhere.