I’m selling my babies because I have no money

I am drained. Having a clearance sale is tiring work, even if I’m doing it online. I just sat in one place the whole day, taking pictures, calculating, typing, encoding, cataloguing but I’m beat. The reason why I kept at it was the promise of money, money, money.

This summer was a total bore. I kept telling myself that it’s better that I spend most of the time at home so I could recharge my batteries when school starts again, but I realized I’ve made the wrong choice. I took a break from everything: academics, the paper (not so much the paper), going out, and partying. I figured, if I was going to take a break, I might as well go overdrive and cut back on all things. I still went out but I was mainly at home.

Looking back, I realized it wasn’t about choices because I didn’t have any. It was really because I had no money. My mom still gave me, but it didn’t compare to having a steady allowance when there were classes. I have no money in the bank because I spent a whopping P11,000 (don’t ask) on my birthday last February, and my wallet? What wallet?

So now I’m reduced to this. Having a “clearance sale”, which is just a fancy way of saying I’m selling my stuff so I could support my lifestyle. It’s pathetic because I’m like a credit card holder being repossessed. I’m selling my CDs, DVDs, clothes, and yes, even my books. I’m having a hard time parting with them because as a booklover, parting with my books is like parting with my heart. I agree with what my friend Victor said, they’re like my babies. But I have no choice. Here are other reasons why I’m selling my babies:

1. I have too much of them. There are literally books everywhere. On the shelves, on the side table, under the computer, on top of the DVD player, and on the floor. My room is a pyromaniac’s fantasy. It has Danger Zone written all over it.
2. I have a lot I haven’t read. I have this annoying habit of buying books by the bulk so my reading list drastically rises everytime I make a purchase. I once bought 17 books. Also, I tend to be impulsive. If my attention is caught even for the briefest of seconds by a title, a synopsis or a cover, I find myself heading to the cashier with a grin on my face. There have been many cases where on my way home, I find myself wondering: What was the title of the book I bought? I also buy online so I get carried away. All you do is click and ta-dah! You get a book. Aaah, technology.
3. Because of my vast reading list (last time I checked I had 100+ and this was a year ago), I don’t have time to read the books I really want to read. I’m obligated to read the ones I bought on impulse. So it might take a few more years before I actually read Twilight. When I was in Mall of Asia the other day, there were books I really wanted to buy but couldn’t because of my unread books. I mean, besides the fact that I couldn’t afford it.

From a different perspective, being broke has been good for me. It taught me the value of money. You can’t live without it. I learned an important lesson in splurging, and I learned it the hard way. At least the whole experience has taught me to be more aware financially. Just a few days ago, I joined this group that pays to write articles. I think it’s important that I utilize what I have and market myself. I’m very passionate about writing so I decided, why not make money out of it? It’s not a lot, but at least I’d make dough. After all, it would be a terrible shame if I grow old and not use my potentials. And my possessions.