Update

Regretablly, I haven't made much progress over the winter. Just some odd change added here and there, but that's really it. I really want to save the typrwriter for step 12, so it looks like until yard sale season starts, odd change is pretty much the only way I can add to the stake right now.

Oh, yeah, almost forgot. This is how my stake looks... well, that is, looked. It's slightly larger now, but I don't have access to a scanner at the moment. As I said earlier, it's an all-coin stake.

Gonna make a change... for once in my life...

I've decided that it's kind of difficult to make transactions using nothing but a ridiculous amount of pennies, nickles, dimes, and quarters. Earlier this week I decided to reduce my number of coins by exchanging them using, appropriately, a vending machine. It's pretty simple; put your nickles and dimes in, push the coin return button, and out pops a shiny new presidential dollar coin. So now I've reduced my:
Two dollar bills, eleventy billion pennies, nickles, dimes, and quarters, into

Two dollar bills, four presidential dollars, three dinged-up quarters that the machine would not accept, one dime, two nickels, and eleventy billion pennies.

DoND Game Sold

I have sold the Deal or No Deal DVD game for $2. For the first time, I can add dollar bills to the stake! I originally bought it for $.50, so I'm feeling pretty good about that.

I am still trying to find a buyer for the typewriter.

I can't wait until I get to the $180 mark... I will finally be able to make transactions in something other than cash...

Step 10: COMPLETED

Will it never end? I went over to help my neighbor move yesterday. And, like most people, my neighbor had all sorts of spare change lying around their house, in places that can only be reached when you're moving (such as underneath the refrigerator or oven). I asked them if I could keep the change I found, and they agreed. This adds over $1.50 to my stake, and rockets me into step 10.

I am going to sell the typewriter for $5. I've offered it to a friend, who made an offer for it. I told them that I would take it, but that I couldn't sell it right at the moment and I would let them know when I could. I guess it's time to contact them now. If they haven't changed their mind, this will shoot me up into step 11.

Step 9 COMPLETED

I haven't forgotten about the Penny to a Million project, I've just forgotten to update this blog on a regular basis.

After finding a bunch of spare change (including around $1.50 from vending machines), and selling that wall clock for a quarter, I have reached step 9. I now need to turn my $3.90 into an even $5. I plan to sell the Deal or No Deal DVD game for $1.50, if possible, taking me to step 10. Afterwards, I plan to sell the typewriter for $5.00 and begin work on step 11.

New investments made

Sorry that I haven't updated this in a long time, but that's life for you. I made two more investments with my stake money, at yard sales. I got a Deal or No Deal DVD game (how appropriate) marked at $1.00, for which I offered $0.50. The woman in charge accepted. I also got a small wall clock for free.

Sorry for the lack of updates, but I haven't been able to get on for a while.

First Investment Made!

I have finally decided to invest with my stake money. My strategy was to get something cheap from a yard sale and resell it for a higher amount of money. Granted, there's not a lot you can get with just over a buck and a half, but I went for it anyways. And I was in luck. I found an old, manual, Sears Roebuck Typewriter going for just $3.00. After talking to the woman in charge of the sale and explaining that I was doing an economics expirement to see what you can buy with spare change, we agreed to lower the price down to $1.00. (I wanted to typecast this post,, but unfortunately my scanner is not behaving [Bad scanner. Go sit in the corner]. Besides, the ink ribbon is in bad shape.) So now I have a Sears Roebuck Keyboard with case and manual for resale. I think I'll save it for a later step, so that I don't have to cut off the extra money.

Do I have a manual typewriter worth $5.00?

Or do I have an antique word processor worth $35.00?

If you guess the reference, you win a cookie.