Ebay tootsies and money

There, I've done it. I've gone and put up my first real (we'll ignore the effort 5yrs ago) item on Ebay to sell. It only took me an hour of concentrated effort and two brains... It must get easier!

Cross fingers and wish me luck.

I've been looking at ways of making a bit of extra cash and word seems to have got around because I got an email today from a woman called April Gwynne letting me in on a secret to make money, if I sign up and probably part with some of the bank's hard owed cash. Hmm, well, if anyone falls for this, do let me know how it goes...

On the other hand, I bought an e-book from Leo Quinn and since then have been getting regular emails from him including one on emergency cash generators. Goody, I thought, that's just what I need. Looking more closely, however, they seem to be the sort of ideas that go down a bomb in the US, but in France you'd probably get taken for a lunatic. Entrepreneurship just doesn't go down well here, does it, and certainly you don't get the sort of opportunities that you do in the US. When I wrote and asked if they had received any feedback from international locations, I got a reply to the effect that yes, they had, but from Canada (big deal!) and Australia. Hmmm.... (again).

Actually, I must say that Leo does have some good advice for those who need financial basics drummed into them. You sort of know the financial rules he's talking about, but in putting it down in black and white with some hard-nosed calculations, it's enough to put the fear of God into you and send you running for the calculator and your financial papers. I'm sort of organised about my financial stuff but I do tend to work on a rough mental assessment of where I'm probably at, which, of course, is not an ideal way to keep tabs on one's money, but is the way most people work apparently. So, you're not alone, no. Me neither!

Oh, one piece of good news for those long-suffering Wanadoo clients. Why are we paying for phone connections as well as internet and so pay twice as much as all those integrated telephone and internet companies like Neuf9 and Cegetel? Good question, and one I put to a Wanadoo guy. He tried to palm me off with the fact that you get good customer service with Wanadoo. No, sorry, don't buy that. Try again. Well, in fact, come May, Wanadoo and France Telecom are going to offer a service that removes the need for a phone line, and allows all calls to be make via the broadband line on the 'Livebox'. Just like Neuf9 etc. Ahhh, I said, that will save me from changing service providers, which would be a major pain in the backside. He thanked me for my fidelity to Wanadoo, and I hope he noted that down in my computer file so I get preferential treatment when it comes to May. I'm waiting with baited breath, as it'll save me around 20Euros a month. No mean amount, especially when it's the bank's...

I'll keep you posted as to my Ebay progress.