These Newlyweds Paid Off $6K Of Debt By Flipping Used Items

retro car decorated for wedding

Flipping used items changed our lives and paid off thousands of dollars of debt.

Every time you borrow, you’re robbing your future self. – Nathan Morris.

Borrowing money has been the way for America, but it definitely has its negative effects. A few years ago, we had acquired $30K in debt. 

Just married and paying off debt flipping used items

It happened slowly and before we knew it, we had unwanted debt. Not at all what we wanted.

With the lingering debt, came a lot of unwanted stress and worry. Not only does it cause stress, we think it held us back personally and professionally in a lot of ways.

But we have great news!

We were able to flip used items (and other sources of income) to knock our debt out completely and we’ve never turned back! 

Are you carrying unwanted debt and trying to figure out how to get rid of it?

Flipping used items can be a great way to accomplish your debt free goals.

Today We Have a Husband and Wife Power Team Who Flipped Used Items to Decrease Debt

They started flipping in October 2020 and were introduced to Dave Ramsey on one of our blog posts and started listening to him on his podcast. 

Alex and Ariel decided they wanted to learn about flipping used items and have to date paid off $6,000 in debt! There are no signs of slowing down any time soon. 

Let’s hear their story.

My name is Alex and my wife’s name is Ariel. Together we consider ourselves the husband and wife reselling power team based out of North Carolina. 

While we both grew up a mile down the road from each other and attended the same elementary school, it wasn’t until we both got the same summer job in college that we met. Now we are a young newly wed couple (Summer 2020) and the rest is history! 

There are many passions and hobbies in my life, but have always enjoyed the outdoors (fishing, hiking, camping, backpacking, etc) and hold a degree in Recreation Management.

I have had the pleasure of working with the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska as a Camp Counselor, a wildland firefighter with the US Forest Service in Oregon, and as a backcountry outdoor guide leading outdoor backcountry trips in western North Carolina. 

Personally, I backpacked 1700 miles of the Appalachian Trail with only a few miles left to go (500 miles left to be exact). 

My wife is a water creature. She loves scuba diving, swimming, and just about anything to do with the water. Her name is Ariel and was named after the mermaid. 

She has a passion for the outdoors as well, and takes every moment to enjoy God’s beauty. Family and faith are very important to her. 

Currently, Ariel works as a teacher where she is trying to inspire the next generation. 

We both grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. Recently we decided to try and find the quiet and relocate to a small house near a lake outside the big city. 

You Could Say That Now Our Passions Lie in the Hunt of Hidden Treasure!

Like many young couples or individuals starting out, we struggled with finances (more specifically me, the husband).

I had student debt and a car payment that I brought into our relationship.

My wife was better off financially. But as a couple, we had a wedding and new living expenses.

We came across Flea Market Flipper after learning about others who flipped used items as a side hustle to help pay off debt, pay for weddings and other expenses. 

Ariel and I found ourselves in a similar situation and we thought flipping would be a great way for us to pay for our wedding and eliminate some of our debt. 

After a Quick Google Search on “How to Flip Used Items, “ I Came Across Flea Market Flipper

It was April 2020 when we found Flipper University (six months before we sold our first item). We both had full time jobs at the time so we didn’t immediately jump in. 

At that time, COVID had just started and we were planning a wedding and were house hunting all at the same time.

We felt like we had so much going on and we were afraid to start flipping at the time so we followed Rob and Melissa on social media for awhile before joining. 

We Both Suffered From Major “Analysis Paralysis.”

In addition to feeling like we had a lot going on at the time, we were prone to overthinking it and in all honesty, we were probably just scared to get started.

Fast forward just six months later. We had a new house, I switched jobs, and we were now married.  

At this same time, I had a broken foot now and needed ways to help pay the medical bills that were piling up.

With me sitting on the couch and elevating my leg, I figured now would be a good time to finally dive into Flipper University and start flipping. 

By October 2020, I sold my first item which was a pair of used Nike Flyknit Sneakers for $30. These had been sitting in my closet collecting dust for a long time.

Once I Heard That Cha-Ching and Saw that Notification on My Phone I Was Pretty Much  Hooked

Most importantly, my wife was happy too!  

We went from analysis paralysis to flipping used items with the help of the Flipper U course members group.

My wife and I have been able to sell quite a few items since starting. We aren’t picky when it comes to selling.

We mainly sell anything we can find for a decent profit.

paid off debt

Like most flippers, we started out by selling items we had lying around that we didn’t use anymore.

This was a great and low risk way to start flipping.

Next, we told our family members and friends what “we do for a living” and asked them if they had any items to donate.

We highly recommend doing this as we made some really great money with items that others didn’t want anymore. 

Currently, we have evolved into sourcing items from thrift stores, flea markets, and online (facebook marketplace, craigslist, etc.).

Focusing on sourcing items that have above 30-40% sell through rate and profit that covers our expenses. 

We want to make sure we value our time and our investments, because every item is an investment. Ariel and I have not found a niche yet, but hope to soon. 

Inspired by Family Selling Used Items and Paying off $65K in Debt

The very first blog post I read on Flea Market Flipper’s blog was about a family who used eBay to pay off $65K in debt in 14 months.

We were really inspired by their story and how well flipping worked to help them get out of debt. Within the blog post, it mentioned Dave Ramsey and his baby steps. 

The funny thing was, my wife and I had never heard of Dave Ramsey. But we were really moved by the hard work and dedication this family made in following Dave Ramsey’s steps.

Ariel and I knew we could do it also!

Before joining Flipper U, I joined quite a few flipping groups. It seemed that their main focus to their financial problems was to get rich quick and make a lot of money fast.

But with the Flipper U members group, there was a different focus in the group.

We expected the same mindset in the group, but we were pleasantly surprised to find the course members were living differently.

We saw a pattern where they were living below their means, focusing on the resources that they had, and saving the money and paying off debt with the flipping money they were earning. 

This was all new for us but we loved it! 

$6,000 in Debt Gone By Flipping Used items!

Our original plan when we started flipping was to flip items to eliminate some of our debt and also to pay for our wedding and our honeymoon. 

But breaking my foot changed a lot of things for me and my family.

The mountains of medical expenses building up and our other debt really motivated us to take flipping seriously and to aim to live a life of financial freedom. 

paid off debt

We have learned so much in the flipping group and we are happy to say we have been using the extra money to cover the extra medical expenses and have paid off $6,000 in debt and paid wedding expenses since October 2020!

I don’t see things slowly down any time in the near future!

As we build our inventory and reinvest our flipping money for new inventory, we are hoping to make a full time income with flipping.

Flipper U Helped Our Finances

Not only have we been learning a ton from the flipping group and growing our business, we have become regular listeners on Dave Ramsey’s podcast and working the baby steps!

Since joining Flipper U, so much has changed for us. Our number one benefit of the course is that we have found a community with continued support and growth.

We have learned how to set ourselves up for success and speed up the learning curve. We have been able to learn  how to properly source items, list items, and ship them. 

As resellers you have to wear many hats: the inventory specialist, photography expert, customer service specialist, shipping and packaging specialist. 

Because of the support from the facebook community, my wife and I have been learning from everyone and we are becoming experts in almost all the areas.  

This Has Led to Providing a Better Customer Experience for our Buyers and as a Result, an Increase in Sales!  

This past January, we stretched ourselves even farther by signing up for Flea Market Flipper’s Bootcamp.

It was a four week camp so we could hold each other accountable while working towards our goals! We loved every minute of it and saw a lot of growth in our business.

Ariel and I are so happy that we have joined this flipping family. There are many pros to flipping items as a side hustle.

Sure, there will be the occasional difficult customer or technical support issue, or shipping issue, but that is all part of business! 

paid off debt
Freight shipping makes bigger sales possible

And they say if you do what you love, you never have to work a day in your life.

Personally, I cannot think of many other side hustles where the amount of effort you put in it is directly related to what you get out of it. 

I love working hard and investing my time and getting a great return on the investment of my time!

What you put in is what you get out. You can treat it like a side hustle, a part time job, a hobby, or even a full time job.

My wife and I currently treat it like a part time job, but if we put in full time effort, we see full time results in terms of pay! 

Modern Day Treasure Hunt

We also love the thrill of the hunt! How many of us growing up ever thought of being treasure hunters?

Maybe you watched too many Indian Jones movies like me.

For us, thrifting for items to resell is like a modern day treasure hunt and we have come to love it – including the paycheck we receive from it!

I think one of the best parts about reselling is that you never know what you are going to find or who you are going to sell it to.

 It truly is a modern day treasure hunt and adventure!

Ariel and I have sourced and sold a number of crazy items. We have picked medical lifts, prosthetic body parts, mini weather stations, and tons of items that are not even made anymore. 

While these items are still waiting to be listed from our death pile, we have sold a number of vintage toys, commercial ice makers, stove tops, and at home exercise equipment machines. 

Personally my favorite items sold to date have been a variety of vintage Star Wars Toys. My wife’s favorite item has been a vintage Barbie Doll House and a Monopoly Disney Vacation Club Edition Board Game.  

The sky is definitely the limit in terms of finding great treasure to flip!

Keep it Simple

Just like with every job, there will be challenges. So let me start by saying that flipping is not a get rich quick scheme nor is it something that you can start the next day and be an expert at. 

But that is okay! Because once my wife and I realized that there was a learning curve, it made it easier for us to start flipping.

Starting out, we really had to identify our “why” for flipping. 

We are picking up trash on the side of the road to flip? Sometimes we are shipping and packaging up items at 1:00 AM in the morning (yes after midnight sometimes)?

Why are we spending our Saturdays waking up early to drive one hour to the thrift stores from our house?

Once we identified our “why’s” for doing this, it gave us motivation to get started and keep going and we never turned back!

Going through the course initially, we were overwhelmed with information. But thankfully Flipper U had the Cliffnotes version which kept it simple. 

Simple is the Key

Source an item. Clean and test the item. Photograph and list the item. Finally Sell, package up, and ship the item. And Repeat! 

We suffered from analysis paralysis and overthinking for far too long. Yes, we had to overcome that in order to become better and better at flipping. 

Ariel and I kept it simple and started small with the items we  had around the house. This made it so much easier to start. It also allowed us to test the waters more before fully jumping in. 

When I first read of Jessica’s story about how her family had ditched $65K in debt in 14 months, I was totally inspired.

I never thought that a few months later, we’d have $6,000 paid down of our own debt, but that’s what we’ve been able to do. 

With what we’ve learned in the flipping arena already, we know we will continue on our flipping journey and reach debt free status in the near future!

Once we are debt free, we look forward to telling our own story of encouragement when we do!

Thank you so much Alex & Ariel! Looking forward to what you accomplish with your flipping biz!

What about you? Do you want to kick your debt for good? Check out our Free Intro Flipping Webinar to see if flipping might be a way to eliminate your debt!

FURTHER RESOURCES

5-Day Intro VideoCourse 

FREE Workshop How To Turn Your Passion of Flipping Items Into A Profitable Reselling Business

Flipper University

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Robert Stephenson

I grew up in Central Florida and have lived here my whole life. I first got into buying and selling items when I was 16 years old, and have been hooked ever since. It has mostly been a hobby that makes some extra cash, but sometimes it serves as my main income as well. I don't plan on stopping any time soon. I find too many fun toys for my family (or myself), and just love the whole process.

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