Very valid point. I mentioned that just in passing, the amount of money we made at the garage sale was less than $1,000 and a small portion of our overall networth. It would not have made a significant difference. I’m also not sure that garage sale prices are really lower than the true value of the item. We sold a few large items and I think we got a pretty fair price for them.

Have to do some research on this…you have me thinking

Couldn’t it be argued that your garage sales actually lowered your net worth? At your garage sales, you sold stuff presumably at a price lower than their replacement cost. While you kept the items, you could have evaluated their value at their replacement cost, and not their used sale price. However, assuming you were valuing them at their used sale price before the sale, didn’t you merely convert their value from goods to cash at the equivalent price. That would mean the cash you received should not have been considered a gain in your net worth.

I do have a question about your stock option money. I understand not wanting to hold onto company stock. Did you use the money to pay off debt, put it into other retirement accounts, or just leave it in ING? I would worry that you are losing valuable interest compounding if you let it sit in a savings account when you could have had it in a mutual fund or ETF.