Today I spun straw into gold.Â Gold into cash. And cash into a new front door.

OK I admit to a little magical thinking here but it was like spinning straw into gold. Having seen what my parents left behind when they left we are working towards not doing the same. So whatever we find that we will not use goes. And I noticed that I had some 80's gold jewelry I would never, ever, wear again. Not even a lot - 3 rings, one heavy gold necklace and a thin one I thought was gold but was silver and I got $710 for this jewelry I didn't want. And we do want a new front door. So it feels like I am getting a free front door. Especially since Ellie our neighbor had an actual wooden slab of a door with our numbers on it painted an unfortunate shade of 70's orange that she generously gave us. (Thanks Ellie!) But I digress.

Here is what I now know about selling gold...

Gold is currently selling for $1200 an ounce. You hear this on television BUT that is for 24K gold. Most jewelry is 14K although I did once have a ring that was 18K. Jewelry is 14K because 18K or 24K is generally too soft for jewelry.

The going rate for 14K gold was 58% of what the 24K gold was selling for. 75% for 18K.

Not all places you take your jewelry to are the same either. Everyone pays a different amount. So call around or visit to compare prices. Here are some guidelines...

18-25% is the percent you get if you use the mail-in places you see on TV or in ads. They pay the least and I would never mail my jewelry anywhere.

38-48% is the percent that places in the malls generally pay.

48-60% is what the coin shops pay.

80% is the percentage I got at Rick's Olde Gold at 1314 Williamson St. here in Madison.

They were nice, it was easy and I'll get a new, free front door.

And that is a little lesson about spinning gold into a new front door.

Oh and I've been asked about those ads I've put on my site. It is called affiliate marketing. I contact the company and ask to put their ad on my site. If they agree I do. I make my living by making & selling fonts. I would like to make money from my blog so I can afford to spend more time doing it.

If for example you were going to buy something from Amazon anyway and you first went to my site and clicked on my ad for Amazon and bought it I would get a small commission.

But only if you want to. And if not that is OK too. And my mother had to buy all my Girl Scout cookies.