Household Items You Should Sell First If You're In Debt And Need Cash

Dire financial circumstances are sadly a part of life in the modern world. According to the 2025 Wells Fargo Money Study, 55% of U.S. adults reported delaying life plans due to the economy (one among a smattering of unsettling financial statistics). Consumer credit card debt is also on the rise, with a 2024 Q4 total balance of over $1.21 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. If you're facing particularly troubling financial times, there are a few approaches that can help steer you through the turbulence. 

Ideally, you have already set aside money into an emergency fund to protect you on a rainy day, but financial strain can make building this safety net difficult. It's also worth considering places where you can trim your budget. Eating out at restaurants and second or third streaming subscriptions might be good candidates for cost cutting action in the short term. However, if none of these strategies work, selling your unused household items can be a great way to manage short term financial struggles. Selling a few items in order to take a bite out of your credit card bills can potentially save you a tremendous amount of money long term considering the ongoing weight of interest rates. However, not all items that might be in your home deliver the same value. These are a few of the highest value options to target in a clear out that can translate into potent debt reduction capital.

The first thing on your list of target items should be any unused vehicles in your possession. Some people may own a second or even recreational-type vehicle. This may be an additional car that's used for fun driving or it could be a motorcycle, boat, or camper van. If you've invested in an additional vehicle, you likely have a valuable asset that can be sold in order to target an out of control debt burden. Second vehicles that you own outright can give you a crucial cash infusion to drastically alter your financial picture. Similarly, if you still owe money on this second vehicle, getting rid of it can give you an out that allows you to eliminate or severely reduce one of your monthly bills. Therefore, selling an additional vehicle sitting in your driveway can be a positive financial swing no matter what its current financial status might be.

It's also worth exploring your actual need for a vehicle at all. People who live in city environments with strong public transportation infrastructure may be able to sell their car without giving up mobility. Public transportation and eco-alternatives like riding your bike around the community — rather than driving — can allow you to avoid too much sacrifice. If this option is possible for you, selling your car or even multiple vehicles that you might own can make a huge financial difference.

Americans are quite musically inclined. Nearly 70% of the population have learned to play a musical instrument at some point, according to a YouGov survey. Those who play musical instruments may become collectors of their chosen art form: Guitar players, for instance, average roughly four axes in their collections, even at amateur levels. Similarly, according to a 2024 Sports & Fitness Industry Association report, almost 80% of Americans over the age of 6 have participated in some kind of sports activity with nearly half of all Americans participated in organized, competitive sports at the high school or college level, according to Pew Research Center. These figures indicate that a huge cross section of Americans have or still do engage in activities that might require unique or expensive equipment. Those who are avid fitness enthusiasts may have everything from gym equipment to tennis rackets to skateboards, surfboards, or even other essential equipment. 

Selling some for all of your music or sports equipment collections can net a potentially significant profit, especially if your gear is high quality and has been well taken care of. Sporting goods and musical instruments are a particular subset of items that many people focus on buying secondhand, as well. Plenty of enthusiasts want to give this kinds of equipment a second life, so there is a lucrative market out there for your used goods in both of these categories.

People young and old alike collect items like sports cards or vinyl records. A collection of any type may very well might be incredibly valuable. You might not like the idea of parting with your carefully gathered collection, but the reality is that many collectors focus on amassing grand catalogs of items for the specific purpose of one day selling. If you are someone working against the tide of significant debts and their corresponding interest rates, the day for selling might be today.

Selling your collection may even yield an astronomical profit. Many millennials who collect sports cards, for instance, may find that they have a Sports Illustrated for Kids Serena Williams card. Anyone who read this magazine in the late '90s will surely have had the card at one time or another. It was released in a 1999 SI for Kids issue, and pristine examples have sold for as much as $117,000 in recent years. If you can manage to dig out a well preserved copy of this card, or any other valuable collectible, you might not need to sell your entire collection at all. In fact, many collections include at least a few unique rarities. There's a decent chance that even if you can't find this particular Serena Williams card, you may very well be sitting on at least one or two items that will sell in the hundreds or even thousands range. Collectibles are therefore a great source of financial windfalls and can really make a difference as you look to turn the tide on debt repayments.