BOSTON -- When every dollar matters, more people are finding new ways to make some extra money, including selling their personal belongings.

Residents Make Ends Meet Online

NewsCenter 5's Jim Boyd reported that Laurel Collins is one person struggling through rough economic waters.

"Gas is expensive; food is expensive," she said.

Collins said she and he children could no longer afford to stay in the family's home. As she struggled with her day to day expenses, Collins tried to find ways to add to the bottom line.

"There was a lot of stuff in my house, a lot of stuff that was actually cluttering up my house when we were starting to have to move, and being able to sell some of it would be able to help with the move and help the children," Collin said.

So Collins began selling her possessions through auctions on eBay with the help of auctionpal.com, a site that takes the work out of putting items up for auction online. Maureen Ellenberger, the CEO of auctionpal.com, said situations like Collins' are becoming much more common.

"We've had people sell rings and jewelry to pay the mortgage," Ellenberger said.

"It was a huge windfall for me -- $600, $700," Collins said.

Collins said she's telling her story hoping that other people in cash-strapped situations will realize that going to an online auction can be a way of getting out of a difficult financial situation.