People are scrambling for extra cash this holiday season. Most want it simply to spend on "stuff" for other people or themselves during the sale season. A few smart others are looking to earn extra to pay off debt, reduce expenses, etc. Here's a few quick ideas:
1. Let's start with something "drastic" (according to many people), then the list will get easier. Start by shutting off your cable bill. With Netflix, Hulu, and other sites, there's so many affordable alternatives, there's no reason to spend over $200/month for cable unless you're a die-hard sports fan and you can't watch games any other way. You can pay for internet only through your cable company, they just don't advertise that - they want ALL your money.
2. If you need to get ahead temporarily, you may find good offers from other credit cards that offer zero interest for the first year. Switching on ones that you could pay off quickly could help you get them totally paid off faster. But remember, paying cash/debit is always best unless you need a way to track business expenses. You'll never enjoy the feeling from a "thing" you bought on a credit card more than you'll enjoy the feeling of being debt-free.
3. Skip the gym if you can find a local free fitness group. Check out The November Project where you can do free fitness with people in your area. You also can find barely used home gym equipment for a fraction of the cost on places like Craig's List. Gym fees on average are $50/month, so why not drop that $600/yr on debt and reduce it?
4. Have an empty room? Get a roommate. Cut your living expenses. You already know you can afford where you live, so if you get a boarder, take whatever they pay you and pay down/off other bills.
5. Take surveys online for cash. Yes, there are a lot of scam sites out there, but many legitimate ones too. Try Survey Junkie or SwagBucks. If you found a dozen of these, and rotate them out, you can earn extra money by just spending an hour or two a few days a week - replace your TV time with something lucrative and productive.
6. Try Freelancing - you can make money as a writer, photographer, designer, logo artist, notary, and many other areas. Put those talents to work for you.
7. Don't forget Groupon sites for things you need to pay for anyway, like cleaning heating/AC ducts, cleaning carpets or upholstery, yard work, dry cleaning, etc.
8. Buy store brands when you're buying groceries. I know people think brand named products are better, but store brands are 30% - 40% cheaper and very often, they're made on the same conveyor belt, with exactly the same recipe as the big brands - they're just repackaged for grocery chains. Check ingredient lists to find the closest match, but on most things, the differences, if any, are minimal.
9. Improve your gas mileage. Keeping your tires properly inflated will help you get better mileage and save you around $100/yr in gas. Not bad for one free simple thing. Aggressive driving drops your mpg too, so just balance out your starts and stops. Statistics show a savings as high as $600/yr saved on gas by eliminating aggressive driving in stop and go traffic. On longer trips, use your cruise control if you have it. You'll save because the driving is more even/gradual.
10. Rent your car - if you have a car in decent shape that's only 5 years old or newer, you can use it to be a driver for Uber, Lyft, or any of the myriads of other taxi type services popping up all over the place. You set your own hours, areas you're willing to pick up, and running it all through a website allows extra safety features like knowing who you're picking up ahead of time, seeing their photo first, some things are covered under the company's policies to save you money too.
No comments:
Post a Comment