We're doing the Dave Ramsey thing to the best of our ability. Life circumstances make that difficult at times but we're getting our momentum back. I think. We're always looking for ways to improve; ways to save.
"Date" nights are still watching a favorite movie on Netflix or grabbing a $1.20 Redbox rental (preferably for $0 when we get a free code via text message). We used to play more board games. Sometimes we just chat.
We do our best to keep other costs down. We keep luxuries like cell phones* and internet but we definitely get our use out of them between communicating with family, friends, and coworkers, couponing, paperless billing, swagbucks*, school, budgeting, and banking*.
We made the decision to sell our second vehicle almost 3 years ago. It gets iffy sometimes after being so used to having a car to myself all the time but we make it work. Our current van is definitely solidly into clunker territory. We hope that when we do finally add a second vehicle (soon? maybe?!) again that we can pay 100% crispy, cold cash.
When we did eventually replace our awesome luxuries like the TV, computer, or what have you we waited until what we had was literally not even appealing for parts. Then we find the sales or the unexpected deals. Do you know how much I'd love a new camera to upgrade from my Nikon d40x? A LOT! D you know how I drool when I see the kitchenaid mixers and dyson vacuums? (Hold on a second. I sound like an adult person. When did I start drooling over mixers and vacuums??) All in due time, as they say. Right??
My husband has worked 2-3 jobs at a time and he's donated plasma. We've sold off a lot of junk and even some well loved items to shrink our debt. We rarely buy games or movies new. If we happen to rent and LOVE something then we typically trade-in some stuff for store credit. We've also done the same with the kid's clothes and toys. Soon, I'll step into the world of consigning with the Rhea Lana event coming up this spring. We've got the hang of eBay and craiglist now too.
But, our biggest, craziest leap thus far has been to extend our lease in a <1000 sq ft apartment. Oh, we idealize moving out, having our own yard, owning our own home. No doubt. For now, for just this short time, we can do this though. Five people: two bedrooms, two bathrooms, no walk-in closets. We'll make it work. I'm determined NOT to rent some storage unit for our extras. I'm slowly figuring out how to make the most of our space with its limitations. We'll donate or sell what doesn't fit. When new things come in old things will go out. We could move into a bigger space with a yard and a garage. We have the ability. It's an option. We just aren't taking it.
I'm starting to think we're insane. Hopefully soon we can be crazy AND debt-free.
*Referral links
- Virgin Mobile
- Swagbucks
- Capital One 360
Showing posts with label debt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label debt. Show all posts
Friday, January 10, 2014
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Save Money or Make Money (Quickly?)
There are lots of people looking for ways to make a quick buck (without tossing their integrity out the window) for unexpected expenses, to save for a rainy day, or to pay extra on some overhanging debt. Maybe you just want some easy ways to get some spending money. I've heard lots of different ideas doing my own searches and getting through our days of scraping. I wanted to share my own tips for once! We've done most of these ourselves over the past few years.
The great but not-so-helpful or not-so-quick ideas:
Start selling on eBay or Half.com
Open your own shop on Etsy
Get into a direct sales business (e.g., Avon)
Find a part-time job
These are all superb ideas. However, most take some beginning capital. All of them take time and patience and some element of risk. It may be only as much as the 0.20c listing fee per item on Etsy or more than $100 to get your initial product and supplies for direct sales. eBay and Half.com may be iffy. You may get less than you'd like for your stuff. Shipping may cost more than you anticipate. It may takes days to actually get your money as well. Once the buyer's payment comes through you may only be payed after the item has shipped. If you don't accept credit or debit payments or use paypal tack on the time it takes for someone to mail a check or money order. Even the transfer times from the buyer to paypal or your bank account can take days. Half.com pays your total sales (less shipping) to you twice a month. How quickly you can be paid for direct sales totally depends on your propensity to get parties and sales. There are additional costs for using paypal, adding additional information to listings, and things like packaging. If you have a month or two and some money to get you off the ground then you're likely to have the opportunity to make a good bit of cash. There are no guarantees though.
As for the part-time job, finding them can be easy if you keep your mind open. Pizza delivery, newspaper routes, fast food, retail jobs, and things like babysitting are almost always available. There's usually some period of time before you can start a new job, plus time for training, and the typical 1-2 week wait for that first paycheck. Start applying but look for other money-making ideas in the mean time.
The relatively quick but sometimes unreliable ideas:
Hold a garage sale
Visit the pawn shop
Create listings on Craigslist
These methods for making money can be a lot faster and simpler. Unless your city requires a permit with a fee it won't take much more than your valuable time to spend a weekend selling your extra junk out on your lawn. Pawn shops can be iffy. They are in business to make a profit so DO NOT expect to get anywhere near the true value of whatever you sell. If you have some valuable items that you don't care about this might be a great route. Just know the value. I would never recommend actually pawning because that's just one more thing hanging over your head. Sell it or skip the pawn shop. Craigslist can be risky for more than one reason. Most people have heard the horror stories. However, there's also the chance a buyer skips out on you or tries to get one over on you. If you overprice or underprice your stuff you can lose a sale or lose potential earnings.
Do yourself a favor if you want to host a garage sale and don't calculate your income on an hourly basis.
The fastest but sometimes not-so-very profitable ideas:
Swagbucks (or similar points and rewards sites)
Google Adsense (and other advertising sites)
Dig for change
I'm a big fan of Swagbucks and Adsense. They are brilliant ideas in and of themselves. I use both. Unless you all ready have a very high traffic website or blog ads aren't going to help you much. If you have a popular video on youtube perchance then you can put adds on it and make a teensy bit of money that way but that's unlikely. (Also, people who intentionally TRY to make "viral videos" get a nice cushy spot in the obnoxious category FYI.) Swagbucks is simple and some people enjoy it but it's not very profitable right away. We can get 10-25 dollar giftcards for lots of retailers (including Target, Walmart, and Amazon) by using this site for searching and doing the daily things but it takes a few weeks to a few months to accumulate enough for those. I'm not gonna say not to go for it but don't expect to get very much right away.
Just today I gathered up ALL of the random coins from the car, the junk box in the kitchen, and whatever other random spots in our house. I came up with $20.62. Not bad! We're pretty terrible at using change and we just let it gather. You may only be able to find all of $0.78. Here's a tip though: skip the coin machines and take it directly to your bank. The banks we've done business with have always counted it all up the same way as those machines before depositing it into our account(s) but without the cost per dollar.
The gross, awkward, or inconvenient ideas:
"Donating" Plasma
Participating in medical studies or drug trials
Pooper-scooping
The Unmentionables
From what I hear donating plasma is totally legit if you go through the right sources. The idea is you or donating the plasma while being compensated for your time. Participating in drug or other medical trials obviously carries some risk, if nothing other than the potential side effects that come with the majority of medications. Pooper-scooping speaks for itself. It's gross. Ew. (It's not so bad AFTER you have some green in the palm of your hand, of course.) And then there's the unmentionables . . . all the things the most desperate or least squeamish do for dollars. You know what I'm talking about. Anything having to do with body parts or fluids that IS NOT illegal.
Sometimes you can't donate plasma or participate in trials even if you wanted to because of prior health issues or pregnancy. Even so, maybe you're just not ready to get over your fear of needles.
Saving but not really making ideas:
Grocery Coupons
Shopping cheap, on-sale, and off-brand
Deals Websites (e.g., Living Social)
I love a good deal. Love. Just recently we got a great deal for a froyo shop not far from us. We got huge servings of some tasty frozen yogurt with all our favorite toppings for just $6 (two adults, two kids). I use coupons frequently. However, unless you're a crazy couponer or have space for a mini-mart in your home this will only save you a few good dollars at the store. If you're going to use coupons ONLY use them for what you need to buy anyway and make sure it's actually bringing the price lower than the off-brands. Oreos are not cheese and wine. You're not getting anything more for your pennies. I love oreos but the cheap ones are just as nasty-bad-for-you and tasty delicious as the regular brand. (P.S. Swagbucks HAS printable coupons, once they've been used and run through you'll get bucks for using the coupons in a few weeks!)
In the end your best bet is to list your junk on ebay in-between job applications; make a stop at the pawn shop or meet with a buyer via craiglist after a morning putting in some job applications; and (if you have one) spend time earning money online via points & rewards sites while they take your plasma. Good luck and don't be stupid!
The great but not-so-helpful or not-so-quick ideas:
Start selling on eBay or Half.com
Open your own shop on Etsy
Get into a direct sales business (e.g., Avon)
Find a part-time job
These are all superb ideas. However, most take some beginning capital. All of them take time and patience and some element of risk. It may be only as much as the 0.20c listing fee per item on Etsy or more than $100 to get your initial product and supplies for direct sales. eBay and Half.com may be iffy. You may get less than you'd like for your stuff. Shipping may cost more than you anticipate. It may takes days to actually get your money as well. Once the buyer's payment comes through you may only be payed after the item has shipped. If you don't accept credit or debit payments or use paypal tack on the time it takes for someone to mail a check or money order. Even the transfer times from the buyer to paypal or your bank account can take days. Half.com pays your total sales (less shipping) to you twice a month. How quickly you can be paid for direct sales totally depends on your propensity to get parties and sales. There are additional costs for using paypal, adding additional information to listings, and things like packaging. If you have a month or two and some money to get you off the ground then you're likely to have the opportunity to make a good bit of cash. There are no guarantees though.
As for the part-time job, finding them can be easy if you keep your mind open. Pizza delivery, newspaper routes, fast food, retail jobs, and things like babysitting are almost always available. There's usually some period of time before you can start a new job, plus time for training, and the typical 1-2 week wait for that first paycheck. Start applying but look for other money-making ideas in the mean time.
The relatively quick but sometimes unreliable ideas:
Hold a garage sale
Visit the pawn shop
Create listings on Craigslist
These methods for making money can be a lot faster and simpler. Unless your city requires a permit with a fee it won't take much more than your valuable time to spend a weekend selling your extra junk out on your lawn. Pawn shops can be iffy. They are in business to make a profit so DO NOT expect to get anywhere near the true value of whatever you sell. If you have some valuable items that you don't care about this might be a great route. Just know the value. I would never recommend actually pawning because that's just one more thing hanging over your head. Sell it or skip the pawn shop. Craigslist can be risky for more than one reason. Most people have heard the horror stories. However, there's also the chance a buyer skips out on you or tries to get one over on you. If you overprice or underprice your stuff you can lose a sale or lose potential earnings.
Do yourself a favor if you want to host a garage sale and don't calculate your income on an hourly basis.
The fastest but sometimes not-so-very profitable ideas:
Swagbucks (or similar points and rewards sites)
Google Adsense (and other advertising sites)
Dig for change
I'm a big fan of Swagbucks and Adsense. They are brilliant ideas in and of themselves. I use both. Unless you all ready have a very high traffic website or blog ads aren't going to help you much. If you have a popular video on youtube perchance then you can put adds on it and make a teensy bit of money that way but that's unlikely. (Also, people who intentionally TRY to make "viral videos" get a nice cushy spot in the obnoxious category FYI.) Swagbucks is simple and some people enjoy it but it's not very profitable right away. We can get 10-25 dollar giftcards for lots of retailers (including Target, Walmart, and Amazon) by using this site for searching and doing the daily things but it takes a few weeks to a few months to accumulate enough for those. I'm not gonna say not to go for it but don't expect to get very much right away.
Just today I gathered up ALL of the random coins from the car, the junk box in the kitchen, and whatever other random spots in our house. I came up with $20.62. Not bad! We're pretty terrible at using change and we just let it gather. You may only be able to find all of $0.78. Here's a tip though: skip the coin machines and take it directly to your bank. The banks we've done business with have always counted it all up the same way as those machines before depositing it into our account(s) but without the cost per dollar.
The gross, awkward, or inconvenient ideas:
"Donating" Plasma
Participating in medical studies or drug trials
Pooper-scooping
The Unmentionables
From what I hear donating plasma is totally legit if you go through the right sources. The idea is you or donating the plasma while being compensated for your time. Participating in drug or other medical trials obviously carries some risk, if nothing other than the potential side effects that come with the majority of medications. Pooper-scooping speaks for itself. It's gross. Ew. (It's not so bad AFTER you have some green in the palm of your hand, of course.) And then there's the unmentionables . . . all the things the most desperate or least squeamish do for dollars. You know what I'm talking about. Anything having to do with body parts or fluids that IS NOT illegal.
Sometimes you can't donate plasma or participate in trials even if you wanted to because of prior health issues or pregnancy. Even so, maybe you're just not ready to get over your fear of needles.
Saving but not really making ideas:
Grocery Coupons
Shopping cheap, on-sale, and off-brand
Deals Websites (e.g., Living Social)
I love a good deal. Love. Just recently we got a great deal for a froyo shop not far from us. We got huge servings of some tasty frozen yogurt with all our favorite toppings for just $6 (two adults, two kids). I use coupons frequently. However, unless you're a crazy couponer or have space for a mini-mart in your home this will only save you a few good dollars at the store. If you're going to use coupons ONLY use them for what you need to buy anyway and make sure it's actually bringing the price lower than the off-brands. Oreos are not cheese and wine. You're not getting anything more for your pennies. I love oreos but the cheap ones are just as nasty-bad-for-you and tasty delicious as the regular brand. (P.S. Swagbucks HAS printable coupons, once they've been used and run through you'll get bucks for using the coupons in a few weeks!)
In the end your best bet is to list your junk on ebay in-between job applications; make a stop at the pawn shop or meet with a buyer via craiglist after a morning putting in some job applications; and (if you have one) spend time earning money online via points & rewards sites while they take your plasma. Good luck and don't be stupid!
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