20 Ways to Make More Money and Cut Your Expenses

Filed in Budgeting, Money, Saving, Spending by Serena on January 15, 2013 • 7,540 Comments

Recently I confessed to you that we’re living paycheck-to-paycheck.

The comments that you all posted in response to the post were pretty awesome. It was comforting to hear that some of you all are living paycheck-to-paycheck, too.

(But shout out to Holly, from Happy Food Healthy Life who commented that her family is DEBT FREE thanks to her success in using the Dave Ramsey plan!)

Some of you have families that took pay cuts, and some of you are just trying to pull yourselves out, too.

But I know it doesn’t have to be this way.

There are things we can do to get our “side-hustle on” for 2013. Here’s just a list of things that I’ve identified that I am going try, and hopefully there are some suggestions in there that you’ll find helpful, too. By all means, PLEASE leave a comment and add some additional suggestions! We all can benefit from a little extra cash in our pockets 🙂

Ways To Make More Money

Find a new “9-to-5.” Do you have the skills you need? Can you command more money if you find new skills? Definitely check out sites like Alison.com which offers free, certified online classes. My favorite site is Lynda.com where you can learn virtually anything, from how to interview, write a resume, photography skills–you name it. Sign up here for a free 10-day trial.
Sell stuff around your house. We all have clutter sitting around that we’ve stored in the basement or garage. Don’t just donate it if you’re de-cluttering. Why not sell is on Craigslist? Try a consignment shop, especially for baby clothes and baby gear. eBay is an option for selling, but careful with the fees they charge. Sometimes you end up making very little profit. Be sure to calculate in shipping costs when you list your item on eBay. Use flat-rate shipping if you can!
Be a guinea pig. Do you live near a teaching hospital or university? I used to do MRI studies and got paid a handsome amount just to fall asleep in the MRI scanner 😉 By all means, take pics of my brain. MRI studies generally aren’t invasive. If you do decide to do participate in research, be sure to understand the full benefits and risk before consenting. To search for available clinical trials in all 50 states, check out ClinicalTrials.gov.
Become a babysitter. Register as a sitter on Sitter City, an online site to find babysitters, nannies, and nanny services.
Make something and sell it. This option is great for crafty people. I used to make baby carriers, cloth diapers, baby shoes–you name it. It’s time to start making and selling. Etsy is a great place to list these things.
Sell your services. What are you good at? I’ve got a good friend who is majored in Engineering and now has a tutoring business helping young students with math. What crafts do you do? Teach someone else your craft. I taught myself how to sew over the last 12 years, and I think I am also pretty creative at making over thrift store furniture, so I sometimes offer furniture painting classes in Maryland, DC, and Virginia.
Check out Inbox Dollars. Trust me, I’m not trying to sell you some website; I’m not making a profit recommending this online reward club. I actually use this site. You get a few dollars here and there for signing up for trial offers for things like Netflix, or trying some product, or even taking surveys. I have only done the trial offers, where you can make $5.00 or something. I usually cancel before the free trial period ends. The surveys only pay about 25 cents, or something so ridiculous that there’s no way I would waste my time on it. They also send you “Paid Mail” where if you click on the link, you get 2 cents. Okay–not a lot. But for just a click, why not? And once you reach $30 or so, they will cut you a check. It’s legit. This year, I am going to do more trial offers and see how much I can rack up from this site!
Do your own fundraiser. When I was in middle school, I used to sell candy to kids while at school. I was an entrepreneur even then! Pack of gum cost me $0.25….lollipop cost me $0.10….and I would sell them for $1.00 as a package deal. Whoa, $0.65 profit was pretty good! I upgraded to Sam’s Clubs Reese’s Cups, but I ended up eating all my inventory. HA! But why not try something similar as an adult? Bake cookies and sell them at work, 3 for $1.00? I wouldn’t be surprised if people started hunting you down at 3 p.m…..
Sell your blood. Okay, slightly unethical, considering that you should donate from the kindness of your heart. Do they even PAY for blood anymore? When I was in my 20’s and worked at the National Institutes of Health, I actually participated in a procedure every few months call apheresis, a procedure where they run your blood “through an apparatus that separates out one particular constituent and returns the remainder to the circulation.” Um…Okay. I was 23 at the time. It wasn’t dangerous. They gave me free snacks afterwards. I got to watch a movie. It paid $50. Sweet. Where can I sign up again?
Start a blog. Don’t expect to get rich quick. Or maybe ever. Yes, some bloggers make bank, but many don’t make diddly-squat. Building a successful monetized blog takes time. But if you’re looking to get started, you can first sign up for hosting with Bluehost and get yourself a “.com” name. I currently earn about $2,000 a month blogging. With good content, networking, Google AdSense, and other affiliate marketing, you can eventually start to turn a profit. Eventually. If you’re willing to put in the hard work. It’s got to be your passion, though, not just about money.

Ways NOT to Make Money

And while there are things you can do to make more money, please don’t try these things. ;-P

Sell ad space on your head. Or your face. Or Legs. Okay–NO WHERE on your body. Yes, this man actually sold ad space on his head. What was he thinking?!
Sell prescription pills. A friend’s daughter was recently diagnosed with ADHD, and we were talking about people are taking ADHD meds for weight-loss reasons. Her daughter joked about selling them. Um, yeah, don’t do that, unless you want to go to jail. LOL
Anything illegal. Jail time is NOT cool….follow the law!
Sell your kids. Mine work my nerves to no end. But I love them. They’re staying.
Sell your body parts. You need those kidneys. They can have them when you die. But not until that time.

Ways To Cut Your Expenses

If you’re going to be bringing in some extra loot, you may as well find ways to cut your expenses. Here’s what I plan to do. If you’ve got some cool ideas, by all means, please a comment! 🙂

Check your bills. Are you being overcharged for things? Comcast does some questionable stuff. I recently discovered they’d been charging me for services that I shouldn’t have been charged for. Thankfully, they credited my account. But had I not checked, I would have continued to be charged. Check your other accounts where errors could be happening, too.
Cut OFF your cable. Just cut it off. It’s got to be cheaper to do Netflix, or Hulu (some content is free), and even Amazon Prime has unlimited streaming with its yearly membership. Cutting off cable has been hard for me to do, even though I don’t even watch TV (it’s hubby and kids that are addicted). I’ve decided, though, that I’m going to try to do this for one month, if I can get the cajones to do it! Keep you posted on this one!
Say NO to cable.
Track your spending. It’s easier to cut back when you know where your money is going, right? Then use those tracked figures to create a realistic budget.
Stay HOME! It’s true–if you stay home, it eliminates the ability to spend (not counting shopping online). It means you have to pass on activities with friends, or not taking your kids to cool places. Don’t deprive yourself or your kids, but PLAN those outings by working them into your budget. When there’s no more “fun” money, then you stay home!
Use coupons. But only clip the ones for things you already use. Clipping coupons for crap you don’t ever buy, in my opinion, is a waste of time and creates a cluttered wallet. For example, if you love Pantene condition (like me), do a Google search for “Pantene coupons” and see what comes up. Use sites like Coupon Mom or Coupons.com. I like using Targets mobile coupons where they text them to you and the cashier simply scans the barcode on your phone.
Use Ebates. Again, this isn’t a sponsored recommendation. I try to use Ebates.com when I buy anything online. How it works is, by accessing a website (for example, Kohls.com) via Ebates, it creates a tracking cookie on your computer. That retailer offers a % rebate (e.g. 4% back) on your total (some sites offer rebates up to 20%). If you spend $100 at Kohls.com, your eBates account is credited $4.00. Once you reach a threshold (e.g. $30 balance), Ebates sends you a check. This is helpful for purchases you already make online. Don’t go buying unnecessary stuff just to save a buck or two.
Decide what you can live without. Do you really need that Weight Watchers membership for $18 a month, or can you just find an awesome free online weight loss site? I just cut off my Weight Watchers and signed up for 411 Fit, which is free. I’ve used it before and really liked it. And can you cut your gym membership and walk with a friend at lunch? I love the gym at my job, but at $40 a month, I just can’t swing that. I’ve taken to doing stairs at lunch. I also stopped buying the expensive hair gel for my hair, and have bought a gel that works just as well, for a fraction of the cost.
Run stairs instead of joining a gym.
Use your programmable thermostat. I’m not kidding when I say for the past year that we’ve had our programmable thermostat, we never “used” it; we just set it on “hold” and forgot about it. Granted, I only set the heat on 70, which is still low. But I just recently (like, last weekend), set it up to adjust to 65 at night when we’re sleeping, and to adjust to 68 when we’re home and during “wake” hours. I can’t wait to see how this affects our gas bill this season!
Buy in bulk. Yeah, shopping at Costco or Sam’s Club is awesome. I’ve started going there to buy bulk broccoli, TP, sugar, grapes, and a few other things. But even if you don’t have access to a warehouse membership, buy bulk at your local grocery store. I can’t tell you how many times my stupid ass would buy, like, one box of Cheerios, only to run out a few days later, and then have to waste time, money, and gas going back to buy another box. I would end up buying 5 other things, in addition to the box of Cheerios. Talk about wasteful! This is common sense. But trust me–I was doing this *blush blush*. No more!
Menus, menus, menus. I think this is pretty common sense, but I’m going to be honest with you–I’ve never kept a successful menu. The reasons why could be a whole ‘nutha blog post. But for the past 2 weeks, I have kept one, and it’s been working out! More on that in another post!

Ways NOT to Cut Expenses

Since there are some suggestions above about how NOT to make money, LOL, here are some things that you really SHOULDN’T do to cut your expenses 😉

Turn 2-ply toilet paper into 1-ply. It’s okay to use 2 sheets! Promise!
Go through McDonald’s drive-thu only for condiments. HAHA, I’ve actually done this, eons ago. But yeah, in a pinch…. Still…just put it on your grocery list! LOL
Cancel your trash bill. Then drive your trash over to the nearest apartment complex. HA! (We actually did this when we first moved in, ONLY because we hadn’t set up the trash account yet! But definitely don’t do this on the real!)
Flash your college ID to get discounted movie tickets. You’re 35 now. And graying.
Sneak into Costco or Sam’s club ONLY to feed your kids lunch from the samples. Those employees are membership ninjas! They WILL call you out! Trust me, they almost kicked me out last week! Long story….
Steal toilet paper from public restrooms. It would be even worse if you’re stealing it and THEN pulling apart the ply-sheets. 😉

Okay, sooooo……HAHAHA, there ARE some serious suggestions above! And clearly, there are not the end-all, be-all solutions, but they’re just some things that I identified that I’m going to try to make more money and cut our monthly expenses.

Please leave a COMMENT below and tell me what things YOU do (or are planning to do) to make more money and to cut expenses! Can’t wait to hear them!

Tags: cut expenses, make more money, Money, save money