I know, I know, inflation is the talk of the land but let’s chat about what we can do to make more money. Why? Because sometimes the only way to defeat the rising tide of costs everywhere is to outearn the rise. Now, I know this is easier said than done but I think it’s an important component of navigating inflation and supply shortages.
Making more money is simply anything that we can do in order to increase the gap between our income and expenses. Obviously, this goes two ways – we can hustle or sell things in order to increase our dollars or we can reduce our expenses to increase our dollars.
If you’ve followed me for a while you know I’m a huge fan of doing spending reviews as I believe they are so important and can show us where our weaknesses are.
I mean, it’s easy to make quick decisions like, “I know I need to cut expenses and you know what? I keep hitting “skip” on that Fabeltics or Care/of order every month. So I’ll go ahead and cancel those.” But it can get a little bit harder when it comes to keeping an expense but changing it.
Scratching your head? Here’s what I mean. If it’s been a while since you shopped around for car insurance, utility providers, or cell phone providers, today is the day to do it.
Seriously. I know some folks are brand loyal (my husband is one) but sometimes that loyalty can actually cost you a lot and net you a very small return. This is why I want to challenge you to shop around today in one of these areas and to see if it can potentially save you money. Then I want you to take action on it – after all, thinking about saving money isn’t going to actually make you any money. You must take action on it to see the increase in your budget.
- Cell phone (I just switched to Mint Mobile and LOVE it)
- Car Insurance
- Streaming services
- Amazon Prime (do you really need it? In case you weren’t aware, any purchases over $25 ship free on Amazon without Prime)
- Walmart + (is it really saving you? Challenge yourself to do the actual math to make sure it’s worth it for you)
- Health Insurance (yes, it’s worth it to shop this even if your employer provides healthcare because sometimes you can get better healthcare insurance with a private policy than a group one. You can read about our family not having traditional health insurance here.)
- Gym membership (are you actually using it?)
- Apps (are there any apps that you’re paying for that you hardly ever use?)
- Trash providers (if you’re like us and live somewhere where you get to choose your trash or waste management provider, don’t be afraid to shop around!)
- Meal Delivery Services (like Hello Fresh – are you using them or do you just like the idea of them?)
- Prescription drugs – have you shopped around for pricing? GoodRx has a great price comparison tool!
Alright! now that you’re thinking about the things you can part with to help increase your dollars, let’s real quick talk about selling off your stuff!
Seriously, this doesn’t have to be difficult. You can sell off that homeschool curriculum that you never got to use (I sell off our previous year’s curriculum every year!). Sell off that bike you bought but haven’t touched in a year. For real, go clean out that hall closet that’s full of stuff. What do you really need and what can you get rid of so you can actually use that closet?
Remember the goal with selling off your stuff is not to recoup what it cost you. That expense has already happened and the money is already gone (i.e. sunk cost). So do yourself a favor, free your family of the clutter and make some extra moola.
Now, here’s an important reminder. You must make a plan for this additional money. Are you going to stick it in your retirement account? What about your Emergency Fund? Pay off debt with it? Fund your family’s summer vacation?
Doesn’t matter what you’re planning to do with it just make a plan or else. Trust me, that money will slip right through your fingers if you’re not careful.
Other ways to increase your income:
- Ask for a raise (seriously, don’t be afraid to ask!)
- Pick up a side gig (list of ideas below)
- Use tax refunds or bonus money towards your goals instead of blowing it.
Side Gig Ideas:
- Dog walk
- Launderer (you pick up people’s laundry take it home wash, dry, iron, fold it and return it)
- Tutor
- Teach on Outschool
- Sell off your landscape photography pictures for royalties
The best thing to do when trying to figure out a side hustle is to just write down all of your skillsets and then start thinking about how you could use them to generate extra money.
Don’t be afraid to get creative!
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