5 Ways You Can Increase Your Income By Up To $300 A Month

image by borman818

The idea here is for you to eliminate excess spending. It’s really that simple. I outline several things you can do – WITH STRATEGIES – so you should be able to do at least one or two of them. If you are able to eliminate $50 or more a month and especially if you eliminate $300, you will have succeeded!

Want to have a little extra cash on hand? Wouldn’t we all. There’s a simple way to do this without having to work another job or put in extra hours – though those will certainly get you extra cash. What I’m talking about are simple changes in the way you live your life. Here are five simple ways to make extra cash available.

Eating Out/Eat Less

Eating out is generally done for comfort and social reasons. Maybe you just want to get out of the house. Maybe going out to eat makes you feel good and comfortable. Whatever the reason, let me put this in perspective for you. Even going out to eat just twice a week, if you spend without thinking, is going to cost you at least $30 a week. That’s at least $120 dollars a month. If you think that’s ridiculous, think about this. If you are a family, you have to pay for everyone. If it’s just you, most eating out will run you about $10 on average. More if you enjoy fancy eating.

Why not bring a sack lunch that runs a few dollars? This may bring you back to your grade school memories, but boy does it cost less and you can choose healthy foods like carrots and apples. If you find yourself struggling with your finances, but don’t pay attention to the money you pay going out to eat, then please read this and make a change. Eating out is not a bad thing, and you can even be careful on what you buy so you spend less. But, I urge you to simply cut back on your frequency of eating out and the quantity of food you are consuming while you eat out – a salad and soup is all I ever need. Try bringing your lunch to work or wherever you are during the day and you will realize great savings and health benefits if you pack a healthy lunch.

Insurances

Car insurance is a necessary money sink. But there are actions you can take to reduce this sink. I once talked to a lady about a car insurance that would save her roughly $50 a month. But she was so ingrained with her current ‘big company’ insurance that she was unable to fathom having anything else. I currently have Bear River insurance, a Utah only car insurance company. And I am paying much less for car insurance than I would be with the ‘big’ companies. The point is, examine other insurance opportunities. Maybe even get rid of a second or third vehicle you don’t need. Call and ask around.

Here are a few quick ways for you to get started: Progressive, then Google, then check with people you know and see if they were able to get better rates.

Life insurance is a money sink, especially if you are young. Now I’m not saying not to have life insurance. But if you are paying $50 – $100 a month for it and you are young, this is a poor decision. You are essentially gambling that you will die sometime soon. What a terrible way to live. Now a very cheap life insurance plan that covers you for less, or a work plan that costs less or is free is a great alternative. Examine what you have and make a change if necessary!

Bills

Bills come in many forms. There’s electricity, water, gas, rent/mortgage, and more. Try this: call each of the companies you pay bills to and ask them if what you are paying is the absolute best they can do. Speak with certainty that you are concerned about the amount you are paying. There’s a good chance you can get a rate lowered.

I was able to lower my monthly internet bill by $40 doing this. I just called them and said I was thinking about changing my internet. I was given a new plan, with just a smaller amount of speed, and haven’t skipped a beat!

With your mortgage, if you can find a significantly lower interest rate, refinancing for some extra cash each month might make sense, especially if you are going to live at your home for a long time. Refinancing can save you up to $100 or more each month. If you’re not sure how to refinance, find someone you know that is a mortgage broker, or just search online for the dozens of mortgage companies. Google refinancing to get started.

Televsion and Internet

Television and Internet are two things to watch for. What kind of TV plan do you have? Do you have so many channels that you don’t know what to do with them all? Does watching TV make you feel comfortable as you record endless hours of your favorite shows and sitcoms? It’s not bad to watch a good TV show. But if you are paying a sizable amount and spending a lot of time with it, you are doing double damage with the money spent and the time you could be doing other things with. We have the most basic TV plan of about 25 channels. And it costs us about $15 bucks a month. And we don’t need anymore – plus much is available on the Internet to watch anyways.

Perhaps you don’t need the super powered internet connection you are paying for. You can either call your internet provider and ask for a lower rate, or you can downgrade to a lower plan that still gives you the power you need. For just a few minutes, you can be saving up to $50 a month.

Phones

Do you really need the plan you and possibly your family are on? Do you need to talk and text as much as are you are during the day? A simple change in discipline can save you quite a bit of money for your cell phone plan. Just look at what phone providers will offer for less. You’ll be amazed at what a simpler plan and some discipline will do for you. And if you have a home phone line and are not running some kind of business in your home, you should just get rid of it and switch to a cell phone – unless the home line is dirt cheap and you don’t need a cell phone.

Bonus: Frivolous Spending

We’re talking credit cards and compulsion spending here. Credit cards have been the bane of many people I know unfortunately. They just spend, spend, spend at will without any thought to the interest rate and the debt piling up. With some discipline and intelligence, you can save an enormous amount of money here. For example, I needed a new computer. And it needed to be a powerful computer. Instead of getting one online from Dell or somewhere else for $1000 dollars, I checked a local classifieds site and found someone selling a great computer for $400. That’s $600 extra instantly. Always search for good deals on what you need. There might be someone who really needs to sell what they have and it is what you need. Pay off those credit cards full every month. If you can’t afford that, make it a priority to pay those cards off, so you free up that extra money!

You can put extra money in your pocket each month. But it takes some discipline and work. And not a lot of work either. Be willing to sacrifice some time and comfort, especially if you are constantly worried about debt. These tips are meant as guidelines to get you thinking about what you are currently paying and ways to reduce or eliminate it.

So you read about cutting out some expenses – every word of it right? Now it’s time to not just read it, but actually do it. Sit down and go over your expenses and find the money sinks and reduce/eliminate them. How awesome does it feel to eliminate excess spending and have more money each month?

Share and Enjoy