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Making That Extra Dollar To Pay Debt

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Crossdivided
Established Contributor

Making That Extra Dollar To Pay Debt

Hey, Guys.

 

I couldnt decide where in the world to post this question, so I thought it probably more relevant here considering just about everyone in rebuilding would probably have thought about making extra money (lord knows I do). After all, when you DO finally get a PFD agreement, you actually have to PAY it LOL.

 

OK so my question for brainstorming...what are some ways to make an extra buck to knock down debt thats under the radar (ie getting a 2nd or 3rd job is obvious). For example, I give plasma 2x/week...it doesnt pay but around 20 bucks a pop, but hey every little bit helps. I'm really looking for more ideas that are outside-the-box...for example when googling the subject it pulls up 534567 websites that more or less boils down to "go sell all the crap you dont need in the garage". Again, kind of a DUH on that one...besides already did that in the 1st week of rebuilding LOL.

 

So, I suppose it comes down to ways to MAKE the extra money...I'm already "saving" every possible penny by more obvious things (cutting back on non essentials, cutting out entertainment, being frugal at the grocery store by buying store brands, etc etc).

 

OK fellas...make me ghetto rich!

Message 1 of 4
3 REPLIES 3
llecs
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Making That Extra Dollar To Pay Debt

Back in college I racked up a ton of debt. I hunkered down and worked a 9-5 but I also started my own business doing B2B and B2C distribution via the web (long before google or FB ever existed). That retired a lot of debt quickly. I also started a consulting business helping companies with their legal, HR, and accounting. It's a whole lot easier now to than before. I'm trying something new this fall where I'm putting together a video series on YouTube  showing my family and I writing a ebook. Those videos, combined with a WordPress Blog and e-mail marketing, will be used to launch and promote the e-book. Even if I only sell 1,000 copies at $10 each, that's $10,000. I know of someone who took their blog and made it into an e-book format. It took him one day. He sold it online and made $450k. It's crazy money if you have good content.

Message 2 of 4
Asailorshort
Regular Contributor

Re: Making That Extra Dollar To Pay Debt

These aren't really ways to EARN more money, but ways you can maximize the money you already make:
1. Take a close look at your w2's. increase the number of exemptions if you normally receive a tax refund. You're prob paying at least 10-20% on your debt so that you can give Uncle Sam a free loan.
2. Look into changing your bank - especially if they charge any fees for the privilege of holding your money. It's not much, but, hey, it's 10 bucks that could go towards debt.
3. Never ever use an ATM that's not your banks.
4. If you're really, really cutting back & living extremely frugally, consider a 2nd job that has an employee cafeteria. Eat before & after your shift, and have an almost non-existent grocery bill.
5. Set aside a day to research every single bill you are paying.
6. Are you sure you have the absolute cheapest car insurance out there? Make some calls to be sure. Do any of your debts allow you to skip a payment? If so, you can use that money to pay to a higher interest debt.
7. Can you get any rebates from your electric company or perhaps even just get your bills averaged out throughout the year?
8. is your cell phone plan the cheapest available?
9. Have you already cancelled cable?
10. Do you have the cheapest transportation available? Sell your car & buy a cheaper one. Sell your cheap car & take public transport. Give up public transit & walk/bike to work.

I know you say you've already cut your budget to the bone, but there's almost always a way to cut a couple dollars here & there that add up at the end of the month. Also, if you're not already using the snowballs method to pay off your debts, you're probably wasting a little bit of money there too.
Starting FICO 667 (5/2012) EQ
672 (7/2012) EQ. 681 (8/1/12) EQ
Current FICO 682 (10/13/12) EQ; 718 (10/13/12) TU
Goal: 760+ but 700-720 by jan 2013
No new apps tll jul 2013
Message 3 of 4
Crossdivided
Established Contributor

Re: Making That Extra Dollar To Pay Debt


@Asailorshort wrote:
These aren't really ways to EARN more money, but ways you can maximize the money you already make:
1. Take a close look at your w2's. increase the number of exemptions if you normally receive a tax refund. You're prob paying at least 10-20% on your debt so that you can give Uncle Sam a free loan. Yup, bumped to 5
2. Look into changing your bank - especially if they charge any fees for the privilege of holding your money. It's not much, but, hey, it's 10 bucks that could go towards debt. Yup, switched to a CU with free checking, which gave me 25k in revolving credit...which I then used to pay off old debt (IRS, PFD agreements, etc)
3. Never ever use an ATM that's not your banks. I dont. I put all monies toward the revolving accts, then use the accts for essentials. Saves me from having to "determine" how much I can pay...whatever didnt get spent stays on the card. Rinse/repeat next month.
4. If you're really, really cutting back & living extremely frugally, consider a 2nd job that has an employee cafeteria. Eat before & after your shift, and have an almost non-existent grocery bill. Nothing I could find. Im retired military, student (no free lunches there), and 2nd job (no cafeteria). But, I bring all my own food (cheap, decently healthy lunches such as sandwiches, peanut butter crackers, etc).
5. Set aside a day to research every single bill you are paying. I actually do that on about a weekly basis for each. Its pretty much obsession to a fault by now.
6. Are you sure you have the absolute cheapest car insurance out there? Make some calls to be sure. Do any of your debts allow you to skip a payment? If so, you can use that money to pay to a higher interest debt. Yup, down to 80 bucks every 6 months for the cheapest liability-only insurance on the market.
7. Can you get any rebates from your electric company or perhaps even just get your bills averaged out throughout the year? Went as far as moving in with a family member just to split bills.They gone 6 out of 8 weeeks, so I "watch" the place for them. Just made good sense. Personal mortgage upcoming after overall util under 30%...hoping for march time frame.
8. is your cell phone plan the cheapest available? Yup, 4-way split family plan.
9. Have you already cancelled cable? Went one better...sold all my TVs when starting rebuilding to pay PFDs. Dont even own one now.
10. Do you have the cheapest transportation available? Sell your car & buy a cheaper one. Sell your cheap car & take public transport. Give up public transit & walk/bike to work. Yup, my car is worth 800 bucks. Commute to classes so have to have atleast that. No public transportation around here. It works out though...I get something resembling GI Bill for college, so all those expenses are paid.

I know you say you've already cut your budget to the bone, but there's almost always a way to cut a couple dollars here & there that add up at the end of the month. Also, if you're not already using the snowballs method to pay off your debts, you're probably wasting a little bit of money there too. All the "old debt" is paid, now just paying off all the credit used to pay that old debt. 3 revolving accounts with roughly same APR. One is a line of credit that interest is based on average daily balance, and the other 2 (traditional credit cards) are of course calculated on the statement date. So, what I do is take the total of payments to be made, let it sit in the LOC from payday to the CC due dates, then transfer the amounts I want to go onto the CC balances. That way, I save the few weeks of interest on the LOC, and still reduce the interest on the CCs by the full payment amounts. So yeah, its as maximized as possible to the best of my knowledge.

Great suggestions!

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