13 Quick Ways To Save/Make Money

If you follow my Instagram, you probably know that my husband and I are actively trying to pay off all of our debt. We reached a point in our lives where we were sick and tired of making plenty of money but coming up short each month so we decided to start being smarter with our money. As a result, we began taking Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University courses.

Dave Ramsey encourages cutting expenses such as unnecessary purchases and eating out, and he also encourages selling items you are not using. However, we wanted to take it a step further. We began researching every possible way to save and make money so that we could take that money and chunk it at our debt. Obviously, we are still new to the process but I want to share the things that have helped us in hopes that it might help someone else along the way!

1. Set A Monthly Budget

You simply cannot attempt to save money without first setting a monthly budget. How can you know how much money you can save without knowing how much extra money is lying around each month? This step may seem tedious, but it is totally necessary. Find a cool budgeting app you enjoy using (I suggest everydollar) and get to punching those numbers, honey!

2. Use Cash

This one is a page right out of Dave Ramsey’s book. If you have taken his course, you know that credit cards are an unnecessary item. He recommends using debit cards or cash for all of your purchases. Cash has an emotional feeling associated with it. You have to hand it over in order to receive the product you are purchasing versus just swiping a piece of plastic. Using cash will really make you think, “Is this item I am purchasing necessary?”

3. Lower Your Phone Plan

Maybe you can live without those extra (or unlimited) gigabytes of data per month. Maybe you can trade-in or sell your current phone for a more basic version to rid yourself of monthly installments. Whatever the case, I’ve found that lowering your phone plan can dramatically help your budget. We were able to cut $40 per month!

4. Negotiate Your Bills

Along those same lines, did you know you can also negotiate your utility, cable, and internet bills for extra savings? Do not be afraid to call up your internet provider and ask for extra discounts on your monthly bills. You might be surprised! I am not the best negotiator, so I used billcutterz. They negotiated my bills on my behalf and saved me $25 per month on my internet bill! The only catch is that you have to split the savings 50/50 with them for the first year. After that, the savings are all yours!

5. Cut Eating Out

This one should go without saying, but some of us REALLY need to hear it (myself included)! When we first began budgeting our monthly expenditures we were shocked to see that we were spending something around $150 per month on eating out. That’s $1,800 a year! If you enjoy eating out you do not need to cut it out entirely. Instead, set a reasonable budget, say $30-$40 a month, and stick to it.

6. Cancel Monthly Subscriptions

Everyone has that one monthly subscription that they are not using-phone apps, monthly makeup boxes, video streaming services, etc. For us, it was the gym. We had been working out from home for some time and just kept forgetting to cancel our subscription. By canceling, we were able to save $20 a month. What subscription can you cancel?

7. Get A Second Job

Assuming you have a primary job or someone who supports you, getting a second job is a great option to make and save money quick. Maybe you are a stay at home mom or a student needing income on the side. If so, a work from home job is the job for you. My husband and I know from personal experience that Instacart, Chegg, and VIPKID are all excellent, flexible options. Choose your own hours and make top pay!

8. Check Your Social Security Number

In case you have been living under a rock, in 2017 Equifax announced that they had experienced a massive data breach. So massive, in fact, that 147 million individuals were affected. Because of this, Equifax reached a settlement to appease those affected. If your social security number was one of the many included in the breach, you could receive the choice of either 4 years of free credit monitoring or $125. Since you can monitor your credit for free through credit karma, I suggest taking the $125! You can check to see if your social security number was affected by clicking here and entering your information.

9. Sell Personal Items

As I mentioned above, Dave Ramsey suggests conducting a colossal closet cleanout. I’m talking like everything. Sell the old card table. Sell the box tv. Sell that dress you are never going to wear again. Marie Kondo the crap out of your house! Have a yard sale, sell it on Facebook Marketplace, sell it on Craigslist. It doesn’t matter how-just get rid of it! Your house and your wallet will both thank you.

10. Skip Buying Groceries

I learned about the art of “grocery skipping” about two weeks into our venture to begin paying off debt. Grocery skipping is where for one week out of the month you do not buy groceries, but instead, live off of what you have left in the pantry and freezer from previous weeks. This seemed like an impossible task when I first suggested it, nevertheless, my husband was game. What shocked us was just how WELL we ate that week. We were amazed at the amount of food we had lying around that we were not eating because it took time to cook. It forced us to be creative! But you know what? I believe we ate better that week than the entire month combined.

11. Grocery Pickup/Delivery

While Dave Ramsey suggests using cash to purchase groceries, we have found our own little system that works like a charm-grocery delivery! We have used both Walmart Grocery Pickup and Aldi Instacart Delivery, and I must say we prefer Instacart (but both are great!). With both delivery and pickup, you are able to monitor the amount you are spending while you are adding to your shopping list. This prevents you from going over budget while in-store. Both options offer coupon codes for the first purchase you make, but Instacart continues to offer $10 coupon codes at random as you make future purchases (there is also a $10 referral bonus for each person that signs up through your link). With grocery delivery only totaling $3.99+tip, you can actually MAKE money from purchasing groceries without ever leaving the comfort of your own home! That’s a CRAZY good deal.

12. Couponing and Rebates

I do not pretend to be a couponing expert, but I am working on it! There are wonderful tools out there to help you be successful at understanding couponing and rebates. You can even walk away with items that the store PAID you to purchase! How crazy is that? Money Saving Mom and The Krazy Coupon Lady are two of my favorite couponing experts. The Krazy Coupon Lady app walks you through difficult topics like how to stack coupons and which coupons to use with what. They also update deals daily so that you can stay on top of the best couponing hauls!

13. Rewards Programs

Last but not least, take advantage of free online rewards programs. This could mean anything from fast food to drugstore purchases. If you are already making the purchase, why not get rewarded for it? Save up your points and put them to use. My personal favorite rewards program is Ulta. I have several makeup items that I regularly purchase, and once I have saved up enough points I can usually receive a FREE makeup product on at least one trip. It’s a win/win!

I hope I was able to help some of you out on your journey to either becoming debt-free or making a little extra cash on the side. Either way, shoot me an email or comment below to let me know all of the ways you are making and saving money!

xoxo

Kate

***I am in no way sponsored by any of the above-mentioned companies.