Short on cash? With the holidays around the corner and the year ending, demands on our budget can become strenuous and, no matter how much we plan, we often find ourselves feeling a little tight with money.
Luckily, it’s easier than you may think to find a few extra bucks in your budget. You can cut expenses, find opportunities to increase income, or both! Here are 7 things to do to put $100 in your pocket right now.
1) Cut Cable
Unless you’re in a contract with your cable company, really consider cutting them right now. Cable is extremely expensive, and there are so many cheaper alternatives available.
The average cost of cable is nearly $100 a month. End your cable services today and save over $1200 a year, plus you’ll find yourself becoming much more productive without television as a distraction!
2) End Subscription Services
While you’re at it, make a list of all monthly subscriptions you pay for. It may include magazines, gym memberships, or package delivery services.
Becoming mindful of reoccurring charges every month will save you money. Subscription services are often services that we like and are convenient, but we do not need.
Consider alternatives to your subscription services. Your monthly glam bag you get in the mail may only be $10-15 a month, but is it something you really need? Can you run outside instead of paying for a gym membership?
Some of these conveniences may be worth the cost to you. If any of these services, like a gym membership, are worth paying for, just make sure you’re using it frequently enough to ensure you aren’t wasting money.
3) Skip a Salon Visit
Many people, especially women, are reluctant to give up their salon visits because it’s a way to treat themselves and build confidence.
While there’s nothing wrong with that, salon visits can cost anywhere from $40-300, depending on the services you request. That is a huge expense, especially if you do it a few times a year. Some women spend around $200 every 6 weeks! That’s about $1,600 a year!
If salon visits are a priority, see how much you could save by skipping an appointment or extending the time between appointments. Consider a lower-maintenance style to save money and effort.
4) Sell Household Items
We all have a ton of extra stuff lying around. You would be surprised how much you can make by selling stuff you no longer use. Post items on sites and apps like Craigslist, eBay, Facebook trading groups, and OfferUp. The key to getting items to sell quickly is to provide a picture and a detailed description.
You may think you would rather donate your extra stuff to charity instead of selling it. While this is an awesome intention, truthfully, places like Goodwill and Salvation Army receive a ton of donations, many of which end up in a landfill. They simply don’t have the means to store or sell everything.
By you selling or giving items to someone directly, it is guaranteed to be reused before being thrown out. Making a few bucks by selling items is just a bonus.
If you’re unsure, ask your local donation drop-off what items they really need and which items they would rather not receive. If you have an item that a donation center doesn’t want, try selling it to someone who does want it instead.
5) Cash In Spare Change
Is your piggy bank spilling over? Then it’s time to cash in all your extra change.
Clean out your sofa and pockets and collect all spare change to take to the bank. I’m always amazed at how much my spare change is worth when I do this.
Bonus: DC here – my wife and I put $2 in a jar every time we post a picture on Instagram. This adds up over time! I would recommend doing this to build up a small “bonus” reserve that can be used for something fun or for gifts.
6) Find Short-Term Gigs and Side Hustles
There are so many one-time or short-term gigs you can do to earn $100. It’s so easy and, best of all, you don’t need much experience to make $100 doing only a few hours of work. Some easy gigs include things like:
- dog sit
- babysit
- tutor
- be a server or bartender with a catering company
- work at a moving company for a day
- mow lawns or shovel snow around the neighborhood
- work in retail part-time during the holidays
These are just a few ideas. The best thing about some of these gigs is that you could easily turn it into a profitable long-term side hustle to earn extra money year-round.
7) Make more money at your full-time job
Don’t forget that you can make more money at your full-time job.
Make a case for your boss to show why you deserve a raise. Create a portfolio to showcase of all your accomplishments and your goals.
Sure, it can be intimidating to ask for a raise, but you shouldn’t let the fear of asking stop you from earning more money, especially if you believe you deserve to be paid more.
If asking for or receiving a raise isn’t a possibility for you, why not ask to see if there is any opportunity to work overtime? Maybe you have a project you could dedicate extra time to. Or you could always offer to help out one of your busier departments.
With end of the year coming up, most companies’ accounting and finance departments are extremely busy. Offer to help and earn overtime pay.
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Finding an extra $100 in your budget is easier than you might think. And it’s a reminder to us that we possess the power to save and earn more money.
Our income and spending isn’t set in stone! No matter your financial situation, you can always find ways to save or earn more.
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I sold a bunch of my kids old clothes in our neighborhood facebook group yesterday. I made $25. Yay!
Thanks for sharing Rachel! This is a great list. Subscriptions kill the budget…my wife keeps pestering me about Netflix, Hulu, our gym memberships, etc. When you look at all of them, they really add up to a sizable part of our budget each month.
Another side hustle with the holidays around the corner is to put up Christmas lights for your neighbors. I have flyers and will be passing them out today.
Recently wrote about my cable cutting experience. It really can save you a good amount of money. Apathy is the problem here for most people, as most cable companies will give you a discount if you just ask. The best offers are not found online. Pick up the phone and call your cable company to see what they can offer.
I never had cable normal tv offer a lot of coice also without paying and honestly is been always good, sell items at thrifty store is good in the past months I’ve sold books that I wasn’t going to keep and now I have dog sitting and work in the cafe during weekend as extra income (side hustle)…but I am agree with the enitre post:D
Yes, definitely the side hustle! I would recommend doing things you enjoy for your side hustle. That way it won’t even feel like you’re working!
I’m a huge fan of the “gig” or sharing economy and the opportunities it affords anyone, who is willing to put in the effort, a chance to earn some extra cash and supplement their income. It’s easy, the learning curve isn’t that steep and one can do it at their most convenient time and to top it off, it teaches you key business skills – like negotiating and communication!
I’m one of those women who would have a hard time giving up visits to the salon. When I did hair on my own, it turned into straw. But a good alternative is to go to a college with hair stylist training, and to let students do the job – for much less than a salon.
Your #1 is honestly one of my favorites that surprisingly many people seem to have a hard time getting on board with. There are so many free entertainment options these days it seems insane to me to pay $100 a month for such a service. We cut cable and all of our subscriptions when we started paying off our $600k in student loan debt and have never looked back!
Lots of good ideas here! Cutting cable in particular is so easy to do these days since one can watch many shows for free online. And I don’t mean cheating and resorting to pirating sites :) … often the major networks will let you watch their shows online via their website for free – sometimes there’s a delay of a week before they let you see it, other times it’s only 24 hours.. but still, it’s super handy if you want to skip the cable bill.