While most personal finance gurus suggest cutting back on your spending to make your paycheck go farther, you may reach a point where your paycheck just won’t stretch any more. That doesn’t mean that you’ve reached a personal finance dead end, though. It just meants that it’s time for a new strategy. Rather than trying to make your dollar buy just a little bit more, why not try to get a few more dollars in your pocket?
- Your Day Job — There’s one simple (although not always easy) way to up your earnings. You can ask your boss to give you a raise. This tactic works best if you can point to something you’ve done recently that is desrving of a raise. It can be a bit easier if you remember that a raise doesn’t always have to mean that your boss is handing you a bigger salary. Perhaps you can convince your employer to cover more of your health insurance, or provide reimbursement for the gas you use to get to work.
- Sell Your Stuff — A lot of people don’t necessarily want to get rid of their stuff, and that’s understandable. But it’s worth considering if there really is nothing in your home that you wouldn’t like to be rid of — I try to take a look around once a month and check if there’s something that isn’t really worth dusting. A movie that I don’t watch, a shirt I don’t wear… they can all be sold. Consider eBay or a garage sale. If you have a hobby that involves creating something (knitting, wood carving, etc.), you might also consider selling a few of your creations. After all, Junior can only wear so many sweaters. Etsy can often provide you with customer right away.
- Start A Side Business — In high school, one of my teachers hired a couple of students to trim lawns in the summer time and shovel snow in the winter. My teacher supplemented his salary, my fellow students got some cash and great recommendation letters and everyone was happy. Maybe you don’t have a ready made work force, but there’s probably a side business that you’ve been thinking about starting ’some day.’ Why not today?
- Build Passive Income — If you create a project that brings in money long after you finished working on it, with very little continuing effort from you, you have a source of passive income. If you write a book and receive royalties — that’s a passive income stream. So is renting out an apartment or investing in stock. Passive income tends to take more effort (or money) up front but can save you from have to spend tons of time trying to earn more money in the long run.
The great thing about these options is that, if you dedicate some time and effort to them, it’s very possible that you’ll make a significant amount of money from them. There are tons of stories about people who started out selling their DVDs on eBay and then started going out to find more to sell. It’s possible to turn any of these projects into a full-time job, if you want. At the same time, though, you can get just a little money for a little effort, which can be enough to make your finances more comfortable. It’s up to you.
