Budget Blues? Here's How to Boost Your Income
Setting up a budget and sticking to it is no easy task. While it seems reasonable enough while you’re working everything out, it just doesn’t seem to add up once the end of the month is closing in - and your finances tend to suffer from it.
Image link: Pexels
What you need, besides from a budget that actually works for you, is a way to boost your income so that you’re able to afford all of those luxuries you’ve gotten used to. Sure, cutting down on them might solve your problems - but we need to treat ourselves sometimes.
Here is a handful of ways on how you can boost your income from time to time without committing to something final. That way, you can put in some extra energy to earn a bit more savings and simply back out when you’ve had enough. It’s flexible, beautiful, and just what you need when times are tough.
Become your own boss
When you’re working full-time and still feel like you’d like to earn some more money, it may be tempting to take up a part-time job. This is definitely a solid option, though, and you should go for it if you think it’s what you need - but keep in mind that it’s not flexible.
You’re committing to working a certain amount of hours every week and your new boss will depend on you to be reliable. It’s therefore not the best option if you want something that’s truly flexible and where you can put in those hours of work on your own terms.
What about becoming your own boss? It might mean a bit of extra paperwork and planning, at least in the beginning, but once you’ve got everything figured out you’re free to work as much or as little as you please.
Think about what kind of skills you have, the network you have, and come up with something your company can do from there. If you’re great at baking, you could set up your own baking shop - either online or a physical one.
Just keep in mind that you shouldn’t choose something that might be in conflict with the work you’re doing at the moment as you’re probably limited by your contract.
Find an online side-hustle
Everyone needs a hobby they can make money from if they really wanted to. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a hobby either, though, but it will be way easier for you to get started if you’re able to offer services you’re already great at.
The Internet has an ocean of options for you so go check them out right away. You could try your luck at web design, for example, if you’re good at it - or copywriting if you enjoy writing. While a lot of the online jobs are creative, you could always make quite a lot of money from programming or building websites.
Have a look at this article to learn more about your options and get started as soon as possible. That way, you can enjoy the feeling of boosting your income slightly while you’re just sitting in front of your laptop in the evening at home, sipping tea.
Find short-term options
Sometimes, we’re not really in the position to wait for that paycheck to arrive - and we definitely do not have time to build an entire website before we get paid. That’s when you need to learn about the options you have in case you should need a small amount of money right now.
A credit card is the usual saviour in these situations; it’s already in your wallet, and you can simply head over to an ATM. You might want to opt for a payday loan instead, though, in case you’re not able to use your credit card due to poor credit or for whatever reason.
Keep in mind that these tend to come at quite a high interest, however, and are similar to a credit card - so make sure that you pay it back on time.
Another way to solve your money crisis is to get a retail credit card. Some of them will give you money to shop for as soon as you sign up, by the way, and is the perfect solution to those who don’t want to put up with the high interest of a credit card or a payday loan.
Have a read here for some of the most popular options of retail credit cards, by the way, and try to find those that give the most perks.
Sell some of your stuff
If you desperately need money in a few weeks from now but don’t have time for a side-hustle, you might want to consider selling some of the stuff you’re no longer using. This is so easy to do these days and all you have to do is find a reasonable price before taking a few pictures and posting it online.
You could use Facebook, for example, as it’s for free and you already have a network there of people in your area - or you could have a look at this site for some more options of great marketplaces online.
It’s better to do this if you have a bit of time to spare, by the way, as you can’t count on your stuff being sold within a few hours. Sometimes, you might be able to sell it quickly, though, but it’s better to be prepared to wait a few days or even a week.
Try to set the price slightly lower than similar options in case you need the money right away, and your chances of selling it quickly should be a lot higher.
While it’s difficult to live within our means sometimes, it’s luckily quite easy to boost your income when you really need it. Use this money to sort your things out, first of all, and try to find a budget that actually works for you in the future.
0 comments