When it comes to budgeting, there are really only two things you can do if your budget isn’t balanced – cut expenses or earn more money. Of course, you can do both of those things, but regardless, you’ll have to do one or the other in order to get your budget back in balance. So if you’ve already cut all the expenses that you can and you’re trying to find ways to make extra money, these 10 things will help you start earning a little extra pocket change today.
1. Swagbucks
I earn over a $1,000 a year from Swagbucks and it takes me very little time and effort to complete. This post here has more details on how I earn as much as I do with Swagbucks but you can simply do all your internet searches through them and watch your earnings increase!
2. Digit
Okay, so Digit isn’t a way to earn more money but it is a way to save more money. We use our Digit savings account for short-term stuff – like saving for a vacation or fun night out. It’s completely free – sign up here.
3. Walk Dogs
I used to walk dogs back when we were in the thick of paying off debt and it was a super easy way to make additional income every month. I got started by word of mouth – just asking friends and family – and even offered a free week of dog walking to any of my clients that successfully referred me to a neighbor.
In case you’re wondering how I broke out my pricing, here’s what I charged:
**Prices are per dog.
- Small dog = $25/week
- Medium dog = $30/week
- Large dog = $35-50/week (depended on the dog and if they were difficult to walk – like if they would pull me around)
I would usually set up a meeting with the owner whenever was convenient for them so they could meet me in person, I could meet their dogs, they and the dogs could meet my children and I could get their keys/alarm codes.
5. Ebates
I love using Ebates! Before I shop online, I head to Ebates to see if what kind of deals they have available and then click the link for the store I’m wanting to shop at and then I earn cashback on those purchases! It’s super easy and a quick way to make a little extra pocket change. It’s completely free to use – sign up here.
6. Sell your photos
Yes, you can make money from your landscape photos! If you’re a decent photographer and take great landscape shots when you’re traveling, you can sell those photos as stock photos.
7. Use your skills
Depending on what skill sets you have, you can actually make money on the side using them. Here’s what I mean – say you have administrative type skills (sending emails, editing Word docs, updating spreadsheets, project management, etc.), you can freelance out your services through various companies like TaskRabbit or Upwork. Or you could even go out on your own and start your own business with your side hustle.
8. Sell on Amazon
Seriously, this is a thing and it’s a way that a LOT of folks make a full-time living! And actually my husband (who owns a remodeling company here in Woodstock, GA #shamelessplug 🙂 ), did a job for a family whose entire household income comes from selling on Amazon. Now, I don’t personally have experience with this one but Jessica of The Selling Family does and she shares her free guide to getting started here.
9. Sell your old stuff
If selling on Amazon isn’t your thing, gather up your old stuff that you don’t want anymore and sell them off! I did this back when I was struggling financially and it saved my tail! I sold primarily through eBay and Craigslist back then but now, there are several Facebook yardsale groups that you can join in your area for an even easier way of selling. Not-to-mention you can always host an old-fashioned in-your-yard yardsale.
10. Get paid to lose weight
This isn’t a new thing, but if your New Year’s resolution this year is to lose weight and you’re struggling to make it happen, this may be the catalyst that helps you succeed. Healthywage is a site that holds cash prizes for losing weight and allows you to make a bet on how much you’ll lose. It’s a pretty awesome accountability tool if you’re trying to lose weight.
Still not enough?
If you need to find other ways to get your budget back in balance quick, these are just a few things that have worked amazing well for us:
Republic Wireless
This is the cell phone provider that we use and we absolutely love them! Plans start as low as $5 a month (my husband and I both have a $25 plan with them). You can check out their plans here.
Cut the Cable
We haven’t had cable/satellite in over 10 years and we don’t miss it one bit. We use just Netflix and the Amazon Fire Stick to watch TV.
Freezer Cooking
These meal plans have saved my life in more ways than one. Not only do they take the guess work out, they make eating at home fun, affordable and easy. By freezer cooking and eating clean, we not only have more time to have dinners together as a family, but we save considerable money by having easy meals to grab and make at a moment’s notice. You check out the meal plan options here.
Ibotta
This is an awesome cashback app that I use for everything! You can use it at the grocery store (sadly they currently don’t work for Aldi yet), your online purchases, and just regular purchases. Check out Ibotta here and you can get $10 automatically credited to your account.
Okay so these are just a few of the ways to make extra money but there are several other way too. And if you have an awesome way to make extra money, please share it with us!
JOIN THE CHALLENGE!
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Join the 5-Day Challenge today and start getting your money life in order this week!
Dacia says
Can I ask how you (or anyone else who wants to chime in) how you access internet if you cut out cable? We have minimal cable, which I wouldn’t mind getting rid of, but if I did, our actual Comcast bill would go up with just internet on it. Thanks!
Jessi Fearon says
We have Comcast without cable. It still runs through the cable line to the modem but we don’t have the actual cable package – just internet. You’ll have to call them and stand your ground because they will try to sell you that you NEED cable and internet but you don’t. 🙂
Jessi Fearon says
**Meant the internet still runs through the cable line but we don’t have the cable package. 🙂
Beth says
We actually have internet and no cable. We went with a local provider that is exclusively an internet provider. Our monthly rate is less than even a bundled product from a national company.
Becca says
It’s also worth looking at your energy use. We have a big freezer and thought the cost was minimal. Then we emptied it and turned it off to get new flooring in that room. When we got our power bill we saw it was costing $50 a quarter, and we weren’t actually saving money by having it on, because we tend to always be able to find the things we freeze on sale (eg.no stockpiling necessary.) Because the freezer on top of our fridge sometimes turns off without warning we’re keeping the big freezer for when we go on holidays, but keeping it off the rest of the year will save us $200, easy – more, in fact, since we were just hit with a massive power hike.
Sandie @ Fulfilled For Less says
I am excited to start using Swagbucks again this year. I’ve toyed with it here and there but never earned more than $50 or so. I would love to get an extra $1,000 this year from it!
Kristy says
More details about selling your photos please!
Jessi Fearon says
Hi Kristy! I don’t know of every site that will take photos but ones that my friends have had success with are Alamy, Shutterstock, iStock Photo, and 123RF. I hope this helps! 🙂