We have an expensive September with LOTS of expenses. Quite frankly, more expenses than we have money for. I am going to have to hustle AND hold on to the coin I already have.
First, the hustle.
Craigslist–We have money in our basement in the form of unwanted “stuff” and I need to convert that stuff to cash ASAP. I’ll be spending some time listing that stuff on Craigslist.
Extra Jobs–I am busy right now, busier than I like, but I really have no choice right now than to amp up my workload. This phase of expenses will pass, and then I can relax my workload a bit.
Next, the retaining coin.
No Spend Week–We are all set here. The car has a little under 1/2 tank of gas, the refrigerator is a bit empty, but there are plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, and the freezer is stuffed. We won’t starve if we don’t spend any money on groceries or gas this week. We have what we need. So, the goal is to spend no more than $25 this week, ideally even less than that.
Cutting expenses–It is time to be ruthless with the budget. Time to analyze line items and see where I can reduce or eliminate.
I will report back next Saturday and let you know how I did.
Meanwhile, can you share with me your favorite methods of generating cash fast? (Legally, of course. :))
It’s not fast – usually a week or more – but I like trading in books/cds/dvds.
bookscouter.com lets you see the value of a book on many sites. you then ship the books to the company for free, and they send you a check.
I’ve also sold items on amazon, but they take a hefty chunk like ebay, so it isn’t as profitable as it could be on craigslist.
Don’t forget mystery shopping/merchandising! There are legitimate companies out there. I recommend CRI (corporate research international) and Market Force, both blue portal and purple portal – you can find both on their sign up pages.
Thanks for the suggestions. Mystery shopping is something I have wanted to look into.
I feel like in order to do a no spend week next week, I’d have to overspend (mainly on groceries) this week – I wonder if it would all average out in the end? Maybe I WILL try it and see 🙂
Let me know if you do try and how it turns out. Even a little savings can add up.
I would join you but we just did one last week. We spent way over on grocries (nhint ever take a tired, hungry husband with you) so I decided we were spending nothing for the week except milk and some produce for the kids lunches. It worked great. We spent $13.55 for the whole week yeah. But this week we are feeding 7 extra people. Next week I am hoping to hit under $20 again. Good luck.
Sounds like you had a great week!