Category: Making money

January 1, 2023 Making money

Increase Your Income In 2023!

Are you looking for some great ways to increase the income you bring in this year? Then look no further – I’ve got some great ideas on how you can earn more money:

  1. Get into the tourism game.
  2. Start a dog-walking hustle.
  3. Sell stuff you’re not using.
  4. Look into freelance writing.
  5. Do research surveys.

Get Into The Tourism Game

The world is opening up, and people are excited to travel! You can make money from this by renting out a spare room or, even better, a spare property if you have one.

Not interested in having to deal with the hassles of renting? You can still benefit from tourism by crafting a unique activity – such as a historical walking tour- that lets tourists explore your city while learning!

Start A Dog-Walking Hustle

If you love dogs and want to earn extra money, dog walking can be a great way to pick up some extra cash. Start asking friends and family to see if they know anyone needing a dog walker, and then expand your circle!

Sell Stuff You’re Not Using

Along with earning more money, many people declutter their house as a New Year’s resolution! You can combine the two by listing items online (for example, eBay or Craigslist) for sale that you no longer need.

Before you do this, keep in mind two things:

  1. Don’t go through the hassle of listing everything you no longer need online. If stuff is in poor shape or it’s unlikely anyone would pay for it, it’s better to donate it or put it in the trash.
  2. Keep safety in mind, and only agree to meet buyers in a public place if you’re going to conduct a sale in person.

Look Into Freelance Writing

Freelance writing is a great gig; it costs you nothing but time. There are no set-up costs, and you don’t need to worry about gas or insurance like when you work for a company like Uber or Lyft.

The key to success with a freelance writing side gig is to focus on what you know – now isn’t the time to tackle a brand-new subject. Whether your area of expertise is parenting, fishing, woodworking, or something else, there’s a writing gig waiting for you!

Do Research Surveys

These aren’t a way to get rich, but they are a great way to pick up a little extra cash or some gift cards. One site I’ve been using on and off for years is Swagbucks. They offer a variety of ways to earn points that can be used towards gift cards, including answering surveys and even playing online games!

What’s Your Plan To Increase Your Income In 2023?

How are you planning to increase your income in  023? Let me know in the comments!

February 15, 2022 Debt, Making money

Finding extra cash to pay off debt

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

This month I’m focussing on paying off debt! Over the past two weeks, I’ve talked about how to figure out how much you owe and determine the best approach for you to pay off your debt!

I understand – you’ve already put so much work in just taking care of steps 1 and 2. But you’ve made so much progress – so keep pushing on! Now you know how much you owe and how you want to pay it off – the next step is to figure out how you’ll come up with extra cash to pay off your debt faster.  There are two main ways to come up with extra cash:

  1. Earn more
  2. Cut back

I’ll put my suggestions below – and I’d love to hear yours.

1. Earn more

While there are definitely drawbacks to living in a “gig” economy, the good news is this enables you to find easy options to earn extra money.  Here are some:

  1. Driving – all kinds of choices here. You can deliver packages (Amazon), food (GrubHub) or people (Uber)
  2. Paper route (yes, they still exist)
  3. Temp agency – Find extra work for your days or evenings off
  4. Surveys – more details in my post here
  5. Sell stuff – more details in my post here.
  6. If you’re creative – you can try to sell things on Fiverr or Etsy.
  7. Rent out a room on Airbnb.

There are lots to choose from here – just depends on your skills and resources.  (e.g. if you don’t drive, then working for Uber is not going to happen :)).  Also, think about what’s reasonable for you – if you live in a major city, the stress of delivering packages or food may not be worth it!

2. Cutting back

You’ve figured out a few ways to bring in some extra bucks – but you still want to throw more at your debt. Now it’s time to figure out if there are any areas to cut back in:

  1. Daily expenses – I know everyone always tells you to cut back on your daily coffee. But sometimes, you truly need that coffee trip to keep your sanity! You can consider less expensive coffee or buy it once a day instead of cutting it out altogether.
  2. Bigger expenses – take a look at how many streaming services you have or if you’re truly using cable TV. I’m not advocating you cut your entertainment options down to nothing. BUT if you have 5 streaming services, you may be able to do without 1 or 2 of them!
  3. Renegotiate! Call your cable or credit card company and see if you can get a better deal or lower interest rate. This is one of the quickest ways to save money without sacrifice.
  4. If you have good self-discipline, you can consider transferring your balance to a 0% interest credit card. You have to be sure you won’t run up a balance on your new card or, worse yet – not pay it off before the 0% rate ends, and you get hit with a huge charge!

Moving forward

You may find it easier to cut back than earn more money – after all, we all have a lot of interests and responsibilities outside of our main jobs, so taking on more work may just not be an option for you.  I think you’ll be able to find 1 or 2 things on both my lists that work for you and will help you start paying off debt that much faster!

Happy earning or saving – or both! Let me know what approach works for you in the comments!

 

 

April 15, 2020 Making money

How to protect your income – during a pandemic or any other time!

 

While we’ve all felt the impact of the COVD-19 pandemic, no one has felt it worse than people who’ve been laid off or had to close their businesses.  The Canadian government has stepped up to provide a variety of resources such as the CERB – but thas not necessarily enough to replace the income you were making before.  A few businesses that have been able to remain open have seen an uptick in income – like places that make outdoor play toys like swingsets and pools!

Here are a few ideas on how you can protect your income no matter what the circumstances:

  1. Retool your business
  2. Change how your business works
  3. Have a side hustle

1. Retool your business

One of the biggest changes some companies have made during this pandemic is to retool their business. Automakers are now making ventilator parts.  Alcohol distillers are now making hand sanitizer.  While it’s certainly not easy to just change what you make or how you make it, it can pay off.  Think about how you operate your business now and if there are ways you could expand or change it in the future to give you more income streams.

2. Change how your business works

Places that provide take out or delivery have been doing very well. They’re considered an essential service and have been allowed to stay open.  A lot of restaurants that have never considered offering pick up or delivery are now doing so in an effort to stay afloat.  My husband and I ordered a nice steak dinner from a place up the road. Steak isn’t the best takeout dinner 🙂 but it was nice to have something a little more upscale than what we usually buy.

3. Have a side hustle

The days of having a job for life are now long gone. More and more people are turning to side hustles – everything from freelance writing to driving for SkipTheDishes.  Take a look at the skills you have an figure out if they could be used in a side hustle. Are you crafty? Then Etsy is your new best friend.  Like to drive? Plenty of options out there for delivering packages, people, or food!

The Takeaway

Flexibility is the name of the game. The more options you have for “income streams” the better off you’ll be. In my lifetime, I’ve been a technical writer, then a business analyst – and now I’m a freelance writer. All of these have something in common – the ability to analyze and then communicate information. So I’ve been able to carry over my skillset which is great.

What skills or experience do you have that you think you could turn into a side hustle? Or is there a way you could change your current business to be more flexible?

March 1, 2020 Making money

Make money without leaving the couch!

It’s winter, and it’s cold outside! Who wants to leave the couch? BUT – you’re committed to your goals of earning more money. So – how do you do this without leaving the comfort of your lovely warm home? There are lots of ways to do this, and I’ll cover two of them today.

  1. Swagbucks
  2. Prolific Surveys

These are both great sites in that the work/money comes to you – you don’t have to come up with a specific service to sell or try to convince someone to hire you.

1. Swagbucks

Swagbucks doesn’t give you cash – but it does offer gift cards to very popular places including Starbucks, Amazon, and Itunes. And you can get something pretty close to money – you can earn a Paypal gift card! The great thing about Swagbucks is that it offers you a variety of ways to make “Swagbucks” which you then redeem for a gift card.  Here are some of the most popular ways to earn Swagbucks:

  • Answering surveys. You may have to qualify for them, depending on the survey. The good thing is that Swagbucks will give you a few Swagbucks even if you don’t qualify. However, there’s a daily limit for how many Swagbucks they’ll give you for surveys you don’t qualify for.
  • Online shopping – if you shop at places via Swagbucks portal, you’ll earn Swagbucks on your order. You have plenty of options to choose from –  Expedia, Walmart, LEGO, and Amazon are just a few of your options.
  • Daily poll – it only earns one Swagbuck, but it’s super easy – you answer one question, usually on a fun topic!
  • Play games – yes. You’ll get paid to play games online.
  • Watch videos – you can select from a list of videos they provide. This one is relatively passive, but it can take about 20 minutes to earn 3 Swagbucks.
  • Search – you can make Swagbucks your search engine and earn Swagbucks when you search.

I’ve earned gift cards from Swagbucks, so I can confirm they are legit. They’re a great way to make a little extra on your own time on your own terms!  There are no real bad things about Swagbucks other than sometimes technical issues occur with games or videos, and they freeze.

2. Prolific Surveys

I would say half of this title is correct. They do offer surveys – but they are not prolific in providing them! I have gotten invitations to participate in surveys from them no more than once a month.  The good news is they pay in British Pounds so you can earn decent money for not a lot of work. And they email you an invitation when you qualify for a survey, so you don’t have to check the site regularly to see if you’re eligible for anything new. Here’s how the website works:

  1. You sign up and fill in your demographic information. The great thing is that the screening questions are all done here – so you won’t be sent surveys you don’t qualify for and then get screened out! The more details you provide, the more surveys you can qualify for.
  2. You get sent an email when you qualify for a survey. Since Proflic pays well (minimum of $7.50 an hour) and have a limited number of participants, I try to start a survey ASAP after I get an email notifying me I’ve qualified.
  3. Complete the survey.  I’ve taken surveys that take no more than five minutes and some that take up to twenty. They’re always interesting – universities use them, so they aren’t just the standard “Have you bought this product in the past month?” kind of surveys.
  4. Submit your answers and wait for them to be approved. I’ve never had an issue with my answers not being approved.
  5. Get money deposited into your Proflic account. Once you reach 5 Pounds, you can cash out! You will require a PayPal account to do this.

It costs nothing to sign up – so check out Proflic today!

Two great ways to earn money!

You’ve learned about two great ways to earn money today – Swagbucks and Prolific.  Swagbucks offers a lot more options than Proflic, but the pay is lower. As well, with Swagbucks, you have to remember to go to the site to earn money. It’s worth signing up for both – after all, the more options you have to earn money from your couch, the better.

Happy earning!

 

 

 

February 15, 2020 Making money

Get paid to lose weight!

 

I know, I know – get paid to lose weight. It sounds like a bad late-night infomercial that is designed to TAKE your money, not GIVE you money! But it’s true – there are two options you can consider if you want to lose weight and lose money at the same time. I’ll cover what they both offer, then provide some tips on deciding which option is best for you.

1. DietBet

DietBet has only two “games” or challenges to chose from. You can select from a kickstarter challenge where you aim to lose 4% of your body weight in four weeks or a transformer challenge where you intend to lose 10% of your body weight in six months.

Each of these games has a “buy-in” which DietBet uses to build “the pot.” If you’re wondering if this sounds a lot like poker – you’re right!

After you’ve selected the challenge you want to participate in, you then:

  1. Weigh-in and upload a photo of your weight.
  2. “Play.” In other words, diet and exercise! 🙂 Or healthy eating. Or whatever route you choose.
  3. Weigh out after the period of the “game” has ended.
  4. If you’ve reached your goal – you get paid! If you don’t – well, no money for you, but hopefully you lost at least some weight!

2. HealthyWage

HealthyWage offers several different kinds of challenges to select from.  They are:

  • Individual – you control all the variables such as desired weight loss and time frame
  • Personal Jackpot – you split the pot of winnings if you reach your goal weight (quite similar to DietBet)
  • Team – you are part of a group of people trying to lose weight. The team that loses the highest percentage weight wins cash prizes
  • Fitness  – try to achieve a certain amount of steps in a specified time frame.

You can participate in up to 10 challenges at one time!

The steps for HealthyWage are similar to DietBet:

  1. Sign up for any challenges you are interested in and place your bet!
  2. Verify your weight (if participating in a weight loss challenge)
  3. Participate!
  4. Verify your weight once the period has passed OR the number of steps you’ve taken.
  5. If you’ve reached your goal – you get paid! Congrats!

3. Which is best for you?

DietBet has much more limited offerings than HealthyWage.

If you’re looking for something where you can focus just on weight loss, but participate with a group of people, then DietBet may be for you.

If you prefer to compete “against yourself,” want to increase the amount of exercise you take or want to take on more than one challenge at once, then HealthyWage is likely a better bet for you.

Either way, you have to be willing to put some money on the line. However, if that’s the thing you need to kick start increasing the amount of exercise you take or losing weight, then either of these sites would be a great place to start!

Happy competing!

 

 

 

February 1, 2020 Making money

Declutter and make money!

In my last post, I talked about saving money by using up what you have. Now, you’re ready to go to the next step – well, two steps, really! You can declutter (step 1) AND make some money (step 2) while you’re at it.

This is another simple three-part process:

  1. Figure out items you don’t want or need
  2. Decide if it’s worth trying to make money from them
  3. Sell them!

1. Figure out items you don’t want or need

A great place to start is the lists you created using my last post. While no one is likely to pay you for an old can of lima beans you’ve had way past the expiry date, you may have more bath and body sets than you know what to do with!   Or you may have some lovely items – that are just not to your taste.

Go through all of these locations to determine what other extra items are just taking up space:

  • Garage
  • Closets
  • Basement
  • Kitchen cupboards
  • Other storage areas

2. Determine if anyone will pay you for your unwanted items

This is harder than the first part. It’s not hard to find items you don’t want or need. But just because you don’t want those items doesn’t mean anyone else is going to be willing to pay you for them! Go through this checklist to figure out if it’s worth trying to sell an item:

  • Is it in good condition? Unless it’s a rare item, no one is going to want to buy your item if it’s worn out, dirty, etc.
  • Is it easily and cheaply available new? If a person can buy a similar item new at the Dollar store for very little, chances are they aren’t going to want to buy it second-hand from you.
  • Is it an item people often are willing to buy second-hand? In our society, getting second-hand clothes for your kids is considered quite acceptable (and catching on with adults too!). Other items (such as 20 years old textbooks!) you’re going to have a lot more trouble moving.

3.  Time to get selling!

Now that you’ve figured out what you have and if it’s worth trying to tell – you’re onto the final part.  You can try any or all of the following options, depending on what you have:

  • Garage sale. It can be a good way to get rid of a lot of things at once but it also can be a lot of work for very little return.
  • Consignment store. Good for higher-end clothing and accessories (such as purses and belts).
  • Online – take your pick. eBay, Craigslist, Kijiji – lots to choose from!

Let’s get going!

No time like the present to start decluttering and earning a little extra money. Nothing feels better than extra space AND cash in hand. Just be sure not to give in to the temptation to spend your hard-earned cash and fill up that newly emptied space!

 

 

 

January 1, 2020 Making money, Saving money

New Year’s Goals to get you financially on track!

A lot of people use New Year’s as an opportunity to start new money habits – saving more and earning more!  Other common goals include decluttering the house and losing weight. In the next few months, I’m going to do posts about the following:

  1. Save money by using up what you have!
  2. Make money by decluttering.
  3. Lose weight and make money doing it. Yes, this is possible.
  4. Three ways to make money without getting off the couch.

Happy New Year and Happy new money habits!