Perhaps you work a 9 to 5 job, but still don’t have enough money to buy the things you need or want. Maybe you want to save more or start investing but it’s a challenge due to a lack of funds. There are many things you can do to fatten your wallet while even perhaps enjoying yourself.

Design Printables to Sell on Etsy

If you’re more artistically minded, you could create printables and sell them on Etsy. These can be anything — from budget printables to artwork that people frame. Whatever the case, these are easy to create and sell over and over again, even though you’ve only worked on them once!

Looking to design your own printables and sell them on Etsy? You can watch this free workshop to see how you can do this and earn upward of $10,000 a year! They also have a program that helps you earn even more.

Related: What Can I Sell For $1,000?

Answer Questions For Money

Are you an expert on a specific topic? If so, you can answer questions and earn money talking about what you already know. With sites like Just Answer, you can make your own schedule and get paid to answer specific questions, like “How do I get my kids to stop fighting?”.

Keep in mind that sites like Just Answer do require education, certification, or other relevant experience in the field you want to be considered an expert in. You’ll need to prove that you know what you’re talking about, so don’t boast if you’re unsure!

Related: How to Create Passive Income Streams on a Low Budget

Invest in Dividend Stocks

Investing in and following the stock market can be a lucrative pastime. If you are considering stock investing, it is important to research and follow past trends to make an informed decision on what may be a worthy investment.

Many websites and blogs offer advice on how to invest your money, and finding an online broker that offers low commissions is entirely possible with today’s investment technology. But one of the easiest ways to invest in the stock market is to invest in dividend stocks.

These stocks will typically pay you each quarter (some pay at different times) just for holding a stock option. That means you’re getting paid without having to trade or sell stocks. And the longer you have them, the more you make.

Related: How to Start Investing in Stocks With No Regrets

How I Found Money to Start Investing

Clean Houses

Sometimes, people are just too busy to keep their houses or apartments clean, so becoming a house cleaner in your spare time is a great way to earn extra money. Like many small businesses, you can start by advertising on social media websites about your services and what they entail.

The times you are available to clean are important as potential clients can make decisions based on your availability versus when they want their house to be cleaned. If you do a good job, you may be able to pick up constant work from clients, giving you a steady stream of extra income.

In order to start your own cleaning business, there are a few things you might want to do before trying to get new clients. This includes starting a website and connecting it to an online booking system so people can schedule within your availability.

You’ll also want to invest in proper cleaning supplies and marketing materials — like social media ads or coupons for people in the area. Of course, this can cost as little as a few hundred, but commercial cleaning supplies can also run into the thousands. Take your time with your investments and upgrade as you grow.

Become a Content Writer

There are many opportunities to become a content writer for websites all over the internet. Many websites are looking for people to write articles about a certain field such as sports, gaming, or food, but there is almost no limit as to what you can write about on some sites.

This is easy to do in your downtime and from anywhere that has an internet connection.

There are many ways to get clients and writing jobs, but remember:

• Don’t be afraid to cold pitch to websites and blogs you admire or want to write for. Email them, you never know what they’ll say!
• Keep your writing portfolio up to date. The more you write, the more you should include in your portfolio.
• Niching down may make it harder to find clients initially, but it can help you build rapport with potential clients and showcase that you know what you’re talking about.
• If you can do 5 articles per week for $100 each, that’s $500 per week or $2,000 per month. Not a bad deal!

Related: Side Hustles Explored: How to Become a Freelance Writer

22+ Websites That Pay Writers for Guest Posts

4 Common Misconceptions About Freelance Writers

Download Apps That Pay Real Money and Complete Short Tasks

There are many apps out there that can help you earn more money each day. These include survey apps and apps that pay you for playing games on your phone. My favorites are Swagbucks, Cashy, Mistplay, Survey Junkie, and Branded Surveys.

• Swagbucks – A website and app that makes you money for answering polls, taking surveys, and playing games.
• Cashy – A gaming app that makes you money via PayPal by playing games on your phone.
• Mistplay – Another gaming app that allows you to trade coins for gift cards when you play games on your phone.
• Survey Junkie – A website and an app that pays you to take surveys.
• Branded Surveys – Another website that allows you to take surveys and earn cash.

Make Money In Days Wrap Up

These are just a few ideas of how to make money during your spare time, but there are plenty more things to do out there. All you need to do is find something you are passionate about and make an income out of it.

The post 6 Super Easy Ways to Make $100 a Day first appeared on My Debt Epiphany.

The post 6 Super Easy Ways to Make $100 a Day appeared first on My Debt Epiphany.

You probably don’t want to waste this cash and use it unwisely. If you’re looking for some wise ways to use $50k in cash, you’re definitely in the right place.

In this blog post, I’ll walk you through some great options to help you make the most of your money and even grow it.

Is $50k a Lot of Money?

$50,000 is a sizeable amount of cash and you’re wise if you’re trying to think carefully about how to use it. There are tons of ideas, but not all of them are helpful.

What is $50k in money?  Depending on how you received your funds, you may have to account for taxes, fees and other deductions. Still, you can accomplish one or several goals with this amount of money, so let’s consider starting with some of those goals.

Think First…Set Some Goals

To make the best decision on which ways to use $50k in cash, take a moment to reflect on your life and goals. Most goals we set for our lives to require finances and investing wisely. Is there something you’d like to do and accomplish within the next few years?

How could this money help you bring your goals to fruition? Approaching the decision from this mindset can prevent frivolous spending, so you don’t regret the choices you make with your funds.

Related: How to Achieve Goals You Set This Year

Where Can I Put My 50k in Cash?

Where you put your money depends on how soon you plan to use it. You shouldn’t keep the cash in your regular checking or savings account for long so it doesn’t get used on expenses that aren’t a priority.

You may want to transfer some of the funds to a high-yield savings account so it can earn interest. Long-term options such as transferring money to a CD or a brokerage account may also be a good idea, but it depends on your plans.

As you decide how liquid (or not liquid) you’d like this money to be, here are some solid ideas to help you make good use of 50k in cash.

1. Pay Off Debt

Paying off debt is always a good option whenever you have extra money or can budget for additional debt payments. According to an Experian study, the average American has $96,371 in consumer debt. This includes everything from credit card balances and student loans to car loans, personal loans, and mortgages. That’s a huge burden!

Consider using some of your cash to pay down high-interest debt. This isn’t the most exciting way to use the money, but you’ll be setting yourself up for success by freeing up more cash flow. Plus, you’ll save on interest you could be paying long-term if you don’t pay down your debt quickly.

2. Boost Your Emergency Fund Savings

Americans need a solid emergency fund more than ever. While financial experts recommend setting 3 to 6 months of expenses aside for emergencies, I understand that this can be challenging for most families.

I teach an online masterclass to help people save a full emergency fund quickly. But one of the best ways to boost your savings is with windfalls, bonuses, or other unexpected cash. If you receive or accumulate 50k in cash, consider using some money to build a full emergency fund.

Related: Emergency Fund Tips: How to Grow Your Account Fast and Where to Start

3. Invest in your IRA 

An IRA or individual retirement account is a great way to invest for retirement outside of your 401(k). I’ve personally never had a 401(k) as an option, so I’ve used different types of IRAs instead to save for retirement.

Right now, the maximum annual contribution limit for a traditional or Roth IRA is $6,500. With $50k in cash, you can easily max out your IRA for the year as well as your spouse’s account to boost your retirement savings.

4. Invest With a Brokerage Account

A brokerage account is an investment account that allows you to buy and sell different types of securities such as stocks, bonds, ETFs, and mutual funds. A brokerage account holds your investments and follows an index such as the S&P 500.

The great thing about brokerage accounts is that there is no maximum amount you can contribute each year. There are also no withdrawal fees or penalties to withdraw funds. Meanwhile, retirement accounts like 401(k)s have maximum contribution limits. Several financial institutions offer brokerage accounts such as Charles Schwab and Vanguard.

Related: How to Start Investing in Stocks With No Regrets

50k Invested For 10 Years

Want to see how much your $50k investment could be worth in 10 years? I love using this free compound interest calculator from Investor.gov. Over the past 10 years, the stock market had a positive return rate of 9.5%. But I plugged a more conservative return rate of 7% into the calculator.

As you can see, if you invested $50,000 and didn’t contribute anything additional for 10 years, you’d still have almost $100,000 with an average 7% rate of return.

5. Invest in Real Estate

Depending on the real estate market in your area, $50,000 can go a long way if you want to invest in property. This amount is enough to put 20% down on a $50,000 home. Or, you can buy a fixer-upper and use the money to make home upgrades.

Some real estate investor even purchase properties out of town or out of state if the prices are better. You’ll likely need to do a lot of research and educate yourself before investing in real estate. However, this can still be a way to build wealth or even start a real estate investing business.

Best Way to Invest $50k in Property

There are several ways to invest $50k in property. You can use it for a down payment, invest in home upgrades, or even buy a fixer-upper in cash.

You can also consider investing in commercial property through crowdfunded real estate projects.

6. Fundrise

Fundrise is a crowdfunded real estate platform that allows you to diversify your portfolio by teaming up with other investors to fund commercial and residential projects.

Fundrise is a long-term investment and the company does charge a 0.15% investment advisory fee. I also like how the company shares return rates from previous years right on the website for transparency.

7. Invest in Government Bonds 

Bonds are a lower-risk investment than stocks because you are loaning someone else money, and they pay it back plus some interest. Government bonds are a debt security that’s issued by the government, which helps support government spending.

These bonds are low risk since they’re backed by the government, and some pay interest quarterly. I probably wouldn’t invest the entire $50,000 in government bonds but this is an option to try out if you think it could work for you.

8. Save For a Home Down Payment

Homes are expensive and $50,000 down payment could be a sizable contribution to help you become a homeowner.

Buying a home also comes with many other expenses, such as closing costs, moving costs, home repairs, and so on. You may want to use some of this money to save for furniture or home upgrades you know you’ll need.

With a home purchase, I always advise people don’t spend more than 30% of their income on home costs each month. Even if you have a $50,000 cash cushion or down payment, it’s important to make sure you can afford the home and live comfortably.

9. Build a Profitable Niche Website

If you’ve always wanted to start a niche website – whether a blog or e-commerce site – you can easily do this for way less than $50,000. Niche sites are great because you can grow your traffic and monetize your site with display advertising, affiliate marketing, sponsored content, and even products.

First, you’ll need to think of a good theme for your website and perform some market research to narrow down your niche and target audience. Then, you will need a self-hosted website. I like Bluehost and Hostgator personally, and they are both affordable options.

With some funds to invest in the project, you can hire

Related: How to Make Money with a Blog or Niche Site

10. Start a Business

Have you been thinking of starting a business? This could be another great way to use $50k in cash. Lack of funding is something that holds a lot of entrepreneurs back from pursuing their venture.

Take some time to carefully plan out your business, perform market research, and plan for startup expenses. You may even want to utilize free resources from the SBA such as business mentorship and grant resources as well.

11. Travel

You may want to travel or book the trip of a lifetime when you have $50k in cash. There’s nothing wrong with this as long as you’re not drowning in debt and have a stable financial situation. I wouldn’t recommend traveling to Australia for a month when you have no emergency fund and $10,000 of credit card debt.

However, you could easily split the money up like this:

• $7,000 to pay off your credit cards and a personal loan
• $10,000 to top off your emergency fund
• $5,000 to $8,000 on a fun family trip
• $10,000 to retirement savings or investments
• The remainder toward general savings or other goals

Related: 9 Ways to Make Money While Traveling

Best Tips and Tricks to Plan a Frugal Last-Minute Vacation

12. Put Money Into a CD

A certificate of deposit of CD is a bank product and savings tool that helps you earn interest on your money. The only catch is that you can’t withdraw your money from the account before the term ends unless you pay a penalty fee.

However, CD terms can range from as little as 3 months to 5 years or more. CD rates are also very high right now, with many banks offering 4% or 5% interest. While I couldn’t recommend putting the entire $50,000 into a CD, you can consider this option for some of the money if you want a low-risk investment.

13. Bonus Ideas: How to Double $50k

Want to double 50k in cash? There are several ways to put your money to work from you and actually grow $50,000 to a bigger amount.

• Invest it. As you can see from my example above, investing in the stock market can likely double your funds in 10 years. And that’s if you let it sit and do nothing.
• Flip a house. If you’re interested in real estate investing and can find quality partners, you may be able to double your money by flipping a property. This will require a ton of work but can be worth it for the right person.
• Start a rental business. Rental businesses are great because you typically can buy your items once and rent them out several times. You will need to invest in things like insurance and other costs, but this is a strategic way to double your investment.
• Invest in other small businesses. Make money from supporting someone else’s success. Even if you don’t have an awesome business idea, you can participate in peer lending and invest in a business that is profitable to get a nice return.

These are just a few creative ways to double $50,000. Which ideas appeal to you or what would you add? Also, how would you best use $50k in cash?

The post 13+ Wise Ways to Use $50k in Cash first appeared on My Debt Epiphany.

The post 13+ Wise Ways to Use $50k in Cash appeared first on My Debt Epiphany.

It’s a question many of us may think about but dare not say out loud. Selling something for $1,000 seems like a huge purchase.

The thing is, people are making these types of transactions every day.

If you’re wondering what you can sell for $1,000 or more, there are several high-ticket items to consider.

What Sells For Big Money?

The items that sell for big money are usually high-value items. This doesn’t always mean the item costs a lot of money.

It could just mean there’s a big demand for a specific item, making it very high value.

Brainstorming a List of Items to Sell For $1,000

The best place to start is by brainstorming a list of items that could be sold for $1,000. Look around your home at your possessions and ask yourself: what can I sell for $1,000?

I’ve also done some research on this topic to help narrow down some general categories of high-value items. This includes things like:

• Antiques
• Electronics
• Furniture
• Tickets
• Luxury items
• Artwork

Artwork is something I wouldn’t have even considered adding to the list. But I went to eBay and saw quite a few art pieces for sale for around $1,000 under the ‘Collectibles’ category.

Then, consider which items you could get more easily than others. You’ll earn bonus points if you can find some valuable items used and fix them up to restore it to its original potential.

Best Things To Sell Right Now

Here are some of the best things to start selling for $1,000. These items are often in high demand, so you can expect them to sell quickly and for a lot of money.

1. Laptops

Most have laptops and computers in their homes as a necessity. With laptops especially, you get what you pay for. This is why I’m more than willing to spend $1,000 on a quality laptop, even if it’s gently used or refurbished.

Last summer, my old Macbook that I bought in 2017 crashed and I had to spend more than $1,300 on a Macbook Air. Apple products are especially expensive so if you know how to work on computers or can sell a high-value used laptop, you can make $1,000 quickly.

2. Vehicles

Another popular item to sell for $1,000 or more is cars. The average used car costs around $20,000 to $25,000. You can get a better deal if you’re able to sell a car privately rather than getting a quote from a dealership.

You can also consider selling other types of vehicles like a motorcycle or four-wheeler. Even an old RV can be sold for $1,000+.

3. Gym Equipment

Have a lot of specialty gym equipment? Items such as a bench press, elliptical, or a home gym set can also be sold as a bundle for $1,000.

Exercise bikes are also very popular and a Peleton bike costs anywhere from $1,495 to $1,825. Refurbished Peleton bikes start at $995.

4. Concert Tickets

Concerts can be pretty expensive, depending on who the singer is. I’ve heard some pretty crazy stories about the price of Beyonce and Taylor Swift tickets. If you can manage to get a few tickets to a major artist, you may be able to sell them for $1,000.

5. Bed Frame / Smart Bed Equipment

Smart bed equipment such as Sleep Number and Tempurpedic can cost thousands of dollars. If you can sell some of these items gently used, such as an adjustable bed frame, you’d have a good chance of still selling it for at least four figures.

6. Antique Furniture

Have you ever been antiquing before? This can be a fun way to hunt for gems and high-value items you can resell. There are tons of YouTube videos with tips on how to shop for antiques and determine their value.

You may even want to sell to antique dealers who can pay top dollar for your items.

7. Shoes

Certain types of shoes are not cheap these days. I know because I have a son who loves brands like Nikes and Jordans. They are nice-looking shoes, but I also have a secret plan to resell them when my son’s feet grow.

If you have a shoe collection or can buy name-brand shoes for cheap, you can easily sell a few pairs for a total of $1,000.

Stockx is actually a site we use to buy gently-used shoes from, and you can also resell shoes to them too.

8. Jewelry

Another item to sell for $1,000 is valuable jewelry made of real gold or diamonds. This includes necklaces, wedding rings, high-end watches, and more.

Be sure to shop around with different buyers to get the best price. You can try pawn shops or sites like Worthy that will inspect your jewelry items and offer you a fair price.

9. High-Value Electronics (Smartphone, tablet, camera)

Electronics are getting more and more expensive. Some people consider buying these items used to save money, but you can still make a good profit depending on what the item is. Newer models of smartphones, tablets, and cameras can be sold for top dollar as well as original or classic models for collectors.

Check online to see how much your items are selling for both new and used to guide your pricing. Sites like Buyback Boss make it easy to resell your used smartphones and other electronics.

10. Your Space or Spare Bedroom

Have a spare room? Consider renting it out on Airbnb. You can earn hundreds or more per week by renting out your spare room especially if you live in a prime location. If you live near restaurants, tourist attractions, or a major city, you can easily earn $1,000+ per month with Airbnb.

Airbnb provides a lot of tools to help with your listing, and they handle the finances so you won’t have to worry about collecting payment. You can also use this site to estimate how much you can earn based on your location and other factors specific to your listing.

Related: How to Make Extra Money Renting Out Space in Your Home

What Can I Sell to Make Money Online? Creative Services

You can also sell creative services if you’re looking to make $1,000 quickly. You may be wondering what could I sell for $1,000 that I actually know how to do?

Don’t worry, there are tons of valuable services and skills you can use to generate this income. Below are a few ideas to get you started.

11. Freelance Writing

If you like to write, consider becoming a freelance writer and getting paid to write blog posts, website copy, and other content. I’ve been a freelancer since 2016 and can firmly say that this is the most profitable type of work I’ve ever done.

You can set your own rates and choose which clients you work with. As a newbie writer, you can easily start charging $100 per article. With experience and expertise, you can earn more. Check the link below to see sites that will pay you for a guest article and feel free to check out my other site, ChonceMaddox.com to learn more about earning money as a writer online.

Related: 22+ Websites That Pay Writers for Guest Posts

How to Become a Freelance Writer

12. Graphic Design

Graphic design is another valuable skill you can offer, especially if you’re looking to make money from home. People are always looking to hire someone to create logos, website designs, templates, and more. Consider offering your skills on Fiverr or 99 Designs.

13. Printables and Templates

Printables are digital downloads that you can sell online. The most popular type of printables includes planning sheets, checklists, trackers, and even printable stickers. Visit Etsy to see how many people are successfully selling printables online.

Also, check out this free E-Printables Workshop to learn how you can earn $1,000 per month or more by creating and selling your own printables.

14. Virtual Assistant

Sometimes, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel to make more money. Virtual assistants (or VAs) help bloggers, entrepreneurs, and small business owners with regular tasks and make decent money doing it.

If you prefer a support or assistant role, this is a great option for you. VAs can help with everything from scheduling social media content, checking emails, blog management, research, paying invoices, and more.

The good news is that most clients provide training and will teach you their processes so you don’t need a lot of experience or credentials to get started. You’ll earn around $20 to $30 per hour as a VA depending on your experience.

Related: How to Become a Virtual Assistant

15. Pinterest Management

Love Pinterest? Consider becoming a Pinterest VA. Pinterest VAs are a specific type of virtual assistant that solely helps clients with their Pinterest account. This can include making and scheduling pins, research, joining group boards, optimizing boards, and so on.

Some Pinterest VAs charge by the hour but many charge a flat-rate fee of around $400 to $500 for monthly maintance services. Learn more about becoming a Pinterest VA here.

Related: How This Pinterest VA Earns $1,200/month

What Can I Sell For $1,000? SO Many Things!

Yes, $1,000 is a lot of money, but there are so many high-value things you can start selling to meet this goal. Consider a mix of selling physical items and selling creative services to make $1,000 even faster.

I truly hope this list gets your creative wheels going. You can definitely do this and I want you to come back to this post and comment below once you’ve hit your goal!

The post What Can I Sell For $1,000? first appeared on My Debt Epiphany.

The post What Can I Sell For $1,000? appeared first on My Debt Epiphany.

Saving $5,000 in less than a year is a great goal if you’re looking to save up for a down payment on a home, book a dream vacation, or even save to pay for a large purchase such as furniture or appliances in cash.

The key to saving money is to give yourself a realistic timeline. If you’re wondering how to save $5,000 in 6 months, here’s what you need to know.

How to Save $5,000 in 6 Months

Whether you want to save money quickly to grow your emergency fund or purchase a car in the future, it’s very doable with the right strategy.

Yes, your income matters, but it’s not the only factor, and you don’t need to be rich or earn six figures.

Here are some specific steps to help you get started.

Break It Down

Whenever I have a big financial goal that requires me to save aggressively, I love to break the goal down. I’d actually recommend this method for other types of goals too.

Imagine someone saying they want to lose 60 pounds in one year and get healthy. This can seem daunting, but when you break it down to just 15 pounds every 3 months, the goal seems more doable.

Be sure to use this same method when determining how to save $5,000 in 6 months.

Monthly Savings to Reach $5,000 in 6 Months

Saving $5,000 in 6 months is $833.33 per month. Or, consider it $416.66 every two weeks. If you want to track things weekly, that’s $208.33 per week.

This breakdown answers the popular question: how much do I need to save a month to get 5,000?

Since this is such a specific goal, you know the exact amount you need to save each month or week to reach it.

Setting aside $200 per week may sound like a lot, but it does seem less intimidating than coming up with a lump sum of $833 extra each month.

Related: 10 Easy Financial Goals You Can Meet This Month

How to Save Your First $1,000 This Year

Start Using a Budgeting App

Once you’ve broken your goal down into more reasonable chunks, you’ll want to start using a budgeting app ASAP. Getting on a budget is key for any financial goal, but a budgeting app can be extremely helpful.

You’ll want to get very serious about tracking your income and expenses. I’m not against using a written budget or a budget binder. In fact, these tools have really helped me a lot in the past.

However, if you’re trying to maximize savings in a short timeframe, budgeting apps can be extremely helpful because they tend to catch things we don’t see or forget about.

Earlier this year, my husband and I started using Simplifi by Quicken. It’s an excellent budgeting app for several reasons:

• We each get our own separate logins and can connect all our financial accounts to view in one place
• This app tracks your balances, transactions and cashflow – Cashflow is KEY is you want to round up extra money to save each month
• Simplifi also helps remind you of upcoming bills and holds you accountable for goals you set

One of my favorite things about Simplifi is the Spending Plan section. This is where you can create your budget and adjust spending goals. As the month goes on, the app syncs your transactions and helps you keep up with spending to see if you’re going to exceed a budget category.

Also, the visual aspect is amazing if you’re trying to focus on honoring your budget to free up more money to save.

Another feature I love is the Watchlist. You can add a specific retailer or expense category and have the app “watch” your purchases to motivate you to keep your spending under control. I like to watch my Amazon purchases with this feature.

Simplifi is just one of several budgeting apps. I encourage you to explore options to see what works for you whether it’s Mint, Every Dollar, or another budgeting tool.

Related: Budgeting With a Low Income, Yes It’s Possible

What is a Reverse Budget?

How to Get Your Spouse on Board With Budgeting

4 Common Budgeting Mistakes to Avoid Making

Get Strategic About Earning More Money

Once you have your budget under control and you can clearly see where your money is going and limit overspending, it’s time to focus on earning more money. Saving $208 per week or $833 per month won’t happen by accident.

You will likely need to focus on increasing your income. Luckily, there are so many ways to do this these days, especially if you’re willing to offer a service or do some work online.

Start with higher-paying extra income opportunities that don’t require much startup costs or materials. Doing things like taking surveys online wouldn’t work at all because you’d never be able to earn enough to save $5,000 in 6 months with this option.

Instead, look to options such as delivering food, helping small businesses with social media, writing online, walking dogs, or pet sitting.

Also, you can consider doing things like helping people move on weekends, babysitting or cleaning houses.

Put all the money you make from your side hustle directly into a savings account to avoid spending it.

Related: 20 Ways to Make Extra Money Today

How I Make $7,000 Per Month With a Side Hustle

5 Legitimate Ways to Earn $1,000+ per Month

5 Things You Can Do NOW to Save $5,000 in 6 Months

Learning how to save $5,000 in 6 months comes down to taking specific action steps to help you limit spending and maximize savings.

Here are 5 things you can do now to improve your progress.

1. Switch Your Grocery Store

I know that grocery prices have increased, but you can still switch stores and find other ways to save on your grocery bill. My husband and I just found this out recently.

We went from spending just $350ish per month on groceries a few years ago to $800 per month recently. Talk about inflation!

I probably never would have realized how much we were spending had it not been for Simplifi tracking our spending so specifically. However, we made some changes and got our new budget down to about $550 to $600 per month. That’s $200+ in monthly savings.

To get similar or even better results:

• Consider doing most of your shopping at discount stores so long as you compare prices. I used to always go to Aldi to save money on groceries, but after comparing prices,I found that Aldi doesn’t always have the lowest prices. Gather a list of discount grocery stores in your area and look at their sales and comparison shop.
• Start using a meal plan. Planning out meals in advance will save you so much money and time. We start our meal plan at home by going through the cabinets to see which food items we can use to create meals. Bonus Idea: Never run out of affordable food ideas with the $5 Meal Plan.
• Use coupons and savings apps. If you haven’t already, consider using apps like Shopkick, Ibotta, and Fetch Rewards to save money on store items and earn cash back. Trust me, these savings really add up!

Related: How to Save Even More Money on Groceries With Fetch Rewards

How to Save Money With Shopkick

Foods That Help You Keep a Low Grocery Budget

2. Limit Dining Out to Once Per Week

Dining out is fun but also so expensive at times. Try to limit dining out to more unique and intentional experiences only while you work on saving $5,000 in 6 months. Prioritize sticking to your meal plan and eating a majority of your meals at home while also bringing lunch to work.

Then, plan to have a family dinner at a restaurant once per week or meet up with a friend for a meal and to catch up.

To stay motivated in this area, calculate how much you currently spend in dining out and takeout meals. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans spend around $3,000 annually on dining out.

Some people spend even more than this. But imagine if you could cut back and spend just a third of that amount. You’d instantly have $2,000 in savings.

3. Downgrade Your Subscriptions

Cutting out any subscriptions (even if it’s just temporary) can help jumpstart your savings as well. Review transactions for the past 2 months and make a list of all your recurring expenses.

Aim to cut out 90% of your subscription services, delivery apps, and other unnecessary purchases. Then, divert all the money to savings instead.

4. Start Selling All Your Old Stuff

Selling unwanted items from your home is another great way to boost your income and savings. Go through each room of your home and be honest about what you don’t want and won’t be using. Then, start listing items online using Facebook Marketplace, Offer Up, and other sites.

You’d be surprised and what people will buy used if you take quality pictures and price your items competitively.

I’ve sold everything from clothes, rugs, shoes, furniture, and home decor online for extra cash.

Related: Side Hustles Explored: Selling Items on Amazon and eBay

5. Get a Side Job to Earn More

I know this isn’t always doable for some people, but the simplest answer to the question: how to save $5,000 quickly? is to get a side job. It’s important to be realistic about the time and energy you can dedicate to a side job each week.

You can start by doing something that pays you at least $100 per week.

Then, you can lower your spending to save enough $100 to $150 per week.

Together, this will provide you with enough money to save $833.33 per month or $5,000 in 6 months.

We actually had to do something similar last year when my husband and I needed to come up with an extra $1,000 per month. The situation was temporary, but my husband was able to get a flexible side job on Saturdays and worked from around 7:30 am to 3 pm.

The job paid him $20 per hour plus tips so he’d earn around $160 to $250 per week by only working one day. Not bad for a side job.

Don’t Forget to Make it Automatic

Make things easier on yourself by setting up automatic transfers to grow your savings quickly. Once you have a plan in place to increase your cash flow, choose an amount you want to set aside each paycheck or each month.

I like to keep my savings in a high-yield savings account at a separate bank. That way, it’s not super easy to access but I’m still able to get to it when I need to.

Setting up automatic transfers will give you peace of mind knowing that you’re savings are on autopilot and you’re getting closer to meeting your goals.

How Can I Save Money Fast in 6 Months? 

Saving a large amount of money in a short timeframe is not easy. Now that you know how to save $5,000 in 6 months, you will need to make some sacrifices and stay the course.

When you reach your goal, though, it will be well worth it. Start by getting on a clear budget that allows you to prioritize savings and consider using a budgeting app to make these more visual.

Have you ever tried to save a large amount of money in less than a year? What has been the most helpful piece of advice for your situation?

The post How to Save $5,000 in 6 Months first appeared on My Debt Epiphany.

The post How to Save $5,000 in 6 Months appeared first on My Debt Epiphany.

Most people fall for the myth that saving money has to be a drastic action but the truth is that every little bit counts.

I’m sure we all would like to save more money and luckily, there are plenty of ways to save on expenses today and in the future. Here are 70 effective ways to generate savings today and tomorrow.

Enjoy!

Ways To Save Money When Living Paycheck to Paycheck At Home

1. Flip the Switch

Leaving the lights on in a room that’s not in use is an overlooked way to save money. My son used to be scared of the dark so we spent years leaving a hallway light on. Eventually, we just got some nice string lights to hang up in his room at night and that did the trick plus it was way more efficient energy-wise.

Another trick you can try for a nightlight is battery-powered holiday lights. They usually have a timer on them so they will automatically shut off each night after a few hours.

Be sure to turn off all lights when you’re not using them and you’ll see an improvement in your energy bill cost.

2. Decorate On A Dime

The dollar store is a treasure trove of great finds! Check it out for decorative pieces or items that can help you create D-I-Y decor. Check out the YouTube channel Do It On A Dime for great dollar store decoration ideas!

3. Rent Out a Spare Room (House Hack)

Renting out space in your home, whether short or long term, can help you save money by significantly reducing your monthly mortgage payments.

Related: How to Make Extra Money Renting Out Space in Your Home

4. Take Control

A ton of money is wasted each year through poor home temperature control. Update to a smart thermostat and utilize its advanced programming to help you save energy.

5. Don’t Power Trip

Did you know that you have phantoms in your home? Most electronics that are plugged in but turned off cause phantom power drain. 

Try using a smart power strip to conserve the power use of plugged-in electronics or simply unplug electronics that don’t need to be run 24/7.

6.  Replace Furnace/AC Filters

Filters are only supposed to be used in your system for a few months. Some people forget which isn’t good for your furnace or air conditioner and forces it to work a lot harder then it needs to. Changing the filter every 1-3 months can not only save you money, but also extend the life of your system and improve the air quality in your home.

  7. Stay One Step Ahead

Of the seasons that is! Winterize and/or summer-proof your home through a range of methods such as checking your windows and roof installation and cleaning out your gutters and downspouts.

These are great ways to save you money and headaches from massive repairs and high energy use bills.

8. Replace Your Lightbulbs

Replace your incandescent and older light bulbs to extremely energy-efficient LED bulbs. They are also long-lasting, durable, mercury-free and cost-efficient so they are well worth getting to light up your home.

9. Stop Wasting Water

Another resource that’s wasted a lot in homes? Water. To cut your water bill significantly install low-flow fixtures, run full loads in the dish and clothes washer, take fewer baths and more showers. 

Want to take efficiency to the max? Use a timer for showers to control water use as well.

10. Turn Down The Heat

Lower your hot water heater temperature a few degrees and you’ll save a bundle! Even though it still hasn’t warmed up much in our area, we don’t keep the heat on all day. Instead, we just dress warm in the house and open the curtains so the sun can get through.

11. Shop Around

Mortgage rates are competitive so you should shop around for when the time is right to ensure you get the best deal. You can also shop around for better insurance rates using resources like The Zebra and compare prices for your cell phone service.

12. Downsize

When it comes to clutter, Americans are crushing the stats. Decluttering your home not only can help with physical, emotional and mental clarity, but it can help you save money from having to store all these things while earning some extra money.

If you have Netflix, turn on Tidying Up with Marie Kondo and get inspired to declutter your home. Who knows, maybe you’ll even find some items you can sell for extra cash.

Ways To Save Money On Entertainment

13. Utilize Free Community Resources

When you have a library card! Visit your local library to borrow books, videos and other media forms for free. We also have a free little library in our neighborhood where you can borrow and donate books.

14. Use Coupon and Discount Sites

Every time I want to do something fun with my friends or family I always check out discount sites like Groupon and Local Flavor. You can find discounts on restaurants, local attractions, services, products, and more.

15. Challenge Yourself with a No Spend Weekend

A no-spend weekend will help you stick to your budget but it also doesn’t mean you have to be bored the entire time. Get creative with activities in and outside of your home. Pull out old games you haven’t played in a while, make a delicious dinner with food from your pantry, and go on a long hike to explore a new trail or state park in your area.

Related: 75 Free Things To Do This Weekend

How to Have a Successful No Spend Week

16. Bundle Up and Cancel Streaming Services

Yes, that’s right. While everyone is telling you to switch to streaming services like Netflix, ESPN, and Disney Plus, I’m actually recommending you limit the number of services you have. If you sign up for multiple streaming services, you could be paying as much as you would for cable. 

Narrow down which service you like best and stick with that or see if you can bundle. For example, Hulu has partnered with Disney Plus to offer both services to users for one low fee.

17. Be Open to Sharing

To save even more money, go in on a subscription for Netflix or Hulu with a friend or neighbor. I know Netflix will allow you to stream from multiple devices. 

Ways To Save Money On Food

18. Learn How to Cook With Fresh, Whole Foods

Ordering takeout is nice to do every now and then, but it’s important to know how to cook if you want to save money while living paycheck to paycheck. With helpful websites and YouTube channels that share different recipes, you’ll find some great tips, learn new cooking techniques, and be able to feed your family well for less. 

Related: Best Clean Eating Grocery List for Newbies

Frugal Meal Ideas That Are Easy to Prep

19. Pack Your Lunch

After you cook your amazing dinner at home, pack a lunch of leftovers for work instead of buying lunch to save money on costly daily lunches. Or, just plan out what foods you want to bring to lunch then prepare and pack everything the night before. 

Get into a routine of bringing your lunch to work and it will quickly become second nature.

20. Skip the Coffee Shops, Make Coffee At Home

If you love having some java in the morning to get your day going, make your coffee at home instead of picking it up from a gourmet coffee shop. While it seems like a minimal daily expense, coffee purchases add up quickly!

You don’t have to completely cut out Starbucks runs, but you can easily limit them by investing in a decent coffee maker and brewing your own lattes at home.

21. Take Advantage of Price Checking Policies

Most grocery stores offer the option of price matching to save on groceries and goods. This is a great and underutilized way to save a lot of money at the cash register!

22. Use a Cashback Rewards Site

While you may not want to go to the level of those you see on the show Extreme Couponing, but you don’t have to in order to save money on groceries. Instead, use a cashback rewards site like Fetch Rewards to get rebates on foods you normally buy at your favorite stores. 

This is an effortless way to save money at the store so be sure to check out my review below to see exactly how Fetch Rewards works.

Related: How to Save Even More Money on Groceries With Fetch Rewards

23. Have a Potluck

Hosting dinners and events can get expensive if you do it often enough. Still, you don’t have to limit fun times with your family or friends. Have a potluck with friends or family every month instead and keep being social without it burning a hole in your pocket every time.

24. Stock Up

We run a lot of errands especially on weekends. One thing you can do is carry snacks and drinks in the trunk of your car so you don’t feel tempted to buy them for marked up prices at gas stations (You can buy them from wholesale warehouse club stores like Costco).

25. Meatless Mondays

Meat can be expensive so this is a fun way to slash your grocery spending and try some new recipes out.

26. Eliminate Food Waste

We also save on food waste by using resources like Eat By Date. We also shop for groceries every 2-4 weeks which helps us save on food overall since I’m not in the store every week buying stuff.

27. Plan Out Meals

Meal Prep may take a bit of time, but it’s well worth it and will help you save money in the long run. In fact, planning meals actually saves me a lot of time and stress during the week. Check out these $5 Meal Plan if you’re looking for ideas and freezer meal prep options to help you get started.

28. Make A List Based On Your Meal Plan

Don’t go grocery shopping on an empty stomach and without a list! Creating a grocery list will help you stick to your budget and reduce your picking up impulse items that add up fast.

Before you leave the store, check your receipt to ensure errors aren’t made. This happens more than you think and can cost you more than you intended to spend.

29. Buy Your Favorite Foods in Bulk

Take advantage of awesome bulk stores and wholesale warehouses such as Costco. You get a substantial discount when you pay for larger amounts of items at once plus it saves you weekly grocery shopping time.

30. Get A Green Thumb

It’s easy to plant your own vegetables and herbs so if you have the space (herbs can even be grown in your home), set up a garden to help you reduce your grocery bill.

Ways To Lower Your Shopping Costs

31. Bulk Order Your Necessities Online

We order all of our toiletries for the month via Amazon Subscribe and Save. This is a free Amazon feature that lets you ‘subscribe’ to receive certain products each month, every 2 months, or quarterly. 

You save 5% automatically, but when you subscribe to 5 or more items you’ll save 15% per item. This allows us to save big on items we use all the time like toothpaste, soap, toilet paper and avoid overspending when shopping at the store.

32. Local Resale Options

For my first apartment, I was able to get all my gently used furniture for just $50 from a local furniture bank. Now, I typically buy some of my furniture around major holiday sales, used online, resale shops and places like Habitat For Humanity. I’ll admit, I’ve also grabbed some pretty great finds that have been on the curb in my neighborhood for garbage day.

33. Christmas In July

Why wait until the next holiday season to stock up on gifts?! Do holiday shopping right after the season or in the off months to get great clearance deals.

Related: Debt Free Christmas Challenge

34. Buy Household Items With Free Gift Cards

There are some household items that you just have to get each month. Why not save money on these purchases by using free gift cards? You can earn free gift cards by taking surveys online during your spare time with sites like Survey Junkie and Opinion Outpost.

Related: An Honest Review: Can You Really Make Money Taking Online Surveys?

Survey Junkie Review: Make Extra Money with Survey Sites That Are Worth Your Time

35. Earn While You Spend

Start using Swagbucks, Rakuten, and other rewards programs to save money and earn cashback. I use cashback rewards programs to automatically save for Christmas each month. I use programs like Swagbucks and Rakuten to earn cashback and rewards that I add to my holiday savings account.

Related: Rakuten (Ebates ) Review: Earn Cashback For Everyday Shopping

Side Hustles Explored: Simple, Low Effort Ways to Make Money

My easiest strategy is downloading the Swagbucks search browser extension. It works just like Google and you can actually earn points for searching online (something I do for work often during the day). Those points can be redeemed for gift cards or cash via PayPal. I can also use this strategy to earn free gift cards for dining out and coffee shops.

36. Recycle & Reuse

When it comes to buying clothes, check out resale shops before buying from big box stores. ThredUp is an awesome online consignment that is well worth a look for fantastic and well priced secondhand items. Also, try setting up a clothing swap in your neighborhood and do some trading!

37. Only Bring the Cash You Need

If you’re afraid you may overspend at the store or when you go out, try bringing on the cash you need in your wallet. Leave your debit card at home. That way, you can’t go over budget. I’ve been using a cash budget for some of my spending categories for the past 2 years and it’s helped a ton.

Related: The Ultimate Guide to Budgeting

38. Use the 48-Hour Rule

Sometimes we spend money based on emotional impulse then regret the purchase later or find it was unnecessary. The next time you’re thinking about buying something, use the 48-hour rule. Sleep on the idea of making the purchase for at least 48 hours. Reassess whether you truly want or need the item at the end of that time period.

If you haven’t thought about the item much in the 48-hour period, it may be best to just not buy it.

39. Milk Your Birthday

Utilize all free gifts and offerings from stores and restaurants on your birthday! Most companies offer something a great birthday perk if you sign up for their mailing list or subscribe to their apps so don’t miss out on doing so for your favorite brands.

Related: Birthday Freebies Roundup

40. Simply Ask

You never know until you ask but discounts are sometimes available. Be sure to ask if there are additional markdowns (usually given for items that will be final sale) you can take advantage of. 

41. Read Reviews Before You Buy

Don’t forget how important reviews are to helping you save money! Take a look at a few reviews before you buy products, especially big-ticket items. Sometimes people share great coupon codes in there as well!

Ways To Lower Your Most Common Bills

42. Make It Automatic

Setting up automatic bill payments will help you avoid late payment fees and lowering your credit score.

Related: I Raised My Credit Score By 150 Points, Here’s How

43. Become The Negotiator

Negotiating medical bills is another thing I’ve started doing that helps a ton. Speak to your medical company administration team and see if you can work out a lower payment or a suitable payment plan.

Related: How to Keep Medical Bills From Going to Collections and Save Your Credit

44. Switch to Term Life Insurance

If you’re paying for life insurance you could be overpaying. Term insurance is pure insurance without bells and whistles which means you pay much less.

Grab a free quote from Bestow, a tech company that’s shaking up the life insurance industry. You’ll find out in seconds how much coverage you can get and how much you’d pay. 

Related: 7 Reasons To Get Term Life Insurance

45. Switch to a Family Phone Plan

Consolidate your phone bill -If multiple people in your household have a cell phone, see if you can get a family plan or switch to an affordable prepaid company to lower the bill. 

Most of the popular prepaid cell companies use a cell service from leading well-known companies (Sprint, Verizon). If you all have different plans, see if you can switch to the same service plan and use the ‘bring your own phone option.

46. Shop For Cheaper Internet Service

You may or may not have other options for internet in your area. You never know until you search and compare. Some internet providers will let you try the service for 30 days and switch companies or upgrade or downgrade if you need to.

For example, Xfinity offers prepaid internet starting at $40 per month.

47. Avoid Getting Into Long-Term Subscription Contracts

You want to be able to cancel services as you see fit so be sure to read the fine print. For example, your gym membership may come with a 12-month commitment while others allow you to cancel with just a 30-day notice. 

Another example would be home security companies. My husband and I unknowingly got locked into a 3-year contract which prevents us from canceling the service to free up more money without paying a high fee.

48. Exercise at Home For Free

Start working out at home instead of at the gym and save money on your membership. You can download free fitness apps or check out YouTube channels like 305 Fitness or Jillian Michaels. 

49. Consider Cheaper Housing

A good rule of thumb is to keep your housing expenses lower than 30% of your income. This means, if you bring home $3,500 per month, your housing costs shouldn’t be more than $1,050. This is a nice threshold to keep in place because it ensures you’ll have enough money to cover other important expenses. 

Explore your options and see if you can find affordable housing in your area whether that means renting a no-frills apartment or getting a roommate. If you live in an expensive city, you may want to move to the outskirts of town or the surrounding suburbs to save money. 

Related: 10 Cheap Housing Alternatives

How We’re Avoiding Becoming House Poor

Money-Saving Tips (Personal Finance)

50. Stop Paying Bank Fees

Reduce your banking fees by switching to a no or low fee bank account. I’ve been using Capital One 360 for several years now and I love how they have no fees and allow me to keep several checking and savings accounts open.

51. Monitor Your Bank Account to Avoid Going Overdraft

Limit and control your auto withdrawals to make sure you don’t go into the negative and have to deal with over withdrawal fees. Some banks will even let you set up overdraft protection.

52. Use Credit Cards Wisely to Get Points

If you use rewards credit cards, use them wisely as often as you can to save even more points and cash back. For example, I have a general cash back card that I use to for some regular monthly expenses. I use my cash rewards to help pay for travel and holidays. 

Related: Credit Cards Are Not Evil: Don’t Make These Common Credit Card Mistakes

53. Cash Is King

We use the cash envelope system for our flexible spending categories. It’s easier to stay on track when budgeting with cash because you don’t have anything extra once the envelope is empty so you make it work and spend more mindfully. 

At first, I was using just plain white envelopes, but I ordered some fun colorful ones on Amazon that I can reuse every month.

I was able to get some fun, reusable budgeting envelopes on Amazon for cheap.

54. The Countdown Is On

Another thing I like to do is budget down to zero each month. I used to leave extra money in my budget without assigning it a job but I found it more effective to budget and set a plan for every dollar of income that comes in. 

There are awesome ways to help you keep track of your budget. I recommend tracking your finances with a spreadsheet or my worksheet bundle and mapping out your monthly goals using a planner like the Living Well Planner. Both will help you get your budget down to zero each month!

55. Start Investing Spare Change

A fun way that I like to save and invest (outside of automating) is by using apps like Acorns. Acorns rounds up spare change from my purchases to the dollar and invests the difference. For example, If I spend $4.30 at Starbucks, Acorns will automatically invest $0.70 (rounding it up to the nearest hour). I hardly miss this money but it adds up over time.

56. Establish Sinking Funds

My bank allows me to have multiple savings accounts where I can save for planned expenses like travel, our pets, large household purchases, and car repairs. I call these sinking funds and contribute a portion of our income into these ‘buckets’ monthly. I love seeing the account balances grow!

Related: How I’m Rebuilding ALL My Sinking Funds

57. Monitor Your Credit

Monitoring your credit score is crucial if you want to maintain a good credit score. Securing lower prices for major purchases such as a car or a mortgage rate can save you thousands. Be sure to keep on top of your credit score with the free app Credit Sesame. It will help you ensure you save money in the long run. 

Related: I Raised My Credit Score By 150 Points, Here’s How

58. Start a Savings Challenge

Challenge your friends and family to start saving spare change with you. You can set a goal to save $1 a day, every $5 bill you have, or any other savings challenge to help you stash money away more easily.

Related: Best 5 Money Challenges To Improve Your Finances

59. Refinance Student Loans

Are your student loans a heavy load? To help you save money on payments refinancing may be a good option. Check out these student loan refinance companies like LendEdu to see if this could work for you. 

Ways To Save Money On Transportation

60. Give Your Car a Break

Rather than spend money on filling up your car with gas try an alternative such as walking, biking or public transportation. If you have to drive then try carpooling instead!

61. Keep Up With Maintenance

Take your car in for service appointments and preventative maintenance. Keep up with car maintenance – I found this article to be a great example of how keeping up with car maintenance can save you lots of money over time.

62. Ask Your Employer For a Transportation Stipend

I know this may not work for everyone, but it’s worth exploring if you do a lot of commuting for work. One of my first jobs was a paid internship and once they found out I would be commuting since I lived further from the office they offered to pay for my train fare.

This easily saved me $300/month. If your employer can’t cover your commuting costs, see if they’d be willing to provide a small transportation stipend or even reimburse for mileage.

63. Shop Around For Car Insurance Rates Every 1-2 Years

Regularly shop around for lower car insurance rates to make sure you’re always getting the best deal. 

64. Wash And Clean Your Own Vehicle

Taking your car to a car wash or getting it professionally detailed sounds nice but is probably not a necessary expense to have when you’re living paycheck to paycheck. All you need is a bucket of water, soap, and a rag to wash your own car at home.

You can also vacuum your car out for around $1 at most gas stations.

Ways To Save Money On Health & Beauty

65. Start Cutting Your Own Hair

Going to the salon is always fun but it can be a drain on your wallet. Learn how to cut your own hair and your family’s hair to save a bundle.

66. Have a DIY Spa Day

There is no reason why you can’t relax in a luxurious way at home! Do DIY spa days in the comfort of your own bathroom. Check out this article filled with awesome inexpensive spa ideas to create a fun spa day at home!

67. Switch to a Health Sharing Ministry If You Can’t Afford Insurance

Back when I couldn’t afford health insurance and when I became self-employed, I used a health sharing ministry to cover medical expenses for myself and my son. (I’ve used both Liberty Healthcare and Christian Healthcare Ministries).

68. Stop Spending Money on Unhealthy Habits

If you are looking to save money and your health, quitting bad habits such as smoking, drinking or other vices will be a big help to your savings.

69. Switch to Dual-Action Products

Look for products that offer multiple functions such as a two in one cleanser or a moisturizer that does double duty.

70. Practice Self Care at Home For Free

Don’t let your budget lead you to put yourself on the back burner. I love these free self-care ideas for moms but anyone could benefit from them really.

Related: Self-Care: My New Not So Guilty Pleasure to Spend Money On

Summary

Living paycheck to paycheck can make you feel limited in terms of how fast you can pay off debt and what you can save. The key is to get creative with your budget and how you manage money.

Start with these 70 tips if you’re looking to save and also realize that living paycheck to paycheck doesn’t have to be your future. Take steps to start building up your emergency fund, increasing income, and taking specific action steps to improve your financial situation.

Also, check out my Budget Beyond Your Paycheck worksheet bundle to help you stay on track.

What ways do you like to save money?

The post 70 Ways to Save More Money While Living Paycheck to Paycheck first appeared on My Debt Epiphany.

The post 70 Ways to Save More Money While Living Paycheck to Paycheck appeared first on My Debt Epiphany.

The best thing about selling items online is that you don’t have to have any face-to-face interaction with the customer. Nor do you have to ‘push’ or persuade them to buy.

Simply list your items with a great description and forget about them until you’re notified about getting a sale. If you want to become successful at this, you’ll need to focus on earning a great profit and limiting your out-of-pocket costs and that’s the baseline of what I’ll discuss today.

This post will be what I call a ‘twofer’. I’ll discuss how to make a profit by selling items with eBay vs Amazon selling. Let’s get started.

Deciding What Items You’ll Sell

First and foremost, it’s important that you pinpoint what specific types of items you plan to sell. Do you have old CDs, DVDs, clothes, or other items around your house that you are no longer using? Or do you plan to resell items you purchase for cheap at garage sales and thrift stores?

Both options have the potential to earn you a decent income. But you should definitely pinpoint the types of items you’d like to sell by committing to a specific category or niche so you have some consistency. Some people make a lot of profit selling gently used clothing and shoes or vintage sports apparel.

Whichever items you choose, you should make sure the item category is popular (meaning it will sell well / the item is rare in stores/lots of people are searching for the item) so you can earn a substantial amount of profit after the sale and after shipping expenses and seller fees are deducted.

Some popular categories that sell well on Amazon and eBay include (but are not limited to):

• Clothes and shoes
• College Textbooks
• Electronics
• Movies
• Video Games
• Toys
• Household Supplies
• Art and Home Decorations

eBay vs Amazon Selling: Choose Your Platform

Amazon and eBay are both very popular online retailers. I’m sure you could make a decent profit by using either. But some sellers often insist on using one or the other. So I thought it would be helpful to highlight the main comparisons.

Amazon

The fees associated with selling an item are similar among both websites (around 0.99 per listing). With Amazon, you will most likely need to upgrade to a seller’s account if you wish to list more than 40 items each month.

That membership costs about $40/per month. They also have a really cool service called Fulfillment By Amazon where they will package and ship your item for you once it’s sold.

eBay

When it comes to creating your listing and adding photos, eBay allows you to upload up to 12 free pictures for each item. Amazon, on the other hand, has a process that allows you to look up the item and use one of their professional generic photos. For example, let’s say you’re selling a Galaxy Smartphone.

While creating your listing, you can look up the specific model of the phone and use one of Amazon’s photos to advertise it instead of your own photo.

If you’re interested in learning more about how to become a seller on Amazon or eBay, the photos above link to helpful instructions that can help you get started.

eBay vs Amazon Selling

So, to sum everything up quickly, who should you start selling with first? Here’s a quick pros and cons list!

• Amazon Pro: Amazon is more trustworthy than eBay, with almost 70% of customers trusting the site.
• Amazon Con: Amazon can cost a bit more than eBay to start up at first, especially if you pay the monthly fee for fulfillment.
• eBay Pro: You can sell at least 100 items before needing to upgrade to a specific seller account.
• eBay Con: eBay charges a lot of “little” fees, like shipping and PayPal, which get more expensive the more you sell.
• Amazon Pro: Amazon has an easy-to-use product management system for new sellers.
• Amazon Con: There are many sellers on Amazon that have bigger budgets, so it’s a bigger competition pool.
• eBay Pro: You get paid the second someone buys your item, unlike Amazon where you have to wait until the person receives the item.
• eBay Con: It’s not as easy to sell items across multiple categories as with Amazon. Many people go on eBay for used goods, and newer goods can’t be marked up as much as with Amazon.

eBay vs Amazon Selling: Startup Costs to Consider

If you intend to sell unwanted items from your home, you may have hardly any start-up costs to worry about. But the only downside will be when you run out of items to list online.

If you want this side hustle to be a consistent source of extra income, you’ll need to go out and purchase or obtain most of the items you wish to sell or spend money on the materials you’ll need to create them.

• Determine how much you want to invest in your side hustle by limiting the amount you spend on start-up costs and applying the money you spend to your side business strategically.
• It’s important to think of selling items online as a money-making side business and not just a hobby.
• Make your choices based on numbers and the amount of time you would need to dedicate, not emotions.
• This mindset will help guide you and keep you from investing a ton of time and money and seeing a small return.

I once came across an eBay seller who created homemade iPhone and iPod cases. They looked amazing and I actually considered trying it out myself and selling my creations online. Luckily I weighed the costs and time needed to sell something like that beforehand and decided it wasn’t for me.

Doing Your Research For Pricing

That brings us to pricing. You want to make sure you are accurately pricing the items you list based on their market value and your income goals. Always consider the seller fees when you list an item because a $25 item will not really get you $25 in profit if the item sells.

It’s easy to Google specific items to see how much retailers are selling the item for and you can even search Amazon or eBay to see how other sellers are pricing items.

You should get into the habit of learning your products inside out so you’re aware of all their features, the quality, and condition along with the reputation of the brand as they will all apply to how you should price each item.

Taking High-Quality Photos

If you choose to sell on eBay, you’ll need to take high-quality photos of your items. This helps potential buyers see the product as much as possible and be persuaded to make a purchase. People are very visual, especially with online sales (obviously), so your photos need to be crisp and look professional.

If you have a really nice or professional camera this would be the perfect time to utilize it. If you don’t, don’t feel like you need to rush out and buy one. Any camera that takes clear photos or a smartphone camera is great. You should never attempt to completely omit a photo in your listing. If that’s even possible on the platform you use, you definitely won’t get sales that way.

Here are a few tips to help you take stunning, quality photos:

• Make sure you have plenty of lighting. Try to utilize natural light and avoid taking photos in dimly lit rooms.
• Choose a neutral background. Nothing is worse than distracting buyers with other clutter going on in the background of your photo. Try to clear the space and use a nice-looking wall in your home as a background.
• Aim for the best angle. Try to capture the item head-on first. Then focus on areas and angles that you would prefer to see if you were shopping online. To get ideas, you can always go to any e-commerce site. Look at the various different angles used that help advertise their products.
• Zoom in if you can. As long as the image doesn’t look extremely magnified or pixelated, try to zoom in a bit and focus on the brand of the item or another unique feature.

For more tips on how to take high-quality product photos, check out this article. After you finish taking photos, upload them to your computer at add them to your listing.

Get Organized and Shipping Fast

If you are gathering, listing, and shipping several items each month, the key to maintaining your sanity is organization. Creating a spreadsheet to organize all of your items. You should at least record the date they are listed and sold. But determine a system that works best for you.

You should also actively check your email at least 2-3 times per day to make sure you aren’t missing any sale notifications. When you make a sale, you’ll want to ship your item(s) quickly to ensure customer satisfaction.

Shipping the item within 1-2 business days and communicating with the buyer as needed is the best way to go. The more you make buyers happy with their purchase and timely delivery, the more likely they’ll be willing to give you positive feedback.

Positive reviews and feedback are like gold in this industry. They improve your chances of getting noticed by other sellers. If you have a good rating on Amazon or eBay, your seller profile will rank higher. Then, more people will be willing to buy from you as your reviews will help establish trust and legitimacy.

The post Side Hustles Explored: Selling Items on Amazon and eBay first appeared on My Debt Epiphany.

The post Side Hustles Explored: Selling Items on Amazon and eBay appeared first on My Debt Epiphany.

It sounds like a dream, but it is possible, and there are many legitimate ways to earn free PayPal cash.

With just a few clicks, or taps on your smartphone, you can get rewarded with real money for doing simple tasks such as watching videos, testing a service, taking surveys, downloading an app, playing games, shopping online, referring a friend, and more.

While the amounts may not be huge, it all adds up and can help cover some of those extra expenses that pop up from time to time.

If you’re ready to start earning free PayPal money fast and easy, here are some great ideas to get started.

What Is PayPal?

PayPal is an online payment system that allows users to send and receive money without sharing any financial information. It’s one of the most popular payment services in the world, and it’s easy to use.

All you need to do is link a PayPal account to your bank account or credit/debit card. Then, you’re ready to go.

Not only is PayPal secure and convenient, but it also offers some great rewards. Many online stores offer bonus points when you use PayPal to complete transactions. Some banks even offer cashback rewards for PayPal deposits.

But first, here’s a quick overview of some of the options I’ll cover in this post:

1. Get Paid For Taking Surveys

No matter what your interests are, there’s probably a survey site out there that pays you cash rewards or a PayPal deposit for completing surveys.

Here are some of the most well-known survey sites that offer free money online:

Branded Surveys

Branded Surveys is a great way to make some extra money by taking surveys in your spare time. It’s easy to sign up and get started, and you can earn points for completing surveys on a variety of topics. When you accumulate 500 points (equal to $5), then you can request a payout via PayPal.

It’s easy to start getting rewards in no time. You also get a 50-point sign-up bonus for creating an account and another 50 points for completing your initial profile survey.

The more paid surveys you complete, the further your point total will build. Each point is equivalent to one penny. So make sure to utilize Branded Surveys today so that amassing rewards won’t be just easy but speedy as well!

Survey Junkie

Survey Junkie is one of the top-rated survey sites out there – and one of my personal favorites! It’s a great option for anyone who only has a few minutes at a time to spare and wants to make some extra money.

All you have to do is sign up with Survey Junkie and take surveys to earn points. You can then transfer your points into cash when you reach the minimum threshold of $5. And if that wasn’t enough, Survey Junkie even offers a signup bonus to new users when they join.

MyPoints 

MyPoints is an online rewards program that allows you to earn points for shopping online, taking surveys, dining out, and discovering content. With MyPoints, you can redeem your points for gift cards or cash rewards toward your favorite brands.

You can also get free gift cards with coupons and promo codes.

Be sure to complete your profile questions when you join. This will give you access to more surveys and reward you with 5 points for every 10 profile questions answered. 

As an added bonus, MyPoints provides 5 points for surveys you don’t qualify for and a 25 disqualification point maximum per day. Plus, when you initially join the website as a new member, your $10 joining bonus will be waiting for you.

If you want to receive money through PayPal, you must accumulate at least 1,590 points or $10 before you can start cashing out.

Opinion Outpost

Opinion Outpost is an online survey platform that enables users to take surveys and earn rewards for their opinions. The company partners with leading brands to develop surveys that are tailored to the user’s interests and demographics.

The platform offers two ways of accessing surveys — through a personalized dashboard or via email invites. Surveys typically take 10 minutes to complete and pay between 5-30 points each. Each point earned is worth $0.10, so a 5-point survey would earn you $0.50.

Points can be exchanged for payments of $10 Paypal or gift cards from popular retailers when the minimum 100 points ($10) is attained. Sign-up bonuses may also be available from time to time.

2. Get Free PayPal Money By Shopping

As we all know, shopping online is convenient and often cheaper than going to the store.

But did you know that there are actually ways to get free PayPal money by shopping? You can even earn free money, cashback rewards, discounts, and other bonuses by using some of the following websites.

Inbox Dollars

InboxDollars is an online rewards platform that makes it easy to get paid for online shopping, taking surveys, and more. It’s very similar to Swagbucks by offering cashback from purchases made with select retailers and a multitude of third-party offers.

When you first sign up for InboxDollars, you are immediately rewarded with a $5 bonus, making it even easier to reach the minimum cash-out amount of $30.

Rakuten

Rakuten is an online cashback website that makes it easy to save money on your purchases. All you have to do is go through the Rakuten website and click on the store you want to shop at.

You’ll get a percentage of your purchase price back as cashback.

The best thing about Rakuten is that it gives a $30 BONUS upon joining and up to 40% cashback at over 2,500 stores.

However, keep in mind that they only pay out four times per year. So if you don’t reach their minimum withdrawal amount ($5 in cashback), your balance will be rolled into the next period until it reaches the minimum required amount.

Related: Rakuten (Ebates ) Review: Earn Cashback For Everyday Shopping

Shopkick

Shopkick is an app that rewards shoppers for making purchases at participating stores. The rewards, called “kicks”, can be redeemed for gift cards or PayPal transfers. With Shopkick, it’s easy to get started earning kicks: just start shopping and scanning items in the store.

Plus, any earnings are credited instantly, so you can start cashing out right away with a minimum cashout amount of just $2.

Even better, the app offers a signup bonus where users can earn extra kicks with their first purchase – giving you even more chances to redeem those rewards. Use my code EPIPHANY to earn a $5 sign-up bonus.

3. Get Free PayPal Money By Completing Short Tasks

There are many websites and apps out there that will pay you free PayPal money instantly for completing short tasks.

These tasks can be anything from writing a review to watching videos, playing games, or downloading an app. Here are some of the most popular free PayPal money-earning apps and websites:

Swagbucks

Swagbucks is a great way to make some extra money in your spare time. With Swagbucks, you can complete surveys, watch videos, shop online, and search the web earn points. Points can then be redeemed for PayPal cash or gift cards.

You just need at least 2,500 points (or $25) before you can redeem your points for cash or gift cards. Plus, when you sign up with Swagbucks, there’s an added bonus of $10.

Upside

Upside provides you with a fantastic opportunity to get cashback rewards on purchases of gas, groceries, and restaurant items when linking a credit or debit card.

You can even take surveys or watch videos for additional points that can be redeemed as gift cards or PayPal transfers.

To get started, simply download the app and sign up with your email address. There’s also a signup so you’ll start earning immediately.

Sign up for Upside and download the app here

Use my code to earn an extra 15%/gal back when you sign up: CHONCE5236

The minimum withdrawal for PayPal is $15. It won’t take long before you can transfer some extra cash back into your account.

Related: Saving Money on Fuel: Upside Review

UserTesting

UserTesting is an amazing way to get free PayPal money by completing short tasks. With UserTesting, you can make money simply by testing websites and apps for their users and providing feedback on your experience using the site or app.

You’ll receive $10 per 20 minutes of testing that you complete. To get started, create an account and take a sample test which you must pass in order to be eligible for any testing opportunities.

When the cash-out time comes around, the minimum cash-out amount needed to receive a gift card or PayPal transfer is noted on the website.

No need to worry about points or other forms of currency as UserTesting pays directly with real money.

Field Agent

With Field Agent, you can complete tasks such as mystery shopping, product testing, and surveys. You’ll get paid for each task you complete, with the amount varying depending on the task. The minimum cashout amount for PayPal transfers or gift cards is $10.

Field Agent also has a signup bonus of $2 when you create an account and complete your first task. You’ll also be able to refer friends and earn money for each person who signs up using your referral link.

You’ll earn points for completing tasks. Redeem points for rewards such as gift cards or PayPal transfers.

Watch Out For Scams

It’s important to be aware that scammers can claim to offer free PayPal money in exchange for your personal information. Many of these sites will ask you to submit your personal information to get a code, but that code won’t actually do anything.

These fraudulent sites may also require you to complete surveys or tasks that never result in any payment.

The best way to avoid getting scammed is by doing research on the website or app before using it. Make sure there are legitimate reviews of the site. Also, never give out your personal information unless you’re completely sure the website is safe and secure.

Summary

If you’re looking for a way to make some extra cash online, these cash prizes and free PayPal money options are great opportunities to do so.

Not only is it a great way to make some money, but all these apps and websites are also easy to use and understand. So get out there and start earning!

With online purchases, referrals, and signup bonuses available – you can make money in no time.

The post How to Get Free PayPal Money in 2023 first appeared on My Debt Epiphany.

The post How to Get Free PayPal Money in 2023 appeared first on My Debt Epiphany.

Blogging is a lot of hard work, and while I know it’s a popular side hustle option, most new and aspiring bloggers I talk to don’t realize that it costs money to get started and to keep going.

Let’s Face It

You can make a lot of money blogging each month. That’s the enticing juicy carrot that attracts many people.

However, you have to work hard, treat your blog like a business, and invest in it. This means you need to spend time and money learning about everything from:

• Marketing and improving your content
• Basic WordPress skills
• Creating graphics
• Learning SEO

I struggled a lot in the past with telling people ‘I’m just a blogger and I write online’. There’s nothing small about being a blogger. It’s hard work and often requires you to become somewhat of a content marketing genius if you want to have a profitable blog.

Most importantly, you can’t expect the reward of being able to monetize your blog without having an expectation that there are going to be expenses. If you’ve ever wondered: how much does it cost to run a blog? you’re in the right place.

In this post, I’ll break down my monthly, annual, and periodic blog expenses and why I have them.

My Monthly Blog Expenses

I’m pretty reasonable when it comes to my blog expenses, thought I’d share how much I spend monthly to keep my blog going. This will give you some great context if you’re looking to start a blog or already have one and are wondering how much you can expect to spend.

Tailwind – $19.99

Tailwind is an absolute must for me. I promote my blog’s posts on Pinterest and Tailwind helps me schedule pins out automatically 24/7. Pinterest has been one of the best tools I’ve used to grow my site’s traffic. Currently, it’s my #2 traffic source, right behind Google search.

Without traffic, my blog would cease to exist and make money. As a blogger, you want people to come to your site, read your posts, and get the help they need. No one will visit your site if they can’t find it, so marketing your content is super important.

Instead of sitting on Pinterest all day and pinning things one by one, Tailwind can help you schedule out your pins weeks in advance. It’s definitely worth the price, and you can even save money by purchasing their annual plan.

Freshbooks – $15

Freshbooks is actually a tool I used to send invoices for my freelance writing work. Sometimes, I also need to send invoices to brands for sponsored partnerships so this tool comes in handy.

When I first started blogging and using this platform to get freelance writing clients, I would invoice them on PayPal which takes a chunk out of your earnings. As my invoicing amounts got higher, PayPal’s fees got higher.

This is why I signed up for Freshbooks because they only charge less for PayPal transactions.  Freshbooks saves me so much money and they also have other features including expense tracking.

Social Media Scheduling – $19

I schedule content for social media because it’s easy and I can map out my posts in just one weekly sitting. I use the Facebook scheduler or my Facebook page and Hootsuite schedule Twitter posts. Both are free to use.

However, I pay $19/month for Planoly’s premium plan to schedule Instagram posts and Instagram stories whenever I want to announce new blog posts and details to my IG fam.

Convert Kit – $50

If you’re a blogger, you’re going to need an email list. When I first got started, I used MailChimp to send out my email newsletter because it was free for the first 2,000 subscribers.

However, ConvertKit is a much better tool. It’s more user-friendly in my opinion and better for marketing. You can set up automatic email sequences tag your subscribers based on their interests, and ConvertKit even has landing pages and integrates with other programs pretty easily.

Contractors – $300 – $400 (on average)

This is only an estimate of my contractor expenses because it does vary sometimes. I work with two VAs who help me manage various tasks to run my blog. This includes things like creating Pinterest images, helping me with social media, editing content/videos, and more.

Ivory Mix – $10 (Stock Photos)

I use professional stock images within my blog posts and for my Pinterest graphics. There are lots of free stock photo sites (mentioned below) but sometimes I’m not able to find exactly what I’m looking for.

So I signed up for IvoryMix.com and only pay $20 every 2 months for a wide variety of stock images.

Web Hosting – $13.60

I recently changed my hosting over to Siteground and I paid for my hosting annually but this is how much it breaks down to if I were to pay on a monthly basis. I had Bluehost for about 3 years but wanted to test out something different for now. However, I still use Bluehost for my other site ChonceMaddox.com.

Both hosting companies are pretty good and affordable in my eyes, although it was a little challenging to make the switch to Siteground because I feel Bluehost’s customer service and tools are easier to use and access.

Total: $527.59

Related: How to Start a Blog

How to Make Money with a Blog or Niche Site

What I’m Investing In:

These are just my basic monthly expenses (on the low end) that I need to pay in order to keep the blog running. Sometimes I invest in courses, training, and even coaching to help me.

In the past, I’ve worked with a one-on-one coach and took a few blogging courses. This year, I’m talking an SEO course and learning so much valuable information.

Whenever I consider buying a course or paying for coaching, I always look at ROI. My budget is important too, but I try to consider where I’m at and where I want to be.

If I consider spending money on something, I like to map out how and well I’ll see a return on my investment.

I also like to be honest with myself about what I can handle and where my motivation lies. Recently, I had to pass on a course that seemed super valuable because I knew I wouldn’t have enough time to dedicate to it.

Information overload is real when it comes to this business so it’s important to be conscious of your goals and how much time and energy you wish to dedicate to certain things.

How I’m Saving

While I do believe it’s important to invest in your blog, I still think it’s always best to spend wisely and intentionally. That said, there are things I decided to insource while I grow my blog.

In the beginning, you will probably find yourself doing most of the work. Still, it’s best to set expectations that you will have legitimate expenses that can contribute to your growth and that’s okay – dare I say, great!

Here are a few things I choose to do/keep in-house to keep blog expenses controlled.

Free Stock Photos

Like I mentioned earlier, you don’t have to pay for stock photos, especially as a new blogger. Some of my favorite free stock photo sites are Unsplash and Pexels. I used both of these sites for blog post images and still use them occasionally today.

Pinterest Management

My husband actually does my Pinterest management for now, and it’s working out great. He schedules things in Tailwind for me and also helps create boards and pin them to my group boards. Since I started blogging, I have hired someone to help me with Pinterest because I’m not very good at it.

My last Pinterest VA resigned because she wanted to do more work with local clients, which was understandable. I was paying her $225 per month and wanted to see if my husband and I could pick up her strategy and do the Pinterest management on our own. So far so good!

I also recently paid another Pinterest VA for an audit of my account. The audit turned out great and we have a ton of things to work on now to improve my Pinterest profile, but we can save money by doing the work ourselves.

Related: How This Pinterest VA Earns $1,200/month

Listening to Podcasts and Reading Books

You can learn so much from reading books and listening to podcasts. I’ve decided to use these resources to learn more about marketing, sales, content, etc. as it’s not costly at all.

I personally love Bobby Hoyt’s podcast that he hosts with his business partner Mike. It’s called Laptop Empires. I’ve been following Bobby ever since he started his blog and paid off his student loans. Since then, he has created an impressive blogging business due to his advanced marketing skills, so this podcast always has some great stuff.

I’m sure there are other amazing ones as well, I just haven’t discovered them yet!

Signing Up For Other Blogger’s Newsletters

Speaking of email lists, joining other bloggers’ email lists can definitely help you as well. I am on a few people’s email lists and enjoy reading about their tips, advice, and resources. If you are interested in receiving my blogging tips on a regular basis, you can join the email list by signing up for free here.

Did any of my expenses surprise you? If you have a blog, what do your expenses look like?

The post How Much Does it Cost to Run a Blog? first appeared on My Debt Epiphany.

The post How Much Does it Cost to Run a Blog? appeared first on My Debt Epiphany.

Generally, all you need is a computer, an internet connection, and a strong desire to help others with daily tasks to get started. But there’s also much more to becoming a virtual assistant to be aware of.

Let’s dive into the topic of how to become a virtual assistant and how to set yourself up for success.

What is a Virtual Assistant?

A virtual assistant or VA may have been a term you’ve heard before. It basically refers to an online personal assistant who helps individuals and businesses manage and operate various tasks.

The range of work a VA can do is so wide (I will cover some main tasks later). You can also start this as a side hustle or grow to launch your own successful full-time VA business. There’s plenty of work out there for either option.

Quite a few people in my personal life ask me how they can earn extra money on the side, and I almost always recommend VA work if they can use a computer well. Unlike other side hustles, VA work often doesn’t involve complex or specialized skills and anyone with organizational skills and basic computer skills can take a stab at it.

How Much Can you Make?

According to Payscale, virtual assistants can make around $15 to $30 per hour depending on experience. Some people even go on to earn more. But at that point, it all depends on:

• Who your client is
• The type of work you’re doing
• What their budget is like

On the bright side, it’s not hard to find a client who will pay you $20 per hour and you don’t even need a degree.

Being a virtual assistant comes with great earning potential, but I do want to point out that VAs who work as freelancers and choose their clients will probably earn more than a virtual assistant who is hired to work for a company.

This is because when you get to pick your clients, you can choose your rates and offer custom quotes. When you work for a company that hires VAs, you have to settle for their hourly rate, their projects, and their schedule.

There are pros and cons to both situations. But in this post, I’m mainly going to be discussing how you can become a virtual assistant who’s self-employed and find your own clients.

Virtual Assistant Salary

Payscale shows that the average virtual assistant will make between $11-$27 an hour. And ZipRecruiter shows that the average salary is between $31k-$75k a year.

Of course, these are just averages, and there is no cap on how much you could make as a virtual assistant when you work for yourself.

What Does a Virtual Assistant Do Every Day?

Virtual assistants can do a wide variety of tasks. If you’re considering trying out this side hustle, my advice to you would be to narrow down your specialties and interest. Then, offer those services so you are doing work that you enjoy and are good at.

For example, I narrowed down my VA specialties to social media scheduling, blog commenting, managing comments, blog management, and SEO work.

Other tasks that VAs perform include, but are not limited to:

• Creating graphics and pictures for blog posts
• Editing content
• Scheduling blog posts
• Managing email inboxes
• Organizing and scheduling newsletters
• Creating and sending out invoices
• Bookkeeping
• Managing multiple social media channels
• Coming up with a content strategy to implement
• Dealing with customer issues or processing returns
• Updating SEO on websites for pages and blog posts
• Scheduling meetings and conference calls
• Booking speaking engagements
• Performing market research
• Live chat support
• Managing affiliate programs
• And more!

As you can see, the possibilities are practically limitless when you work as a VA.

You don’t just have to work with only bloggers either. Many entrepreneurs and start-ups need VAs desperately, so there is a big need to fill.

My Love – Dislike Experience with Becoming a VA

I first heard about becoming a VA in 2015, and decided to give it a try in addition to freelance writing.  My initial intention was to diversify my income and mix up my workload to relieve myself from writing all the time.

Becoming a VA allowed me to mix things up, choose my rates, and earn a steadier income aside from freelance writing. When I first attempted to break into the VA world, I felt like a newbie all over again just like when I started freelance writing.

I didn’t know who to pitch or what type of rates to set. Whenever I did pitch someone, they always seemed more interested in my writing services or not even interested at all. I was feeling a bit down about it at first and didn’t think VA work was for me.

Fast forward to the present day and I’ve landed a few great clients with work I love. I earn around $2,000 per month as a VA and work very part-time with it.

My point is that some great things take time. In a society that glorifies instant gratification, it’s okay to not see a ton of success right away.

It takes time to build up your confidence, narrow down your skills, and find awesome clients. But you will! There is plenty of work out there.

I had to implement a few strategies to obtain my first few VA clients and you can do this as well.

How to Become a Virtual Assistant in 4 Basic Steps

1. Decide who you are Targeting

Just like with any side hustle, you need to determine who your service will help. That’s how you will reassure yourself and others that it’s valuable.

Whether you choose to help overwhelmed mommy bloggers, established business owners, or professionals who just don’t have time to manage their social media, knowing exactly who your target market is will help you narrow down your search and only put your time and effort into promising leads.

Try to avoid being a jack of all trades and trying to offer every service under the sun. Odds are, you may not be good at or like doing everything.

2. Learn the Basics

If you know little about the virtual assistant industry as I did but want to get yourself established quickly, you need to turn to learn the basics.

When it comes to learning the basics, there are a few skills and tools you might need to get started, including:

• A task management system — This includes sites like Asana, Trello, and ClickUp.
• A way to invoice — (So you can get paid for your work!) — Wave, Quickbooks, and Freshbooks are all great options.
• A contract system — You can use a site like HelloSign or use an all-in-one tool like Dubsado for invoicing and contracts.
• Zoom — For client calls, unless you handle everything via email or phone.
• Some skills would include communication, bookkeeping, time management, organization, basic IT knowledge, and self-motivation

Also, you can learn specific skills, like social media and simple graphic design, simply by practicing! You can ask friends and family if they’ll let you help them for free or a discounted rate.

That way, you can build your portfolio for future clients.

Just a few examples of this include:

• Practicing managing someone’s Facebook group or page, Instagram account, or Twitter account
• Simple editing of someone’s YouTube videos
• Learning tools like Tailwind (for Pinterest), Smarterqueue (social media scheduling), and Canva (graphic design)
• Learning social media ads for Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, etc.
• Learn SEO for writing and editing
• And so much more!

Luckily, there are TONS of skills you can learn and implement as a VA. The hardest part is figuring out what you want to specialize in.

3. Perfect your Pitch

A perfect pitch is a must if you want to land jobs. Pitching used to be my least favorite thing to do, but now I love it because I’ve figured out a great strategy that helps me get clients.

Once you have your basic pitch down, you can use it as a foundation to send out custom pitches to potential clients.

For example, if someone is looking for blog management help, your pitch should be different than the one you’re sending to a client for email management assistance.

Here is a sample pitch template I’ve created that you might find helpful.

I underlined the two services I mentioned in this pitch because you can change these to any of the services you’re specifically looking to offer.

“Hello,

My name is____________ I follow you on ___________ and really like the way you (insert a genuine compliment about their work or business to set the tone for a friendly relationship and smooth out any awkwardness).

It seems as if you are quite busy on a day-to-day basis with all that you do. I am writing you to see if you are interested in bringing on a reliable person to help perform tedious tasks and manage certain aspects of your business/blog/website to free up more of your time.

I provide content management and social media management services for businesses, companies, organizations and other busy professionals. I specialize in working behind the scenes in order to help you increase productivity, improve your work-life balance, and take your business to the next level.

I’d love to learn more about your needs and discuss how I can assist you. For examples of my work, references, or if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!

I look forward to hearing from you.”

4. Establish your Website and Optimize It

While most people recommend having a network to build your VA hustle, I didn’t have much of a network, to begin with, and had no idea where to look.

I found Facebook groups to be very helpful in landing gigs and finding leads.

Where to Find VA Jobs (As a Beginner)

If you’re not ready to set up your own website yet, there are a few reliable places to find VA jobs and establish an online portfolio to market your services.

Just keep in mind that while some of these sites are great for beginners and helping you find work, you may eventually want to seek out your own clients as you gain experience to get paid a higher rate.

• Zirtual.com
• People Per Hour
• Upwork
• Linkedin
• FancyHands
• Fiverr

These sites are quite competitive, so your best bet is to set up a website or a ‘Hire Me’ page and optimize it for search engines.

SEO (search engine optimization) does take a while to start working, but I optimize every post on this blog and every page of my website for search engines. While SEO has brought readers to my site, it’s also brought potential clients.

Starting your own website or blog is highly recommended and can even help you increase your income since you can monetize your blog and treat it like a side hustle.

Setting up a professional website is easier than it sounds. Here is my step-by-step tutorial guide that walks you through how to set up a website/blog with Bluehost in just minutes.

Wrapping It Up: How to Become a Virtual Assitant ASAP

If you’re looking to become a virtual assistant and work flexibly from home, there is plenty of demand. Use these tips to help yourself get started and know that you can always reach out to me with any questions.

Just remember to stay motivated and visualize where you could be in just a few months if you take the initial steps to get started today.

The post How to Become a Virtual Assistant first appeared on My Debt Epiphany.

The post How to Become a Virtual Assistant appeared first on My Debt Epiphany.

Everyone should have emergency savings but an emergency fund for homeowners is crucial. I bought a house a little over a year ago and when we were in the process of preparing for homeownership, I definitely focused more on saving for a down payment and closing costs.

I knew I needed an emergency fund, but it wasn’t top priority for some reason. This turned out to be a big mistake because although my first year as a homeowner was pretty peaceful, recent months have left me clinging to my emergency fund for dear life.

Within a few weeks, I had my car break down ($400 to fix), realized we needed to buy a new stove ($630), and had some semi-urgent plumbing issues to take care of ($1,200).

As you can see, these everyday issues cost around $2,230 and it all happened in a matter of a few weeks. Life is like that sometimes. So as a homeowner, it’s especially important to prepare and build a large emergency fund.

Common and Unexpected Expenses For Homeowners

If you own a home or are looking to buy a house, it’s important to understand all the expenses you will be responsible when it comes to maintenance and repairs.

I knew that homeowners paid for all costs associated with the home, but there were plenty of expenses that I didn’t even think about or wasn’t prepared for. Some costs include:

• Annual maintenance services (for things like your furnace, HVAC, plumbing etc.)
• Contractor service fees (it often costs money just for someone to come out to look at your home and assess a problem)
• Roofing, siding, and windows
• Foundation work
• Weatherproofing basement or crawl space
• Lawn care (weeding, mowing, landscape design)
• Tree trimming and removal
• Insulation (attic, garage, etc.)

Not to mention, there may be cosmetic things that you wish to do to update your home. When we first moved in, I immediately had new flooring installed. While my dad helped with this, it still cost us around $700 or so.

We also updated our half bath, painted and removed some trees. I was literally shocked that is would cost us around $300 to remove some trees last summer. We still have a ton of work to do on our yard.

So How Big of an Emergency Fund Do Homeowners Need?

After hearing about all my unexpected expenses so far and seeing what you could potentially be paying for homeowner you may be wondering how much should really be in your emergency fund.

My short answer is: as much as possible.

I try to stay away from telling people how much to save or buy but when you have a home, you do want to set aside at least 6-8 months of basic expenses. It may sound like a lot but trust me, it’s worth it.

Another thing you want to do is pay off as much debt as possible before buying a home. This will help free up more money for you to build your emergency fund quicker. Before buying a house, my husband and I paid off his credit card debt, my student loans, and both of our car loans. This knocked out at least $700 in monthly minimum payments allowing us to save more for our home.

Tools to Help You Save

Saving money is a habit and you can do it easily when you use the right tools. For starters, you want to make sure your bank allows you to set up automatic recurring savings transfers.

That way, you can set money aside regularly without even thinking about it. Huntington Bank offers the  Savings Goal Getter^SM tool on The Hub for their savings and money market accounts. You can set up two types of savings goals: Emergency Fund and Savings Goals. With the Savings Goals option, get specific and narrow down up to 10 specific savings goals that you have, large or small.

Huntington Mobile App Savings Goal Getter View

If you wish to build an emergency fund as well with this feature, the emergency fund will be prioritized first before you can add to the savings goal. Then, your funds will be directed toward your other savings goals after you hit your ideal emergency fund balance.

Huntington Savings Goal Getter

I like having the option to save for multiple goals because we have a few sinking funds as well and all of our savings don’t go straight to the emergency fund account.

Also, set a deadline for meeting your emergency fund goal to motivate yourself. Savings Goal Getter also serves as a guide by showing you how much you need to save per week to stay on track.

What To Do In the Meantime

The toughest time can be when emergencies arise and you haven’t fully funded your emergency fund. Not to mention, as a homeowner you may be constantly replenishing your fund.

I saw one source recommend that homeowners save around 20% of the purchase price in an emergency fund. If you were thinking about putting 20% down, that’s like a double down payment – a ton of money! Whether you’re thinking of saving that much or not, these tips will help you get ahead and prepare for the unexpected.

Continue to Live on Less Than You Earn

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while you know I live by this. Living below your means allows you to avoid debt and often have money left over after you get paid. There’s just so much peace of mind that comes with keeping your living expenses low.

This is the main reason why we bought a house that was below our means and also had extra room if we want to rent some space out. This allows us to save more and cash flow some home repairs and maintenance costs when they come up. 

Cut Some Bills

I am always looking for ways to cut bills and expenses. We shop around for auto insurance every few months and we recently lowered our health costs since we hadn’t been to the doctor in a while.

For the car repairs and new oven I mentioned earlier, we actually were able to lower our expenses and earn extra money to cover them as opposed to going into our emergency fund.

By the time the plumbing issue came up, our finances were already tight so we did actually draw from our emergency fund. Still, it was so relieving to know we could fall back on that money.

Feed Your Account With Windfalls

We all get windfalls whether it’s a refund check from a utility bill company, a bonus at work, or a tax refund.

Put this money directly toward your emergency fund and act like you never had it to spend in the first place…because you didn’t.

Make Some Extra Money

Making extra money is always an option to help you cover planned and unplanned expenses. It can also help increase your emergency fund. Learn more here on Huntington.com

My husband drives for ride-sharing companies sometimes and I take on freelance writing and virtual assistant jobs. We also do focus groups sometimes and earn cash back from shopping rewards sites.

Final Thoughts

Building an emergency fund for homeowners should be top priority. If you’re looking to buy, make sure you have a large emergency fund (6-8 months of expenses or more) saved up before you start the process.

Even if you can only put 5% or 10% down on a home and not the recommended 20%, it’s still best to hold onto your large emergency fund balance because you will need it.

Consider using banking tools like Huntington’s Savings Goal Getter tool to help you track your savings and make steady progress. If you are ever feeling overwhelmed, especially after encountering an unexpected expense, Huntington has many resources to help guide you in the right direction.

It all comes down to being disciplined and making sure that you’re hitting your weekly or monthly savings goal no matter what. Lowering your expenses and earning more money can help you in the meantime until you hit your ideal balance.

To help even further, I’ve put together a 4 part masterclass called ‘Build A Full Emergency Fund…FAST’ and it’s dedicated to all things emergency fund! We’ll dive into all the areas needed to get your emergency fund to where you want it to be fast.

We’ll discuss things such as your personal ‘why’ for building a full emergency fund, what you should and shouldn’t use emergency savings for, how many months of expenses you should set aside for your own personal situation and SO much more. I am also including great bonuses that will help you beyond the masterclass. Join the masterclass here!

The post How Big of An Emergency Fund Do Homeowners Need? first appeared on My Debt Epiphany.

The post How Big of An Emergency Fund Do Homeowners Need? appeared first on My Debt Epiphany.