Finding Excess Cash
During hard economic times, we can always use extra cash. To get extra cash, you can either get a raise, something which is very hard to do in bad times; get an extra job, something which is hard to do if you’re already spending all your time at work; or sell blood, but there’s a limit to how much blood you can sell.
The easiest way to get extra cash is to just “˜find’ it. In order to find this extra cash, you need to review your all your expenses for the last two to three months. From this list, you’ll be able to “˜find’ at least $200 to $300 per month in “˜extra’ cash that won’t cause much difference in the way you live. Here are some examples and ideas:
1. Do you pay rent on a storage unit? If so, how often do you use the stuff you have stored there. Getting rid of your storage unit would probably save you between $60 and $100 per month.
2. Do you have cable or satellite TV? What if you went back down 1 tier in service? You would save between $10 to $20 per month. Do you watch enough of that next tier to make it worth the extra cost?
3. How often do you go out to dinner or lunch? What if you went to a cheaper place, or just went out half as much. Take a lunch to work? This would save you $100 to $200 per month.
4. Do you commute? Do you need to take your car, or can you use mass transit? What would that save you in parking, in gas, in wear and tear on your vehicle?
5. Review all your expenses of the past 2 to 3 months. Are there any others that you could either eliminate or cut in half? Even a 10% reduction will put money in your pocket when you most need it.
The key is to figure out what you can easily get along without, and what you absolutely need to survive. In between, you can keep or cut depending upon your circumstances.
Too hard, you say? Well, the reward is “˜finding’ between $200 and $300 (or even more) per month extra cash. That’s a lot when you most need it.
