Income Ideas

1) Start a Side Business

• Take a hobby or something you are good at and monetize it. Or grow/improve an existing side gig.
• Believe that you have something to offer. Even though it may not feel like work to you, it’s worth the expense to others.
• Charge what you are worth. This includes enough to cover your expenses, time and profit.
• Don’t give it to friends and family for free. These will be your first clients.
• Don’t strive for perfection. Go for C+ work.

2) Ask for a Raise

• Give your boss a heads up. “I want to schedule a time with you to discuss my compensation.” Don’t walk into the meeting and surprise him/her with the request. It makes everything awkward.
• Point out your accomplishments in support your request.
• Don’t say you need it because the cost of living is so high.
• If you are going to bring up pay at other companies bring it up as support for your request. Don’t use it as a threat.
• Don’t say someone else at your company in your position is making more.

3) Get a New Job

• Ensure the increase in compensation is “significant.” A $5,000 increase in pay is only $135 per paycheck (on average after taxes).
• Consider a promotion AND a 15%+ bump in pay.

4) Set a Goal to Make an Additional $X Next Month

• Maybe $500 more next month.
• Always have this goal on your mind. Always be thinking about this and opportunities and ideas will present themselves more often than you’d think.

Expense Ideas

1) List All Your Expenses for the Past Month

• You’ll find expenses you didn’t know you were paying for.
• Look for recurring payments you thought you’d canceled or expenses you are no longer using.

2) Eliminate Overlapping Expenses

• Take your entertainment line item as an example – HULU, Netflix, HBO, and Disney +. Can you get rid of 2 or 3 of these?

3) Consider Refinancing Your Home

• If you’re renting consider downsizing or a roommate.
• There are costs associated with a refinance so do a little homework and make sure it’s right for you.
• If you can lower your interest rate by ~1.00%+ it’s probably worth considering.
• Also consider bringing your amortization back up to 30 years. The standard amortization on a residential home is 30 years. If you’ve had your loan for 10 years you are now on a 20 year amortization. Bringing this back to 30 years will reduce your payments. Assuming you don’t take any cash out.
• A longer amortization will cost you more in the long run as you’ll be paying interest over a longer period of time. But, it will reduce your monthly payments which may be more important to you right now.
• I have a spreadsheet which will allow you to figure out what your payments would be based on a new rate and/or a new amortization period. Download it using the button below.