26 Tips To Get Money Or Save Money And Reasons Why You Need to Start Right Now, Pronto, In A Hurry
One good suggestion for every other week of the year
The last few weeks have been tumultuous times around the world, especially in the financial markets, because of concern over the coronavirus. The difficult times are likely to continue and be felt for years to come.
What can you do about it? Well, stop for a second and imagine the worst case scenario. What are you imagining? If you’re not already doing so, you might start thinking about something like the Great Depression.
If really bad times are on the way, you need to start thinking of some backup plans in case of unemployment or stock market losses. Whatever you are thinking about, remember that others are probably thinking the same thing. You just need to start on your list because things are going to get very difficult for millions of people.
Here is my list of 26 ways to help you get money or save money. Your results may vary. Make sure to seek professional financial help if you need it.
- Work for a drive-hailing company like Uber or Lyft. You need to start this right away and figure out the best ways to get the most money.
- Don’t spend money. Literally, I recommend that you go as many days as possible without spending money or using your credit cards.
- Sell your excess stuff. You need to sell things now that you can get money for, that people will still buy while they have cash.
- Don’t go on expensive vacations. Seriously, do fun local stay-cations as much as possible, or just cancel your vacations. Who likes big crowds anyway?
- Do Garage Sales or Yard Sales. Yes, people still do this and they get money. You need to do it too right away.
- Use coupons. I don’t mean every once in a while. I mean all the time, every chance you get, in every possible scenario.
- Read books. You can learn a lot from books and you can get them for free at the library. Go back to reading.
- Stop risky investments. Are you still dreaming about big money coming in from those derivative investments? I’m not sure what to say if you are.
- Don’t buy new clothes. Wait, how often do you need new shirts, belts, or shoes? It’s time to tighten the belt, not replace it.
- Expensive coffee. Yeah, you don’t need a double-decaf-expresso any more. Maybe that’s not a real thing, but you don’t need it. Have you been buying that every day for a thousand dollars a year?
- Discounts. Yes, you can get discounts on most everything. You just have to ask and if the answer is no then you can do without it.
- Fancy cell phone. Okay, yes, a lot of people spend hundreds or thousands of dollars for a phone that takes pictures and runs apps, like a similar phone that you can get for one hundred.
- Gas and electricity. You have got to stop touching the home thermostat. Seriously, unless it is medically necessary, you can survive on a normal room temperature. I know you can.
- Restaurants. I get it, going out to eat is nice and helps support the local economy and employees. But I think you can make your kitchen look like a little restaurant. Give it a try.
- Mortgage or rent. If this is taking up a ton of your money, you need to stop this in a hurry. Look around and be creative. If you lose your job, then what? Well, others will be losing theirs too. Unemployment money will not go very far.
- Water. Try drinking more water instead of expensive drinks. Add ice to water, or lemon slices, or lime or orange, or crushed ice or anything you can think of. Drink more water any way you can, but not too much because that is not safe.
- Shoes. Do you have lots of nice shoes that you don’t need? It’s okay to say yes. Clean them up and start selling them.
- Landlines. You should not have this any more because you don’t need it.
- Cable or satellite TV. Come on now, they have free television channels over the air with great free news, game shows, and sports. Why would you pay for hundreds of channels you never watch?
- Free food. Do your other family members love to cook and want you around? You need to accept their invitations more often, as in every single time.
- Expensive gas. Do you really need that expensive gas for your car because you don’t want to drive to the cheapest petrol station? Get real.
- Fancy boxed food. I say that food that comes in a box is probably not super healthy, but that is just my opinion. Find healthy vegetables.
- Fruits and veggies. Speaking of healthy alternatives, my favorite vegetable is the green bell pepper and those nice red, orange, and yellow sweet peppers. Seriously, I could eat quite a lot of those every day. Find your favorites.
- Expensive stuff you only use once. You have to force yourself to not buy an expensive this or that just because you want the best for whomever. Come on, you don’t have to buy it ad they don’t need it.
- Prevention. Yes, you might have heard about an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure. Brush and floss your teeth more than have been doing.
- Love. Remember that having a happy home life is one of the best things for your health and your happiness. Keep the love alive.
It is hard to believe that things could get really difficult in the weeks, months, and years ahead. It’s been twelve years since the Great Recession and a lot of people did not suffer through that.
Imagine scenarios where companies go bankrupt all over the world, where unemployment spikes higher, where people can’t afford their sky-high rents or mortgages, and where there are no backup employment plans available for millions of people. Yes, governments will do everything they can to help, and we can only hope it will be enough.
In the meantime, save as much as you can. Do it now, today, and keep doing it. Challenge yourself to save as much as possible and cut expenses to the bone. Most importantly, make sure your spouse or companion is supportive with this so you can do this with each other and for each other.
