Things are tough in the money game. It seems like the price of stuff goes up every month, making it hard to get ahead, let alone stay on top of the financial crisis. This can depress a person.
One way to combat the feeling of helplessness and despair is to achieve quick wins. It gives you a sense of agency and momentum.
Raising an additional $1,000 in the next 30 days is one way to achieve this win and is a goal that is within reach for most people.
What can you do with an extra $1,000?
Well, you can start by setting up an emergency fund. We’ve talked about emergency funds before. This is money you set aside in a savings account and only touch when stuff hits the fan in your life, like a water heater breaking down or a car tire that needs replacing. Instead of resorting to credit cards to pay for these things (where the interest drives the cost up even more), you use the cash in your emergency fund.
Surveys consistently show that most Americans cannot cover a $1,000 emergency with cash on hand. If you’re in that camp, building a $1,000 emergency fund is a goal you can accomplish in a month. This will give you mental peace and make it easier to achieve other financial goals.
Even if you’ve already withdrawn your emergency fund, the extra $1,000 can be put to productive use. You can use it to save for a down payment on a home or make extra payments on your mortgage or pay off car and student loans or even invest it in your retirement account — where, through the power of compound interest, it will start snowballing into serious money.
To help you capture the potential win of getting an extra $1,000, we offer seven ways to make it happen. You don’t have to do all seven. Pick a few that suit your circumstances and put your shoulder to the wheel for a month until you get a thousand extra smacaroos.
1. Audit your subscriptions. We thought about this in depth a few months ago. Auditing your subscriptions and canceling the ones you no longer use or don’t provide value to you is an easy way to save some scratch. Taking a few hours this weekend to complete your subscriptions could save you $100-$200 per month. You’ve already reached 10 to 20 percent of your $1k goal!
2. Call the retention department. Internet and cell providers spend a few hundred bucks each to acquire a new customer, so they would rather make a deal with you than lose you to a competitor. Before you call, see what other providers are charging in your area. Then call your provider and ask to be transferred to the retention department; Frontline customer service representatives typically don’t have the authority to offer good discounts. Let them know that you’ve been a loyal customer, that your bill has increased, and that competitor X is offering a better deal. So just stay calm and let them do the work. It may seem strange to negotiate like this, but a 30-minute call can cut $50 or more from your monthly bill.
3. Buy your insurance. Most people set up their auto and homeowners policies once and never think about them again. Insurance companies know this and trust it. Rates on loyal customers continue to increase year after year while the good deals trickle down to new customers. Spend an evening getting quotes from three or four carriers, or let an independent agent do the shopping for you. Buying both policies again can save you $100 or more per month, and bundling them with the same carrier usually saves even more. I did this a few years ago and saved $500 a month in just a few hours (this is not common – but it is possible!).
4. Bring your lunch to work. A $10 lunch out may not seem like a big deal at the moment, but over the course of several weekdays, it really adds up. Brown-bagging is a classic money-saving strategy for a reason. Eat leftovers from last night’s dinner, or watch how I whip up a macro-friendly, nutrient-packed lunch for just $3. Depending on how much you’re currently eating out and how much you’re spending on those meals, bringing your lunch from home could save you up to $250 per month.
5. Freeze your expenses for 30 days. For a month, exercise restraint on your discretionary spending: no restaurant dinners, no drive-thru coffee, and no takeout. A night out at a restaurant or two a week, along with a daily coffee, leaves an extra $200-$300 in your pocket. Use the library instead of buying new books. Instead of going to the movies, stay at home and watch the movie. If you’re looking to buy a new piece of gym equipment or a new shirt, put it off for a month and use that money toward your $1,000 goal.
6. Put your skills to work on nights and weekends. So far we’ve been talking about how to make cuts to reach the $1,000 goal. But you can get there faster if you start bringing in some extra cash. One way to do this is by moonlighting. You probably have some skills and knowledge that you can put to work during your leisure time. Freelance in his professional field, conducting youth sports games, teaching guitar lessons, being a foreign language teacher. Those are just some thoughts that came out of my mind; I’m sure you have many more.
7. Sell your stuff. Another way to put some extra effort toward your $1,000 goal is to offload your unwanted possessions. Most of us have hundreds of dollars of idle cash lying around in our garages and closets in the form of old smartphones, books, tools, sporting goods, and clothes we never wear. Have a garage sale without a garage. Take photos of things you no longer need over the weekend and list them on Facebook Marketplace, Nextdoor, or Poshmark. You can easily get $200-$500. You get a cleaner house to boot.
