Some extra money could go a long way, the trouble is where to get it? No problem, take a look at these novel ideas for stretching your means
We would all love a bit of extra money every now and again. An opportunity to boost our income. Not only do people tend to live to their means but this can often mean you don’t ever progress. It’s a sad fact that money helps us get on with life. It can allow us to experience a different kind of lifestyle. Do things we never thought possible, or see places that we just thought would stay on our bucket lists. But a lot of the time these things are more within our reach than we believe.
People tend to stick with what they have because they don’t see how they can improve their situation. But there are many ways you can boost your income. Some may offer small amounts; others may pay off greatly. But without taking that step who knows what opportunities are waiting for you. With that in mind, I thought I would share with you some of the ways you could boost your income. I hope that this inspires you to make some changes.
Start with looking at things at home
Many times people don’t realise they have the power to boost their monthly disposable income. Just by making some changes at home. It’s shocking how much people waste each month by not being proactive with their finances. Which is why I thought I would start with some of the easy ways you can boost your income that many of us could try right away.
Your household bills
What a lot of households do is tend to let the monthly bills be paid each month. They leave your account, and that’s the end of the matter. You’re happy because you are paying what is owed, and the companies are happy because they are getting paid. A lot of the time however, you are paying out way too much and this is a big opportunity missed for boosting your income.
What people tend to do is stick with the same company as they think loyalty stands for a lot. Whereas new customers tend to get the best deals and rates. This is why switching providers for some of your bills could see you getting a big saving. It’s much easier than you think and a lot of the time the companies handle the change for you. They’re just happy for the new business. So take advantage of those offers and get saving.
Your food shopping bill
One of the biggest expenses many households have is the food shopping bill. Each week you spend money, and each week you probably waste a lot. However, there is an easy solution for overspending on your food shopping, which is to simply plan your meals in advance. This enables you only to buy what you need because you are in possession of a shopping list.
A shopping list means you don’t buy things that will get wasted. But there is another money-saver which many people don’t take advantage of: discount coupons and voucher codes. These can offer dramatic savings when used on the things you buy regularly.
Selling unwanted items
We all have cupboards full of things we don’t need. So rather than let them gather dust, why not consider selling some of them. I understand some items won’t have a value, but others will. It’s better then that they find their way into your bank account rather than being stored in a drawer or cupboard. Luckily, with websites like eBay, it’s easy to sell unwanted items. If you have a considerable amount of items to sell you could also do a garage sale or a car boot sale. These offer great opportunities to sell a lot of items all at once, and you don’t need to be worrying about postage.
Look at your debts
Debt can be one of the biggest costs to your income each month. Of course, it all needs to be paid back. But why not be super frugal about it and ease up the amount you pay each month. A great way of doing this is consolidating debts into one payment. This can be done by getting a loan instead. You save on interest and also have a payment plan to have it all repaid back. Alternatively, you could switch a credit card balance to a new provider offering zero interest. The amount you pay then reduces your balance, instead of paying out interest.
Look at potential money makers from your computer
There are many ways you can earn extra money by just sitting at your computer. If you find yourself in the position where you have spare time at home, put it to good use and boost your income each month.
Start a blog
Starting a blog is a great way to boost your income. Especially if you have a creative side and enjoy writing. Starting a blog is a lovely hobby that could potentially develop into a money maker for you. However, what people have to remember is blogging for income doesn’t just happen overnight. So consider this as more of a long-term option. You can start off by setting up a free blog on websites like WordPress. If you are unsure, there are plenty of tutorials online.
Get paid to take surveys
Many companies value the feedback of the consumer. So there are plenty of websites online offering you the chance to fill out surveys and be paid for offering your opinion. If you have the time to sit down and do it, this can potentially boost your income.
Mystery shopping
Another method that companies are happy to pay out for is mystery shopping. It helps them see what goes on in their business on a day-to-day basis. It could be anything from working out their websites to sampling food in a restaurant.
Consider investing in the stock market
Investing in the stock market can offer great returns for you. However, out of all the income-boosting options it could be the riskiest. Still, without risk, you don’t get great rewards. The thing to consider would be to do your research extensively. Check out websites that offer great insights into the current stock market. For example, you could read Money Morning today. It offers excellent insights into current trends and could prove to be very informative. What you must remember though, is to have a budget for these initiatives. There are many different areas you could invest in, from things like penny stocks to some of the bigger companies.
Make your savings work harder
If you are one of those people who have saved hard, then a great thing to consider would be to make that money work harder.
Fix them into long-term bonds
Savings will earn a much higher interest if you are prepared to place them in things like a long-term, fixed bond. However, these tend to not offer easy access to your money. Meaning if you withdraw any funds you could end up losing that inviting interest rate. But if you don’t need easy access, interest rates from bonds could prove to offer great earning potential.
Get higher interest on different accounts
If you do need access to savings then why not look at the accounts on offer. You may not have the best interest rate available. It doesn’t mean switching bank accounts. But sometimes having your money in different places could boost your income potential.
Make big investments
Of course, there will always be big money-earning potential on bigger investments. This is where you need to consider your financial position and what you could potentially do to boost your income.
Buy additional properties for rental income
If you have the means to buy another property then why wouldn’t you? Buying property can be big business. Especially if it comes to renting it out. What this can do is provide you with an additional income to your salary each month. It will mean tying up any funds you have into a property, but as an investment, these tend to be fairly safe options.
Alternatively, buying property and renovating is an excellent way to boost the balance on your bank account. Many people don’t have the time or know how to do this. However, if you do, or know someone who does, then buying property, renovating it and then selling could be a big profit maker. For more ideas check out websites like http://www.telegraph.co.uk.
Consider a holiday let
Another thing you could consider is to buy a property abroad to rent out. Vacation or holiday lettings can prove popular. The main things to consider would be the location and type of property you buy. You will also need to do extensive research on the laws of buying a property in your chosen location.
Make personal changes
Finally, sometimes the best way to boost your income is to take a good hard look at yourself. What is it you are doing now? Have you got the potential to boost your income?
Change your job
Why not consider changing your job. If you are unhappy, now could be the perfect time to change careers and see where a new line of work could take you. The only person stopping yourself from improving will be you.
Work for a promotion
Alternatively, if you are enjoying your job but want to build on it and perhaps climb the career ladder, then seek out ways to boost your income by gaining a promotion. It might mean learning new skills or being innovative in the workplace. But of course, in the long term, it will be worth it.
Hopefully there is enough here to inspire you to boost your income.
DISCLAIMER: The articles on our website are not endorsed by, or the opinions of Shout Out UK (SOUK), but exclusively the views of the author.
