If someone were to tell you right now, based on your current income and all of your bills that you had, to save $1,000 within the next two months, would you believe that you could do it? What if I told you that it was possible? I know you may be giving me the side-eye or screaming “How, Sway?!” at your computer screen, but it is possible to pocket an extra $1,000 using practical budgeting, hard work, and creativity.
One-thousand dollars sounds like a huge number, but if you had eight weeks to save up that amount, then you only need to save or generate $125 a week. I wanted to see if this would work, so I used my life and my own funds as the starting point. I began by making note of all my income and all of my expenses. Once I laid out how much money I had coming in versus how much was going out, I then looked at items I spent the most money on once the bills were paid. I found several areas where I knew that if I cut back, I could save almost $100 a week.
Next, I took a practical approach on how I could generate income based on my skill-set and demand to create different streams of income. Using the model of saving money and generating money, I came up with a few ways a BAUCE could either save money or generate up to $1,000 in two months.
Here’s how to save $1000 in two months
Manicures and Pedicures: A lot of women’s budgets include getting their nails done as a necessity. Let’s say you spent $80 on a manicure and pedicure every two weeks. If you went without getting a mani and pedi for two months you would save $320 dollars.
Entertainment: How many times a week do you go out to eat or hang out with friends? For argument’s sake, let’s say you went out twice a month and spent $50. If you stayed in or invited friends over to your home instead, you would save $200.
Food: Bring your breakfast, lunch, and snacks to work. Most people will opt to bring their lunch but they rarely remember the $4 coffee and the $5 bagel with eggs and bacon that’s purchased every morning for breakfast. And you definitely don’t remember to count the number of times you go to the vending machine or corner store for a midday snack. If you spent $10 a day on snacks and breakfast, then that means you spend $200 a month. If you began to bring your own breakfast, lunch, and snacks to work, you could save up to $400 dollars in two months.
Re-examine your bills: Look at your cable and phone bills. Do they have any specials where you could get a discount? I took a look at my current cell phone bill and realized I was paying a fee that I didn’t even need. That shaved off $20 from my monthly bill.
Monthly subscription bills: Magazines, Netflix, Hulu, and whatever cool monthly box subscriptions you receive with random items per month all add up. Re-examine what subscriptions you need and don’t need. Decide what can go — even if it’s just for two months.
Couponing: Spending money on groceries is an expense that we can’t go without but we can develop a new way to save. Couponing is a great way to help alleviate the grocery bill and save some extra cash. Using basic couponing skills, I was able to save $50 on groceries for the month.
Here’s how to generate $1,000 in two months
Maybe you’ve looked at your income and your bills and you don’t see where you can budget because expenses are super tight. In this case, you need to generate additional streams of income.
Working overtime: One way to generate extra income if you have a 9-5 is to do overtime. Some of the benefits of doing overtime at your job is that you don’t have to pick up an extra job. You may also be able to receive time and a half while doing overtime at your current job.
Surveys: Believe it or not you can make up to $100 for participating in a survey. Some colleges will pay students and non-students to participate in surveys for their research projects. You can also participate in general surveys online and receive payment.
Sell your clothing: You might be sitting on a gold mine and you don’t even know it. Go through your clothing and other items that you can sell and take them to your nearest Salvation Army or Buffalo Exchange and cash in on clothing you don’t plan on wearing.
Charge for your talent or skill: Are you the friend that can cook or make the best coquito during the holiday season? Are you good at creating resumes or editing work? It’s time to start charging people for things you would normally do anyway. Even if it’s a small fee you can create a side hustle from a talent you already possess. You can start by signing up with Fiverr or Upwork.
Buy and Sell Domain names: In the world of the .com you can buy and sell domain names. Grab a pen and paper, choose a niche, think of some hot keywords within the niche, purchase a domain name, and then sell it. Flippa is a great place to start.
BAUCES, there is nothing like having some money in your savings account for a rainy day or an emergency. What tips would you add to help save or generate $1,000 in two month?
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