Make Money

Tips on How to Earn More Money

Many of us would like to have more money and earning more can be a good way to get it. Whether we want to repay loans, save more or just have more money to spend, then earning more will certainly help us out. However, it is not always easy to do this, particularly if you have a job where there is no chance of a pay rise and you have very little spare time to do extra work or have family commitments. There still might be some ways to earn a bit extra though and it is worth investigating them as they could make a significant difference to you.

Sell things you no longer need

It can be worth looking through your possessions from time to time to see what you might be able to sell. Most of us have things that we do not need, perhaps because we no longer use them, fit in them or were given then and they were not to our taste. Anything can be potentially sold, particularly if it is in good condition. By selling things you will be able to get some more money. It is wise though to make sure that you are selling them in the right place. There are different markets for different items. Do some research and find out where certain things seem to sell well and this should help you to get the best price and more guaranteed sales from the items that you sell. Although this will raise a lump sum of money, it will not be a regular income. It can certainly be useful to have it, but you might hope to have something more long term that will help you out for longer.

Rent out rooms in your home

Something you could consider is renting out any spare rooms that you may have in your home. This not just the suggestion that you might want to consider a lodger, but you could go beyond this. You could decide to offer a bed and breakfast service which could give your more money although may take more work. An alternative is to rent out garage or loft space for storage. Some people are really desperate for space to store things and they will be prepared to pay for it. You will have to under cut any local storage facilities in order to be competitive. For any of these you will have to check to make sure you are allowed to do them. You could be restricted under planning restrictions, by your mortgage company, your landlord or your insurer. You will need to check out these things before you start.

Do some work from home

It can be tricky having to go outside of the home to work, particularly if you have a family to look after, have health issues or do not feel like going back out after work. However, you could find work at home, which might help you to earn extra without so much effort. You might be able to do overtime in your current job like this and earn extra, although this is rare. It is more likely that you will need to find extra work. There are work from home websites that you can use to find jobs, although you do need to be careful of these. Some are genuine but there are others that will make you pay money upfront and perhaps not get you any work at all. You will be wise to look at reviews first and never pay any money out as the idea is that you should be being paid not paying out!

Start a business

Starting a business is something that many people want to try as they feel that it will be an easy way to make money. It is actually a very hard way to make money as it is likely that you will be working very hard and perhaps not even making any money at all to start with. However, if you have a skill that you think is worth selling or have a hobby that you would like to monetise then it could work for you. Do make sure though that you are not starting something that will take a huge financial investment. This could mean that it will be a long time before you start making any money; if you manage to at all. Start off doing something like freelance work, running sewing classes or selling your paintings as they have very little upfront costs and you can make money from doing something you enjoy. You can also pick your own hours to fit around any other work you have as well as any other commitments. Of course, the more time you can commit; the more money you are likely to make.

Budgeting

How to Reduce What you Spend on a Night Out

When we go on a night out it can be easy to get carried away with spending money. We may hardly realise how much we are spending until afterwards and find that we have gone overboard and spent a lot more than perhaps we had intended to. There are things that we can do though, which will help to make sure that you are not spending so much money.

Set a budget

It can be wise to set a budget before you go out. Consider how much you can afford and stick to that. By doing this it might restrict where you can go and how long you can stay for. So, if you wanted to watch a film, have something to eat, go to a bar and a club then this will really add up. However, if you eat at home, and watch the film and go to the bar but also skip the club, it will cost you considerably less. You will be best to think about how much each part will cost and then you will know whether you can afford to do all of it or just a select amount.

Even if you plan carefully, it can sometimes be hard to stick to a budget. You might find it easier if you take cash to spend and no cards, so once you run out of money you cannot spend any more. It can be tricky if those you are with try to encourage you to stay longer, spend more or whatever, so it can be wise to tell them that you are budgeting and so will be limited. Of course, if you have had a few drinks, then you may find it harder to stick to your plans. If you have someone with you who is supportive, they might be able to help you to stick to it.

Go out less

An alternative idea is to go out less often. This will allow you to go out and spend what you normally do, but as you are going less often, then you will still reduce the amount that you spend in total. It might feel hard having to go without like this, but if you can still afford to go out sometimes it means that you will not be missing out completely and you might even find that you appreciate the opportunity a lot more because you are not doing it so much.

This can be a tricky thing to do if you are encouraged by other to still go out or if you really enjoy going out so feel like you are being deprived. However, if you think about your goal to spend less money on going out, then this could help you to not feel so bad about missing out as you will be achieving something by doing so.

Find cheaper places to go

It could be possible for you to go to cheaper places. For example, if you are eating out then there is likely to be a big range of different places that you can pick between to eat. It might be that you normally choose somewhere quite pricey and you can go somewhere cheaper or you can be more careful in what you order and make sure that you check the prices and order something cheap. The same goes for bars and clubs as they can vary in price. You will also find that drinks vary in price too and if you either go for cheaper options or drink more slowly, you will be able to save money. Even if the choices you are making are only making small differences, if you go out a lot then those savings have the potential of adding up to be quite significant.

Make sure others pay their share

Sometimes you might find that it seems to be you that is paying for everything when you go out. If you can afford to do this, then that is fine, but sometimes you get into the habit of doing it and then find that perhaps you are then in a situation where you can no longer afford it. Or it might be the case that you go out as a group and one person always seems to pay out less than everyone else. This can be problematic and asking others to then pay their share can be a difficult subject to bring up. However, perhaps you could start by hinting that you are finding money a bit tight or tell them you have loans to repay or things like that and it might make an impact on them and they might think about paying more. It could be that they are in the same situation themselves and cannot afford to pay their share. It might then come up and you might be able to think of a way between you, where you can all spend less money.