If one of your goals for 2019 include saving money or paying off debt, you’ll find this useful!
The thing about big goals like this is that they seem insurmountable – so we give up either before we even start or soon after. We don’t see progress as fast as we’d like, so we tell ourselves it’s not really worth it (like fitness goals, too!).
But this is such an important step to take in life if you want to experience financial freedom.
Here are a few pretty simple steps to take to help you meet your savings or debt payoff goal:
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Start a Side Hustle
You don’t have to start your own business from scratch. There are several companies that will hire you as an independent contractor to fulfill needs.
Belay
They hire virtual assistants to help clients fulfill general everyday tasks as well as more specific, specialized tasks like bookkeeping, social media management, and web development.
If you’ve got specialized training in any of those or just love getting paid to help others get stuff done, then this might be perfect for you!
Bonus? They have excellent reviews on glassdoor from current and former virtual assistants, so you can rest assured that this is a great gig!
Rev
Rev is a transcription company that hires and trains people to transcribe audio files submitted by its clients.
The hiring process is very straightforward. Just fill out a simple online application, then do the practice transcription that they give you. If you pass, you’re in. You’ll be placed under a watchful eye at first, which I found to be very helpful. But once you get the hang of it, you’ll be allowed more freedom.
There’s a super fast turnaround time and you can potentially start earning on Rev within 24 hours of applying and qualifying!
Lionbridge
Lionbridge partners with search engine giants to improve results, performance, and user experience. When you join with them as a rater, you’ll actually be considered an employee instead of an independent contractor (which could help you come tax time).
The application process is simple, but there is a pretty rigorous test involved. They provide very detailed study material that will coincide with the test, so just make sure you go through it thoroughly.
If you’re hired, you’ll be expected to work a minimum of 10 hours per week, but can work up to 24. There are no set working hours, so it’s great for stay-at-home-moms or those with 9-5s!
Cut the Cord
Can I have a moment of silence for the loss of my cable services please?
………………………………….
Thank you.
You see, today. TODAY. We cut the cord.
It’s not the first time we’ve done it, but our contract was up and the bill would have been ridiculous to keep it.
But I literally just sat down to watch the news/have background noise on while I work and quickly realized I can’t do that anymore.
We will save nearly $100/month – money we can reroute to other areas of our budget. Like savings. And our water bill that will be taking a 21% increase (UGH!).
At the end of the day, we’ll survive without cable. And I’m guessing you may be able to survive, too.
With services like Netflix, Hulu, DirectTV Now, Sling, YouTube TV, and Fubo, you can watch just about everything you would normally watch on cable. But for much cheaper.
Open an Online Savings Account to Minimize Temptation
I did this for us recently.
Lemme be honest. I found myself just transferring money back over from my savings account into my checking when it was part of the same bank. NOT HELPFUL!
So I opened up an account with Synchrony so that the money I put in isn’t as easily accessible to me. You can even set it up to auto-debit your checking account so you can put saving on auto-pilot. That’s definitely just what I need in my life.
I chose Synchrony for the APY (annual percentage yield) as it had the highest at the time of my research. But some others are Ally, CIT, and Barclay’s.
Eat Out Less
Whatever your eating out habits are, they can likely be cut back on.
Several months ago, we would have plead guilty to eating takeout or at restaurants 3-4 times PER WEEK. We, admittedly, just got lazy. In both the budgeting and cooking departments.
Now, however, we’re back to living within a pretty rigid budget and eat out at most 1-2 times per week. And we try to limit those restaurants to counter-service and healthier options.
Just that tiny change has given us a whole lot more room in our budget for debt payoff or savings.
Eating at home more often also helps us eat healthier and we honestly feel way better in part because of it.
Plan Your Meals
Head to the grocery store with a plan. If you don’t, all you’re left with is a recipe for disaster (haha, get it?!).
I like to use emeals, a meal-planning and grocery list service, to plan our weekly meals and grocery lists. It does come with a yearly fee, but the savings in time and impulse purchases outweigh it by a landslide.
But if that’s not your jam, you can always just plan your recipes using free recipe sites online.
I’m Curious!
Do you have any money saving tips for us? Let me know in the comments!
Post written by Millennial Mompreneur. Millennial Mompreneur may have financial relationships with the merchants and companies mentioned or seen on this site. We are not responsible for any actions taken by users. For more information see our disclosure page.