Save Coins
At the end of the day, put all of your change into a jar. Do not touch the money until the jar is full, then roll the coins and deposit them into your savings account at the bank.
Go Cheap
Eat at home all week and serve super cheap meals (macaroni and cheese, quesadillas, pasta with sauce, tacos, pancakes for dinner, homemade or canned soup and grilled cheese, etc.). The money you save on your grocery bill and eating out can be put into savings. (Please Note: This is a short-term strategy. Eating cheaper food over the long term can be detrimental to your health.)
Sell, Sell, Sell
Find things in your house and garage that you can sell on Craigslist or other online websites. Books, musical instruments, video games, recent dvd’s, nice children’s clothing and furniture in good shape are all good sellers. You can also use the Amazon Trade-In Program and get Amazon.com credit. Read more here.
Go Part Time
Get a part time job delivering pizza or working as a waiter in a popular restaurant where you can earn tips. You can also work part time at retail stores, or start your own business. Easy businesses to start are house cleaning or lawn care services, pet sitting and personal shopping. Make sure to check the laws governing small businesses in your area.
Recycle
Call your local recycling center to see if they pay for aluminum cans or scrap metal. Let your neighbors know you’re collecting soda cans or ask a local business if you can collect their used cans.
Other Money Making Ideas
One easy way to make a little extra cash is by participating in online surveys. Click here for My Top 5 Favorite Survey Sites.
If you are a blogger, check out my How to Make Money Blogging post here.
Another way to bring in more income is to start a small home-based business. Some ideas are: lawn care/landscaping; baby sitting/in-home childcare; house cleaning; pet sitting or grooming business; garage clean up; baking/catering.
You can also buy things at yard sales like used clothing, musical instruments, books or toys and resell them on eBay or Craig’s List. Be sure to research the regulations in your area and check with an accountant regarding tax implications. You may also want to check with your auto insurance company as delivering food or goods for money may negate your policy in the event of an accident. Check the exclusions in your insurance paperwork.
How have you earned extra cash? Leave a comment. (Legal ideas only, please. 🙂 )
next post: Reader Questions-Where Do You Live, Govt. Assistance and more
Click here to see all the posts in this series.
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We do eat cheap some nights (kids prefer the cheap food anyways).
I also use freecycle to get items – I have asked for kids clothes before (definitely a hit or miss there) but one time I asked for my dd1 and when I was there the lady asked if I had any boys and what size – ended up getting 5 large boxes of clothes for dd1 and ds1 (winter and summer clothes).
I also use swagbucks and superpoints to earn extra money – redeem my points for amazon gcs.
I’ve started to make more of my own things – I have made laundry detergent and recently have tried conditioner and deodorant.
It is kind of funny but we have a few of the cheap meals you mention each week. I don’t even think of them as really cheap but I guess that is what makes us keep our food budget.
A way I am earning extra cash right now is tutoring just a couple of hours a week.
That is exactly what we do to keep our budget. I make homemade soup that will feed us for 2 nights in the week or we eat homemade hummus and veggies for dinner. Eat “vegetarian” for 2-3 nights in a week and you would be surprised how cheap you can feed your family those nights.
Vegetarian meals are very healthy. Eating less less red meat, sugar, and fats is very heart healthy. Using olive oil, eating hummus, grains, veggies and fruits is very good for you.
No thanks! I would rather eat healthy =)
THANK YOU!!!! I was just thinking the same thing!
My first thought when I saw that was similar. However, you can eat healthfully and frugally. My own family does not thrive on the particular “cheap” meals Kimberlee mentioned, but that does not mean you cannot plan home-cooked meals that are cheaper than the “average”. One of the easiest ways is the prevent waste and serve appropriate serving sizes. Another is eliminate juices, but serve seasonal or on-sale-only fruit. A homemade, from-scratch pizza with lean ground beef and vegetables, light on the cheese is healthy and frugal. It’s definitely cheaper than the “Buy a Large, get a Medium free” coupon “deal” from the pizza chain (and certainly healthier).
And dry beans are super-duper cheap, full of protien and fiber. A very healthy and very cheap meal!
She didn’t say eat cheap processed junk. Bean and cheese quesadillas on whole wheat tortillas, black bean tacos, sweet potato pancakes, homemade veggie soup, spaghetti w/ a veggie marinara sauce…a little extra time in the kitchen to make HOMEMADE meals = cheap and healthy.
actually, my husband and I are what I call “part time vegans”…and we save a TON on groceries. we initially started eating like this to better our health, but soon realized the financial savings. eating foods like legumes, whole grains (rice, whole wheat pastas, etc), fruits, veggies, is incredibly healthy. some of our fav dinners: cucumber, avocado, hummus and spinach sandwich with sautéed onions and kale as a side…grilled tofu with broccoli and rice….”mexican night” (whole wheat tortilla wraps, black beans, rice, avocado, spinach, salsa), and homemade soups.
In Michigan (where I live), pop cans are worth 10 cents each (Michigan deposit). I like to bring a bag with me and walk around town picking up the cans people throw away or toss out the window of their cars. 😀
I’m shocked at the amount of cans I find in the garbage and sides of the road in Michigan.
no kidding! I was thinking the same thing. Eating crummy foods will catch up to you in the long run, especially in the states where you have no universal health care 🙁
I have fallen in love with garbanzo bean tacos – simply use 2 cans of beans instead of ground beef. I like to rinse and drain the beans, then add a packet of taco seasoning and 3/4 c. water. Healthier than meat and very filling 🙂
Define what you mean by healthy?
I started doing this about a month ago and it’s already half full. I was curious to see how much it weighed since its pretty heavy, and it’s almost 5lbs of change, lol! I can’t wait to fill it up completely!
We have a “found money” bucket at home. If anyone finds money, it has to go into the pot no matter how much it is. The kids are very observant and pay attention around them and you would be surprised how much money is laying on the ground.
The kids also have to save up their own money to buy big things they want. Right now they are working on earning the Kinect for Xbox. I REALLY want one for me (don’t tell) but no way that my husband and I can fork up enough right now to get it for them. They have been doing jobs for different people. People are very eager to help them raise money when they want to work for it. They will be getting their Kinect this week. 🙂
Garage sale!! Last year my mom and I started a Craft Yard Sale. We offered to let anyone else who wanted to to bring only craft items to sell. Paper, inks, stamps, paints, accessories, scrapbook items, sewing items anything that had to do with any type of craft. They could also bring craft things they made too. We also sold baked goods. And advertised very well. It was amazing! We made over $400 in one day and it was so busy all the time. It was amazing and ladies LOVE craft items! Going to do it again this year!
Love the idea of a craft themed yard sale Tammy!
I work as a waitress and my husband is in the military. Money is not as plentiful as people would like to think it is, but that is why I work the part time waitressing job. I take the change, throw it in a jar, and use it for Christmas and it really helps. I also take $5 and put in in a pickle jar (LOL) every day that I work and we have managed to put a lot back already! We recycle our cans, and I’ve started making crafts to sell and people are already interested in them! There are a lot of ways to make extra money with not much effort 🙂
I LOVE the $5 a day idea Miranda!
I enjoy doing mystery shops to supplement our income. I can choose when and where to work, so I make my own schedule. In larger cities there are a lot of mystery shops available, but in more rural areas, it might be more difficult to get a lot. In my mid-size city, I COULD do this full-time, if I chose, but I adjust to my life at that moment. There are months I only do 2 shops all month and other times I do 8 shops in a day, 5 days a week. I do make a little bit of cash doing the shops, but generally, they elevate our lifestyle, allowing us to go out to eat, buy niceties for ourselves, get the van washed, etc and be reimbursed for doing it. I also love doing shops when we take road trips, as they help keep our costs down.
There are a LOT of mystery shopping scams out there though, so it is important to educate yourself and know that if it sounds too good to be true, it likely is. There are companies that do mystery shops at banks, but they will NEVER send you a money order for you to do the shop (the most common scam). I have a few blog posts on my blog, The Happy Wife, about getting started with mystery shopping. Feel free to check them out by searching for mystery shopping in the search bar on the blog.
Thanks for the information Danielle!
There are tons of ways to make extra cash now, that we need pointed out to us because we simply don’t think of it. For me in this article it was the can thing, I wish we used cans now. lol. Anyway though I’ve found a great way as a full time student to be able earn for my family, which currently only includes myself and my husband who works part time and attends college part time. And we DJ events on the weekends. We can pay for the necessaries but when it comes to Christmas or a b-day gift it’s impossible. I started Swagbucks in April 2011 and paid for a good portion of Christmas this way. This yr my goal is to save save save and do all of Christmas this way! I recommend it to all my friends. It does take a lot of time, but no one said you had to sit down and devote your sole attention to it. I study or watch tv while doing it, as I treat it like a job because it is so important to us.
We found a market research company a couple years ago that does mystery shops. Between the commissions and reimbursements($10 reimbursement at our local grocery chain!) we usually make more than an extra $1000/year. My husband has been donation plasma twice a week since I was in college. We were able to pay cash for most of my college tuition! That brings in an extra $200 or more each month. The extra little stuff is what keeps our heads above water.
Would you mind giving the name of the company? I’ve searched Google and tried every way to find a legitimate company, but all the ones I find are a scam :[
I would be extra careful about donating plasma. I donated plasma twice a week for a few months once, and my legs puffed up like balloons (pitting edema). My body wasn’t able to replace the protein in the plasma fast enough. I had to have all sorts of tests and everything because they thought my heart or kidneys were having problems, but it was only plasma donation. That was three years ago now, and I still have edema issues on and off.
Also, the donation centers have been paying less and less in recent years because so many people are donating. The supply is greater than the demand.
I would consider cutting back on spending before any sort of money making idea that could harm your health.
I have used Volition to find reputable companies since 2000, not only for mystery shopping but other companies that pay you for various things. They also have message boards that you can use to find out if anyone has had better luck or bad experiences with certain companies. http://www.volition.com/mystery.html
I have also had great luck with Market Force and IntelliShop, all listed under Volition’s list. You should never, ever have to pay a fee to be a mystery shopper…those are the scams! Good luck!
One thing I do to get extra cash every once in a while is participate in focus groups. I registered with some local market research firms and every 3-6 months, they’ll contact me about participating in a research study. $75-$150 for 3 hours of talking about what I like/don’t like? Yes, please. And they usually provide a sandwich and chips for dinner too!
I do make the cheaper meals. It is also a nice break for me for cooking too, because it is quick! 🙂 I save aluminum cans, sell things on craigslist. Craigslist can be a hit or miss at times though. I have a part time job during the tax season, which is coming to a close here for the season real quick! Because of my scrapbooking addiction (lol), I am on a DT so I can get product for almost free.
Have a boutique night and invite family and friends to bring clothes and household items they don’t need as well as one or two pot luck dishes with recipe cards. A great way to try out new recipes, get rid of things you can’t use, and have a fun time with friends while finding things you need. 🙂
Great idea Annmarie–thanks!
I love this idea! Family time and finding new use for old items 🙂 Great post Annmarie!
What an awesome idea 🙂
My college roommate sold her plasma regularly for pocket money. THe more frequently she went, the more they paid her. Worth looking into, as long as you are not too afraid of needles (like me!)
man, i wish that was legal in canada! i used to donate about once a week, but it was for free!!!
Since my husbands lay off he has been working as a mechanic thru craigslist. He is using his skills and cutting prices in half For people so he gains work that way. he has been able to buy a few groceries and keep gas in my tank so i can Go work the steady salary. Thank God payday is tomorrow at midnight….bc we are sooo late On the rent, car payment, & ins. I am also a Mary Kay Sr. image consultant. I work my business about 3 hrs a week Right now and bring in extra $$ that way too.
We make our own laundry detergent that lasts 9 months. I make homemade whole wheat bread and wheat pizza crusts. I always have food on hand for stir fries and pizzas because they can be made quickly and without much effort. This keeps us from eating out. Also I’ve found that the mac n cheese/cheap meals aren’t satisfying or filling for my family. It’s cheap to begin with but then we always want more food or crave sweets which ends up costing us more money. Eating a variety of in season and on sale veggies, fruits and whole grains keeps us all satisfied, healthy and budget friendly.
We try to eat in season produce as well. This was just a temporary idea for those who need to get some cash quickly. 🙂
We use mac and cheese for an occasional cheap dinner, but I always doctor it up. Adding a few tbs of sauteed onions, a bag of frozen broccoli and a few strips of crumbled bacon are inexpensive and really add some flavor (and veggies!) to an otherwise worthless meal.
We add frozen veggies to pretty much every cheap/fast meal I make- top ramen, spaghetti, boxed dinners… My son and hubby can eat quite a bit, and veggies add inexpensive bulk (and nutrition) to meals!
I like the whole wheat pizza crust idea, Michaela. Make some dough, separate and freeze. I will be doing this right away 🙂 My mom swears by making up weekly or bi-weekly menus. She says this is “the” way to stay on a budget. Take your menu to the market with you and get what you need. If someone doesn’t feel like that particular meal that night, then swap for one of the other meals you have planned for later in the week.
Even better than whole wheat (There’s hardly such a thing anymore, thank you very little GMO foods) is a zucchini cut in half lengthwise and used as crust. Throw cheese and marinara and toppings on it, in the oven and WHOOPDEEOO. FIZZA (Fake-pizza, anybody?) I have to admit I stole this one from pinterest. And grow your own zucchini! It grows like a beast in a garden for DIRT (harhar) cheap.
We use cash to make purchases for food and household items. When I get back coins from paying for each purchase I put them in my pocket, then when I arrive home I add them to our extra payment jar. All the coins my husband and I collect each month goes towards making an extra payment on our mortgage. We usually get $20/ month which adds up to $240/year. That ends up being almost 1/2 of an extra payment for almost no effort and I don’t really miss the spare change in my purse.
Carrie, I love that you apply the change to something specific.
I’m a teacher and in the afternoons I babysit- if you have experience with Special Needs kids and have a few hours to spare, you can make great $$ watching some great kids.
I earn twice as much $ watching special needs kids as I do watching “average” kiddos.
Care.com is a great resource to use, and it’s FREE! You can advertise what you’re good at, and you can also request services (tutoring, babysitting, pet sitting).
I use the cash towards gas and unexpected expenses.. it’s helped a lot!
Thanks so much Kristin!
A good way to “plump up” cheap meals is to add a can of diced tomatoes or a package of green beans to mac and cheese or hamburger helper. If you buy a twin pack of HH and only use half a # of ground beef in each, it goes a lot further. My husband now prefers less meat in his HH and loves when I add a can of rotel for a little spice!
ground turkey is usually cheaper too! I can get a pound of ground turkey for $1.29 and my kids love it.
Great tip–thanks Amanda!
I usually mash baked beans (or any other sort of beans) into the mince for shepard’s pie, meat balls or even just a pasta. This really makes the meat go much much further and you don’t even taste it!
Another great place to sell your stuff on (if your outside the US) is Gumtree. I’ve sold all my unwanted things on there. It not only earns you extra cash but helps you to de-clutter.
Affiliate marketing has done wonders for me too – although I work in marketing. There are a lot of free sites out there willing to teach you how to do this – even if they give you only a basic outline, you can Google the rest. Don’t fall for some “guy” wanting to show you “how to earn financial freedom today” at the “low low cost of only $19.99”
I’ve also learnt to save some money through not buying ready made(sugar-free) sodas but to buy the concentrate and then making it at home. This really helps my money stretch even further.
As one or two other people also mentioned: making expensive products at home also helps. I make my own base blusher, face lotion, body butter, multipurpose cleaner, make-up remover, shampoo, airfreshner and shower gel (just to name a few).
Surprisingly, if you can find a good health store in your area (or I’m sure in the US you can buy most of the things you need for cheap at Walmart), this saves you a ton of money. In the last year alone I’ve saved over $6 400 on my general purchases alone (and I don’t even use expensive make-up or top-of-the-range cleaning products). Go have a look on Pinterest or Google homemade recipes and you’d be surprised what you can make yourself.
Sorry for the long comment but I hope it helps! =)
Great ideas–thanks Adele!
Raise chickens – you can usually do this no matter where you live, but check local zoning just in case. I have friends with a tiny yard who can raise chickens – free eggs and/or meat =) Another thought is SELL everything you don’t use anymore – even if it seems silly to sell it – SELL IT! You’d be suprised how many people troll craigslist and ebay to buy just what you need to sell. Find a service job that you can do in your own time – like, give piano lessons, teach a sewing class, teach anything you can get people to pay you to teach!! If you put a price out there that doesn’t get any bites – lower the price and try again. My hubby teaches classes 12 hour CHL classes 2 times per month @ $75 per person – sometimes we have 5 people, sometimes 2 – but it really adds up FAST!
just an idea for those looking for cheap meals. I have at times only had very few items in the cupboards. http://www.cooks.com is an awesome site. you can type in items you have and it will bring up recipes that take those ingredients. saved my dinner delima several times.
Ways I’ve Made Extra Money:
*Selling Plasma–$30
*Taste Testing and panels for market research–$35+ each time
*Babysitting friends’ kids for date night–$40
*A couple of minimally invasive medical studies–depends
*part-time jobs tutoring and taking Santa/Easter pics at the mall–$8 to $20 per hour
*Picking things out of the dumpster/by the dumpster and reselling on Craigslist–depends
*Keep a change drawer and periodically scour the house for stray change
*coupons for restaurants, etc.
Thanks for sharing Char. 🙂
I definitely do can recycling & collecting change.
I’m an over-shopper, so I will often go through my apartment and see if I have used/worn new items. If it’s been a few weeks/months, then I obviously didn’t really need it and I return it. 🙂
Keep an eye on sale & coupon items and see if you can get price adjustments when things are marked down. I’ve made $15 just by purchasing the marked-down items and then returning them with my “old” full price receipt.
Not really $cash$, but saving money:
Use your local library for books, CDs, DVDs…. and borrow from friends. I was spending a lot on books because I would just buy them when I thought they looked good. Now I take a picture of them with my iPhone and then look them up online later to swap books on PaperBackSwap.com or purchase on Half.com.
Not really getting CASH, but who doesn’t love FREE FOOD? Search online for FREE birthday offers from restaurants and add yourself to their email list. Many of the offers are good for the week or even month of your birthday and a lot of them are really free (NSA & no need to purchase anything else). I’m keeping track of mine on my Yelp reviews:
http://www.yelp.com/list/birthday-freebies-san-diego
Another site for free book swapping is called: bookmooch.com
I get bountiful baskets! Tons and tons of locally grown produce for way cheaper than buying it at a store!
@Jacque
Start with the website which is legit
http://mysteryshop.org/shopper
from what I gather the more jobs you do and also get certified that shows these companies that you well stick with it and you get better paying assignments. There is also a book on Amazon. You are an Independent Contractor!
I have done fast food ones – and you do fill out like a resume for them.
Have you ever seen the demonstrators in the supermarket or walmart? Ask them which company they work for but don’t take up too much of their time – because their job is for a set amount of time and interaction with consumers. Observe them.
I have also done merchandising & theatre checks with this company https://www.certifiedfieldassociate.com/
I also do legitimate surveys for over 30 companies and have a pinterst board about them which I am slowly building.
Hope this helps – I also do my points, swagbucks
what are swagbucks. I live in Canada, so maybe this is why I have never heard of them?
I am not sure if they have Swagbucks in Canada, but basically it is a search engine that you use and get points for using. You can then redeem the points for Pay Pal cash, Amazon and other gift cards, as well as other prizes. You can sign up here and see if it works for you.
my husband and I have been aggressively paying on student loans. Over the past year, we have:
1. Worked for a local food delivery company (these seem to be common in college areas too)
2. Cut up all old credit cards
3. Sold items on craigslist
4. Rented a room in our house to temporary roommates found through a friend who hires for temp professional positions in our area
5. Set up a “summer fund” through our bank (I’m a teacher) 6.Consigned clothing
7. Set up a “lump sum” account for annual/semi annual bills, etc.
8. Use cash envelope system to stay in budget
9. used free trial to BJs to buy bulk items like deodorant and cleaning supplies
10. My husband uses the gas buddy app to find the cheapest gas around
11. We TRIED couponing, I have a lot to learn 🙂
12. I’ve done promotions (like at sporting events or trade shows, product demos, giving out samples)
13. We called the cable company to cancel, and they lowered our bill by $15 a month. This is what we were hoping because it would have costed us more for hubby to go out and watch the game. 🙂
14. We pack our lunch every day for work.
Also, when I was in college I sold books on Amazon to make extra money. I am thinking of trying this again soon.
Also, I highly recommend the Dave Ramsey financial course, which is where many of our ideas came from! I hope this helps someone!
All GREAT ideas–thanks Jess!
Great Ideas. this can be done.
Love Ramsey too.
Aren’t you afraid to input your SSN on these mystery shopper websites? I was filling out the sign up form and when it asked for that. I’m really afraid to enter SSN with all the personal info over the internet.
There is also GREAT money in donating plasma. It can be anywhere from $50-150 a week for about an hours worth of time. You can donate 2 times a week and there are centers all around the country. Just google “Plasma donation center.”
I noticed earlier someone mentioned picking things out of the dumpster — I live about 30 minutes away from a university.
At the end of the year when students are moving home the school puts these huge dumpsters outside the dorms for furniture and non garbage items. People throw away so many good things!!! I have found clothes (in good condition), area rugs ($50 in stores), full length mirrors, boxes of tampon, notebooks and binders, even cat food, shampoos and conditioners half used, and plenty more.
Terrific idea Brittany–thanks!
Delivering pizzas is NOT a good way to make money…too much spent on gas and too dangerous….many many pizza delivery people are robbed
growing up my family was always on a tight budget, and sadly, becuase of they way our economy has affected the food industry, that’s usually all we could afford: mac’n’cheese, ramen, canned vegetables, cheap frozen pizzas, and maybe some cheap fresh veggies like carrots and celery.
Now that I’m just starting to run and plan for my own household (just my fiance, myself, and the guinea pig right now ;] ) I want to make sure that even if we’re tight on money, (which most young couples are 😛 ) we can still eat wholesome, nourishing food.
what I’ve found is that there’s almost always a healthy, home made version of those same meals you mentioned, and they’re still very cheap. for mac’n’cheese, just use a box of pasta (probably elbow maceroni, usually 1 or 2 dollars ) and after straining, just add real greated cheese (you can usually get a whole 1/2 lb for 2 or 3 dollars) home made soup is another good one. we try to make our vegetables stretch. this week we we’re too good at it & they started decling, we made something called “ugly soup” last night. the veggies that weren’t spoiled yet, but were probably too “ugly” to want in a salad, we put in a soup with the cheap & always wonderful wholesome bag of beans. and now he has left overs to live on while I’m away for the week.
It’s not too hard to eat real good food when you’re broke, you just have to think of creative home made alternitives 🙂
Even though you are trying to cut expenses, if you do keep a credit card, get one that gives good cash rewards (Bank of America has a very good one, if you can handle dealing with that company). We use out credit card to pay or utility bills, buy groceries, gas, etc. (things we have budgeted for and can afford!) and are careful to always pay the bill in full each month. We get $300-$500 a year back in cash rewards – and they send us checks for that so you aren’t even restricted in where you can spend or save that money.
I am really glad that using a credit card works for you Stephanie, but most people don’t have the discipline to pay off the card at the end of the month and not buy things that they don’t really need. I know for me, just having a credit card is a dangerous proposition–LOL!
Paypal also gives cash back when you use it. You can link to your checking account or by selling things you can take paypal for payment, or use cash to add money into your paypal account with green dot (be sure to get the paypal one), use Paypal’s free debit card and you get an email saying how much $ you’ve earned back.
Thanks Cheryl!
My husband and I occasionally work as lifeguards or substitute teachers. I also use swagbucks for most gift purchases. We sell things on Amazon or Craigslist. I’ve also written English Curriculum for some friends.
Sign up for Survey Sites if they are accepting people in your area. You don’t make a lot doing it but even a little extra here or there helps and you can always tuck away what you do make into a savings account.
First of all, thank you for your honesty! I’m reading back through this whole series and am really appreciative of it. We’re working our way out of debt and I know too well the feeling of balancing financial stress with homeschooling and being where God wants me to be.
As for money saving tips/money earning tips.. hmm.. well I cash swagbucks in for Amazon cards and use them for Christmas/Bday gifts.
I watch for free E-books and music on Amazon too, which sounds cheesy but I’ve found a few that my husband has really liked. I’ve also sold back to Amazon to get credit for my next bday purchase, etc.
As for groceries, we have a family of 5 and I budget $70 each week and that includes toiletries and diapers. I found that I’m able to shop twice a month and save about ten bucks because of being able to buy bulk packs of toilet paper and the like.
When I come home from the store I’ll take the bulk packs of meat that I’ve purchased and divide it up into meal-size portions and freeze. Usually from one bulk pack of ground beef I can get 5 meals. For example with half the package I’ll add rice/oatmeal, egg, seasoning etc. to about half of it and I’ll make 2 meatloaves out of it. They aren’t big, about a bread loaf size, but they will split between us perfectly with a small portion left for my husband’s lunch. Then I portion out five hamburger patties and freeze them. Out of the section that’s left I usually brown it up immediately and season it for whatever I’m going to use it for and then split it into 2 or 3 smaller portions before freezing. I can pull one of these small (maybe 8oz) pre-cooked packages out of the freezer and use it for a Mexican casserole or taco salads. What’s nice is that since I freeze it into appropriate sizes then it stretches farther and we don’t have to eat all the beef that week either. I do the same for chicken, separating it into smaller ziplocks along with the appropriate marinade.
Another option for cheap food is to visit the farmer’s market and ask for their “sorts”. I have bought a peck of peppers that were bruised for a dollar. For me trimming the bruises of peppers and onions and slicing them up to toss in the freezer with the chicken breast I portion out makes for a ready-made stirfry on a busy night.
Gardens are obviously a great option and if you know someone who has a large garden and they preserve a ton of stuff, by the end of season they may be willing to let you glean whatever’s left. I’ve also known older gardeners who are more than willing to share their crops with a person who offers to come and weed for them periodically.
And yes, I’m not afraid to have at least one meal a week that’s based around a processed food. Boxed mac & cheese or grilled cheese sandwiches doesn’t kill us occasionally. I try to throw in a vegetable to go with it but even that doesn’t always happen.
Thanks for the advice!
Oh wait, I thought of one more thing I do! We return our print cartridges to Staples for $2 credit. They have a limit of 10 cartridges returned each month, but we do return our own, plus my parents’. We end up with ten dollars in Staples credits sometimes and for a homeschooler, we can use all the credit towards ink, paper, etc.
I sell Scentsy part time to make extra money. My husbands sells scrap metal at the scrap yard. It’s amazing how many people have scrap metal laying around and just want someone else to clean it up because they just don’t want to deal with it. I sell things on Ebay. We sell our aluminum cans. My husband changes people’s oil and other basic vehicle maintenance for people.
I am a stay at home mom of three and am always looking for cheap or free activities to do with the kids. I often go to my local library, they always have fun interactive activities for the kids to do like movie nights, and performers come that do music, mime, puppetry, etc. There is also a website kidsbowlfree.com that during the kids bowl 2 games for free and you only pay the shoe rental. And lastly but certainly not least Regal Cinemas does $1 movies tue and wed (here anyways) mornings during the summer. They are not “brand new” movies but often ones we haven’t seen yet and the kids love it! Help this helps out my other frugal mama’s out there!
Great tip–thanks Nicole!
I work at a quick service restaurant and you’d be amazed how many people just leave behind their change on our counters. Whenever I’m cleaning, I pick up the change and put it in my piggy bank at home. I’ve started noticing its a common occurrence at other places too! It may not be a lot each day, but it adds up pretty quick if you’re already saving other change! I’ve also found that many of my friends will save change for me because they know I have my piggy bank.
One thing that no one has mentioned is officiating for sporting events. My husband, who is a teacher and bball coach, officiates kids basketball and football and middle and high school football. You have to really know what you are doing, but he can easily make an extra $200 a weekend during football season. He now volunteers to set up scheduling so that he gets first choice and finds people by word of mouth. There is a certification process that costs around $60, but it is worth it.
Thanks for that great idea Heather!
I agree, sports are a great way for extra cash. My husband and I both coach soccer in our spare time. Just one session can bring in some good $$ depending on how many kids show up, charging a cheap per kid rate. The “serious” kids might even ask for individual sessions, which you can charge more for. You would be surprised how eager teams are for the extra help especially in the off seasons aka winter or summer.
We use the money earned for eating out and extra payments on student and car loans.
I am a sahm but to bring in extra money I clean a local business on the weekends. It only takes a few hours and since the business is closed most of the weekend I can do it whenever my husband is able to watch the kids. It has made a huge difference in our finances, being a family of 4 living on a (almost) full-time minimum wage.
GREAT idea Alisha! Thanks!
As a former SAHM, I have done many of the suggestions. Some ways that I stretched meals for our family of 6: Make a large pot of chili soup; to the small amount of leftovers, I would add 3-4 cups of al dente cooked pasta. Growing up, Mom always called that goulash. We could easily get another meal out of the chili that way. Leftover spahetti sauce with hamburger was added to a small jar of pizza sauce. This was then placed on english muffins (bought in bulk at bakery outlet and then frozen), and chopped ham sprinkled on, a little grated cheese and parmesan cheese. Baked at 400 for about 8 minutes. The kids loved to make these! Serve with small salad, milk and have fresh fruit for dessert.
Clothing: Hand-me-downs! Only daughter got them from girl cousins. Yard sales. I can sew (machine and hand), so repairs were done, items remade into things, leftover fabrics made into quilts and doll clothes.
We live 11 miles from our town, so I made as few trips as possible. Learn to make a list of things that need done, things to purchase, other errands. Taught my dh how to grocery shop for the basics, so if he had to make an unplanned trip for farm stuff, he could do a few things, if he had time (when you break down during field work, you go get the part and back home, fix it, and get back to the field, lol).
I purchased lots of things at yard sales, auctions, and from family and friends. When we bought new (and still to this day), we bought the best quality that we could afford, and taught our children to take care of things so they would last.
We rarely ate out, and hardly ever did we go to the movies. We recorded on VHS, borrowed from library, family, or we owned classics from Disney. One night a week was Game Night/Movie night. My family to this day LOVES to play board/card games. One of those night’s each month, we bought pizza from town; otherwise, I made large pizza, or the mini english muffin pizzas.
I have a teaching license and taught evening GED classes and tutored school kids. My dh sells scrap metal from around the farm. We sold extra veggies (tomatoes, sweet corn, pumpkins & melons) at a couple of garage sales held during the time they were ready to harvest.
Take advantage of refunds. We send in receipts from a national home improvement store and receive store merchandise checks to use toward future purchases there. I do this with other stores I purchase at, too. It might only be $2 or $250 (yes, and I loved spending it), but to me it’s the same as cash. I can always find something to give as a gift, or use for myself, etc.
Thanks Judy–great ideas!
I have a garden where I raised tomatoes, purple hull peas, green beans, corn, zucchini and yellow squash. I have learned how to can my vegetables and I think now it has become my new hobby. I also sell clothes on http://www.copious.com and on ebay. I also put things on Craigslist. I am always looking for new ways to earn extra cash. There are so many ways to earn extra cash, you just have to do your research. Hubby mows a couple of yards at $45 a yard, so that buys our groceries.
We make ramen noodles a little bit healthier by adding a couple of eggs (like egg drop soup) and broccoli before adding the noodles (stir it quickly after adding the egg to break the egg up). My dd is 16 now and this is still her quick-fix go-to meal. She doesn’t know of any other way to eat ramen, which is the ultimate cheap food.
I use Bank of America and my checking account rounds all my purchases up to the next dollar, and that extra ‘change’ goes into my savings account automatically. I also have it set up to transfer $20 to my savings account once a month.
I understand that a credit card is not for everyone, and was worried about my own self control in getting one. I got the Cash Rewards one through Bank of America and I love it. I specifically requested a VERY low credit limit, so if I didn’t keep up with it I wouldn’t be facing a huge debt. If you wait until your Cash Rewards are $300, they give you a bonus (30% I think?). And the great part is that it’s connected to my checking account, so I don’t have to sit down and write checks, mail them off by a certain time, etc. I transfer money from my checking to my credit card for free each week to pay off my balance.
It DOES take some self control, but has really been profitable for me.
That sounds like a good plan if like you said, you have the discipline not to let it spiral out of control. Unfortunately, I am not one of those people, but at least I know that about myself. 🙂 Good for you for finding a system that works for you!
After saving up my coins for a while I take them to my supermarkets CoinStar machine and get a gift card for that very same supermarket. There is no fees this way and I know I am going to use it immediately.
Good idea Joy–thanks!
My mom is one of those people that can turn anything in the fridge into something absolutely delicious! We always had leftovers growing up and it wasn’t always enough to make another meal out of so together we started making ‘dump’ soups (that sounds awful but true to the name we dump a little bit of everything into the soups). In my family I make it almost every Sunday and use anything that might be about to spoil or is leftover from the previous nights and as long as you know what flavours go together it works great!!
We paid off our last credit card and will never go back to those, but we do use our debit cards because we can track and hold each other accountable much better. We are about to switch to the Perkstreet debit card that Dave Ramsey talks about where you can earn back 5% just from spending on the things you already do (grocerys, gas, ect). That can really add up if you are a debit card user!
Also, we do a small square foot garden but usually have times when we are blessed w/ more produce than we can eat, freeze and can. We live on the main street in a safe suburb, so we put the extra produce out on a table near the curb w/ a lockbox for donations (screwed to the table in case of misfits). It’s a cheap and convenient way for people to get some extras for dinner on their way home and we add the change to our change jar. We get a few bucks here and there and the relief of knowing food wasn’t wasted.
We LOVE our Perkstreet account! 🙂
One way that my husband and I have found to earn some extra money is signing up to work on election day. Not only is it just a one day job, you get paid a pretty fair amount and they cater all three meals to you while you are working! Pretty awesome thing to keep in mind!
Very timely advice Kayla–thanks!
They don’t cater in my county! lol But I was going to say the same thing. Poll Workers get paid. My county, you have to attend the training, but you get paid for that as well.
The biggest thing for us is to use what we already have, to make a menu plan and go through our pantry, fridge and freezer to see if we already have the ingredients.
Hi! Just so you are aware, delivering food or goods for money may negate your auto insurance policy if something were to happen. Please read the fine print on the exclusions portion of the actual policy, not just the dec. page.
Thanks Jorie!
I saved for a whole year so I could send my daughter to summer camp. Some of the things I did was —
1. looked through my jewelry box and found some gold jewelry that I hadn’t worn for 20 years and didn’t want. I sold it at local gold exchange.
2. I de-cluttered my home and sold things on a facebook flea market page in my area. People are willing to pay more on line that at a yard sale for some reason! (it’s so much cleaner here too, so it was a win/win situation!)
3. I gathered all the coins in our house and cars and cashed them in at the bank ($40).
4. I did some computer work for my sister that she didn’t want to do, and she gladly paid me.
Great ideas Julie – thanks! I’m sure your daughter appreciated it too!
I’ve sold items on ebay, craigslist, facebook, and amazon. I used to clean house with my husband and he used to do lawn care. I also made money with online surveys, being a model, and swagbucks.com.
Doing promotions are the best way to go! You can find them easily in the events section on Craigslist and sign up with companys that will use you for day sampling, at sporting events, whatever. Normally they pay between $10-$25 an hour and last about 2-6 hours. Pro: YOU get to say which days and times you can work so it is perfect if you have a family or another job so you can work this extra cash around your schedule. Con: Sometimes there is a lot of driving involved so make sure it is worth the money before you use the gas to get there (hint: if you get hired for a promo, ask the manager if they will pay travel time if it is a far distance)
Great idea Melissa! I had never heard of that.
Sounds like something my college kids could do. Thanks
The best way to sell books online is to use bookscouter.com. You put in the IBSN and it tells you what online book buyer will pay the most for it, and also rates the companies.
It works best if you have a larger collection of books, as most sites have a minimum value for you to sell to them ( and get free shipping!), so that you can sell to multiple sites.
Yesterday I mailed books to 4 different websites ( bookjingle,textbooks.com, textbooksrus..) for $60!
Also if the books don’t have value to these websites you can swap them on paperbackswap.com ( dvds on swapadvd). It costs about $2.50 to mail an average sized book, and you get a credit to order a book yourself from someone.
I have to disagree with the idea to eat cheap though.Unless there is no other way to make a bill or something, it isn’t a healthy way to do things. At the least you could eat cheap by eating fruits and veggies in season, and chicken which is usually the cheapest meat. Eggs are a super cheap form of protein and much healthier for you than all those other’ cheap ideas’.
But I wouldn’t recommend sacrificing your health by eating all that carb and wheat heavy ‘ cheap food’.
Thanks for that tip Hannah! I have’t used any of those sites, so that is very helpful. 🙂
I agree with you that eating a lot of cheap food over the long term would affect your health negatively. My suggestion to eat cheaply is for the short term only if people need ro get cash quickly for emergency needs.
Donating plasma 🙂 You can make 40-60 dollars a week if you donate twice a week
I’ve been able to make a fairly significant amount of extra $$ doing little writing jobs on sites like Fiverr.com and Textbroker.com. In the first 6 months on Fiverr, I made about $1500. It’s not a fortune, but it is grocery and gas money. Textbroker has been about the same. Fiverr lets you sell pretty much any skill from writing to holding funny signs on film to web programming. Textbroker has a lot of writing assignments like updating online catalog product descriptions and so forth. There are lots of “write for hire” sites out there beyond these two. You can do the writing stuff while you are sitting around after work, make money from your LazyBoy and all that.
Also, if you have books, DVDs, records, etc. to sell – see if your city has a 1/2 Price bookstore or similar place. You can take a whole bunch of stuff in to them and walk out with cash, rather than posting ads to CL or eBay and waiting. The 1/2 price places won’t give you top dollar – they base their payments on what Amazon is selling the same used item for. BUT it is cash, and saves you postage and shipping hassles. Just don’t take your collectible books and records there. Take those to a specialty dealer, like Vintage Stock, or sell them on eBay with a reasonable reserve price.
Garage and yard sales are great IF you live somewhere that will draw traffic easily. If you don’t, like me, try to partner with friends or family in better locations to sell your stuff.
I’ve yet to find a mystery shopper, online survey, or similar type company that is not just a cover for getting my private info and sending me spam. Perhaps I am just not that great at this 🙂
In many cities, medical research companies (Quintiles, etc.) will hire people as guinea pigs for new medications. Some require stays at the facility and some are outpatient. If you are up for something like this and are a healthy adult, some of the in-patient ones pay pretty nicely.
Holly, thanks so much for these great ideas! I have heard of Fiverr, but never checked into it. And yes, a lot of those survey companies are ridiculous. Even the good ones don’t work well for some people because they are looking for specific demographics.
Thanks for all these wonderful money making tips!!! I do believe many of these will come in handy!!
You are very welcome Jo. 🙂
I got very sick about 12 years ago. I started selling off many of my books on line to get them out of hubbies way for when I died. I didn’t die, but I ended up with a business selling books and then sewing patterns on line even though I’m not in the best of health. I make decent money, I also make money through a couple different affiliate programs. I have lots more ideas of things I could do if I only had the time and energy such as writing several Kindle ebooks.
Life happen a couple of years ago and we were not financially prepare for it, I have been a stay at home mom for 6 years and husband and I decided that staying home with our kids was our number one priority so instead of going back to work and paying for day care I started my own house cleaning company and now two years later I have no regrets. My “friends” judged me and others looked down at me for cleaning other peoples toilet and asked me if I was embarrass an I said absolutely not. I am now making very good extra money and I am home for my kids which is our number one priority! Oh and did I mention I am my own boss which is the best part!
That is awesome Erika! Good for you for taking control of your life and living your priorities!
Something that I am doing that hasn’t been mentioned to save money on our grocery bill while staying healthy. I have started a large veggie garden and recently added chickens to our family. With good soil and a package of seeds containing 30-200 seeds that’s a lot of cheap eats for the long term budget planning. Eventually I am hoping to be able to sell/ barter extra eggs and produce with neighbors and friends.
That is an excellent point Lisa. I have friends who keep chickens and we get fresh eggs from them. I have not made the time to have a vegetable garden, but I think it is a fabulous idea!
I sell clothes at thredup.com and also buy some there too (which can be a lot cheaper than retail). They have a great consignment program for those nicer things you really don’t wear and are willing to sell. I also have signed up for several free magazine programs and then sell the current issues to Half Price Books to make a few extra bucks.
Great ideas Melissa! Thanks for sharing them. 🙂