There’s never enough… hours in a day, time to relax, of your favorite food. Some things you can control like how you spend your time and how you relax. Heck if I run out of Cinnamon Toast Crunch then I just go and get some more. That’s simple English. But what happens when there just isn’t enough money? You’ve gone through and read every single finance blog and book you can find. You taken the advice and the saving that you have done has taken you from spending 135% of your income and now you are saving enough on expenses to be broke.

That is a better position to be in but sometimes it’s just not enough. Living on edge sucks. It messes with your sleep, you’re so stressed that you can’t even enjoy life. You don’t even want to drive to go out with your friends because if you blow a tire then you’re screwed. It could take two months to make back the $50.00 you spent on a tire. I can talk about this because I’ve been there. I’m not rich yet but there just has to come a time when you make more income. You can tweak and cut out stuff and be miserable. That is what I don’t recommend.

Cutting out going to the movies or grabbing a burger from 5 Guys Burgers and Fries or Red Robin isn’t the end all be all to saving you or me from being eternally broke. Using the income you have now to cover 100% of your expenses means you’re on a tightrope. But what if you could start living your best life with an extra $1000 per month? That’s $250 per week. You could save $250 a month and with that extra $750 do more stuff you want to do? How do I make money on the side? Here are a few practical money making tips.

2^nd JOB!

The DREADED second job! You’ve put in 40 hours but do you really want to get home from a long day and then go back out to a second gig? Sometimes it is necessary. This is easier for single people with no kids. I have a family and a second gig was less than ideal for me so I needed to think of something else. But this can work for some of you. If you have older children this may be an option to reconsider.

Use your Passion

Forget a second job! You hate the idea and I don’t blame you. If you have a technical skill like graphic design or cutting hair then you may have an opening. Maybe you’re good at landscaping or freelance writing. There is always room to make money from something that you love to do. The next thing you know, you will be able to make enough income from it if you give outstanding customer service and quit your day job. A great resource for how to tap into this is a book by Brand Strategist Melissa Dawn Johnson and her company Brand Me Live. Check it out!

Sell it Up!

Have you looked in your basement/attic in a while. You know all of those stupid Christmas gifts and those impulse buys that you are guilty of? Put them on eBay or Craigslist. You’d be surprised what other people think that your junk is worth. Also, don’t be a tightwad on the price either. Yes you paid $50 for that designer turtleneck but you wore it one, hated it and it’s been costing you ever since. Sell it for $10 and move on. Sell, sell, sell, the same way your talent is valuable, so is your junk. How do you think that Sanford and Son was able to eat? LOL!

Keep Shaving to Keep Saving

You want to keep shaving away crap that is costing you money. That is a given. One book that I recommend is “I Will Teach You to be Rich” by Ramit Sethi. It’s a good book with easy advice that can save you money on bank fees, eating out, and late fees. Get the book and then like NIKE says “JUST DO IT!” Knowledge is the key to success no matter what you do.

Don’t quit!

It’s so easy to give up. The road to rich is long and the scenery is bad (think Death Valley) but with a little bit of tunnel vision and some tenacity you can do it. I’m still working on doing it too all while running this competition. We are in the fight together. Don’t quit, you can dig yourself out of debt (I’ve done it) and you can make a living from your passion (I’m doing it).

Have a great day!