“How can I quickly increase my income?”
The biggest, most dramatic improvements in your monthly surplus can be achieved on the income side of the cash flow equation.
What can we do to increase your income right now?
Here are a few suggestions...
Can you take on a roommate?
Can you rent out storage, or space in your garage or basement?
Can you start a side business with very low expenses that relies on skills you ALREADY have and materials/equipment that you already own? Now is NOT the time to start a new business in an area you have little to no experience in.
Is it possible to get a second job? In many cases, it doesn’t even have to pay well. For many of the people we work with, a $200-300 increase in income makes all the difference in the world.
Is any able-bodied person in the household not working? Now is the time to get into the workforce. One caveat, though: this MAY not apply to stay-at-home mom’s and dad’s. Depending on the size of your household and the skill set of the individual, it may cost MORE for you to work than it does to stay at home. When you factor in the cost of day care, additional transportation to and from work/day care, etc., some working parents are actually PAYING to work. Be sure to do the math here.
Is there something you can do to work from home for someone else? If you have any sort of skill on the computer and can navigate the internet, there are LOTS of things that people need to have done that don’t require a specialized degree or lots of training.
Would you be able to quickly train for a job in a different field that would pay you enough to meet your monthly obligations? We’ve had a number of clients who lost their jobs in the auto industry and were able to quickly get their license and obtain a job in the trucking industry. Get the facts on the field you’re considering and most importantly, talk to people who are working in the job you want to get. Make sure that the income that’s advertised is the income you’ll be getting once you’re working.
Do you qualify for state or federal assistance? Now is the time to swallow your pride get to a local office to see if you can get some help. Remember, these programs were designed to help people in times of trouble. We hope that you don’t need this type of assistance forever, but regardless, now is the time to take advantage of these kinds of programs. We often hear, “Oh, I applied for that a year ago and I didn't qualify.” Well, things are probably a little worse right at the moment than they were then, so go and re-apply.
“Okay, now what?”
“Okay, now what?”
Alright, after going through this exercise, can you fix your monthly cash flow or do you still have more expenses than income?