Oct 5, 2005

9 Ways To Find Extra Money To Pay Off Your Debts

  1. Sell some of the stuff that got you into debt in the first place. Hold a garage sale, list your stuff on Amazon.com or eBay, or put an ad in a local newspaper.
  2. Never spend change. Put all of your coins into a big jar at the end of the day. Once a month, sort the coins and put them into sleeves that you can get at the bank. Deposit the coins and write a check to your lender.
  3. Cook more at home and take leftovers for lunch. (More on that tomorrow in the Financial Tip of the Week.)
  4. Cut back on "extras" for a week, add it all up, and put it toward your debt. If you skip that morning coffee and afternoon soda, wash the car yourself, use Dryel instead of going to the drycleaners, and have dinner at Baja Fresh instead of El Torito, you might find yourself with a good amount of cash for the week. It might even be enough to motivate you to skip the extras until you've paid off all of your debts!
  5. Spend an hour online shopping around for the best deals on insurance, phone service, and banking.
  6. Check your house for energy efficiency before winter arrives. Many utility companies will perform a free energy efficiency check.
  7. Sell underperforming investments.
  8. Make sure you haven't forgotten about old bank accounts or other deposits. The Dollar Stretcher has a list of links to each state's Unclaimed Property website.
  9. Check your tax withholdings and increase your number of exemptions if you will have overpaid at the end of the year.

6 comments:

Admin said...

Good Solid Advice on getting extra money to pay off debt.
I would also suggest a second job to get really focused on paying off the debt.

ChiefFamilyOfficer said...

You're right, that should be #10.

Anonymous said...

Just remember with #2 that there is also a Money Jar Trap that can actually have you lose money if you're not careful. Banks and other "convenience" systems love to take your money!

ChiefFamilyOfficer said...

I would never suggest paying to have your coins sorted! (It's a perfect TV time activity.) If you shop at Amazon.com, though, you'll soon be able to have your coins sorted without paying the fee and receive an Amazon gift certificate instead of cash. My understanding is that Amazon is going after the elderly and young kids, i.e., those who don't have access to or aren't comfortable using a credit card online.

Rebecca said...

Those were great ideas. I have been doing some of those same things myself. Althought sometimes my husband saves the rolled coins for our date nights. We use the other ideas for paying down debt.

ChiefFamilyOfficer said...

@ceomom - Thanks! Please share if you have any ideas that aren't on the list :)