Making Sense Of Cents

Learn how to make extra money, how to save money, how to start a blog, and more.

JOIN OVER 300,000
MONTHLY READERS!
  • HOME
  • BLOG
  • Make Money
    • best online jobs
    • passive income ideas
    • paid online surveys
    • How To Make $100 A Day
    • 80 side job ideas
    • More Extra Income Ideas
  • SAVE MONEY
    • Free Amazon Gift Cards
    • 16 Alternatives To Cable TV
    • best rewards credit cards
    • How I Paid Off My $40,000 Student Loans
    • More Money Tips
  • Categories
    • Income Reports
    • How To Save Money
    • Extra Income Ideas
    • Blogging Tips
    • Career Advice
    • College
    • Pay Off Debt
    • Retirement
    • Self-Employment Tips
    • Travel
  • BLOG COURSES
    • AFFILIATE MARKETING COURSE
    • MAKING SENSE OF SPONSORED POSTS
    • HOW TO START A BLOG
  • Contact
    • About
    • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Recommendations

How I plan on increasing my income and therefore my savings

Last Updated: December 8, 2014 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 23 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

0 shares
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Reddit
  • LinkedIn
  • Email

Me and the BF have been talking, and we want to pay down our debt faster, and start putting more in savings.

We want to add around an extra $1,000 (after tax) to our monthly income.  This shouldn’t be too hard. 

Our steps for doing this include:

1.  Doing more secret shops.  I have made around $250 so far.  My plan is to make around $150-$200 a month.

2.  Continuing with my online surveys. Probably only around $30 a month.  But this along with Swagbucks will probably be around $50 a month altogether.

  • All the money I earn from Swagbucks I use for Amazon gift cards, and I plan on just using this for Christmas time for the kids in the extended family.
  • From the survey company that I participate through, I also get lots of free products.  These are not just trial sized products (actually none of my surveys have includes trial sized items).  I get full products such as 8 rolls of toilet paper, 5 tubes of lip gloss, $200 to spend on Captain Morgan, gift cards to spend at grocery stores, TRESemme conditioner and shampoo and so on.  All of this free stuff also saves money.

3.  We have a friend moving in with us.  This person is going to pay $300 for rent and utilities altogether.  Our house isn’t huge but we have a finished basement, so altogether our house is around 2,500 square feet. So, with a roommate we still won’t be cramped.

  • FYI, we are not having them move in just for the money, just so everyone knows.

4.  Also, hopefully I can convince the BF to get a second part-time job.  His hours at his current job have been cut (but he’s still making the same amount of money, I have no clue how that worked out), so he has time now.  Now I just need him to be motivated to look.

    • I know he can find one, a lot of our friends own restaurants and businesses and they are always asking him if he would like to work with them.  I estimate that if he can find a part-time job, that he will make somewhere around $500 a month.
    • He asked for more hours today (right after I posted this) at his work and now he’s making an extra $300 a month from work.

 

5.  And then I plan on maybe getting a side job also.  As many of you know, I have been asking you what you do and pretty much just bugging everyone.  I’m not sure how I will have time for a side job, as I work 50 hours a week and I attend MBA classes full-time as well (12 credits this semester).

  • I have two friends who are beer cart girls (both work at a different golf course, and they are both teachers and beer girls on the weekend).  They make AT LEAST $300 every weekend, for just one day and just a couple of hours.
  • They usually work from around 9am to around 1pm.  So this sounds like pretty easy money to me.  They also always tell me to join them because they always need help.
  • So even if I worked just two days a month, I should clear at least $300 (pessimistically thinking) a month from this.

I know that all of this won’t happen, but that’s why my goal is only for $1,000.  We then plan on paying off my student loan that actually has an interest rate right now. This loan is at around $5,700.  So if we can pay off this loan in 5-6 months, we would then be able to start paying off my car completely and have that done within 4 months after the loan is done.  So sometime by before next summer, I should be free of my student loan (that has interest) and my car loan!  Then after this, I will be graduating with my MBA soon after, and then I can start working on paying down my enormous student loan.


What have you been doing to make extra income?

Related Posts

  • My Extra Monthly IncomeMy Extra Monthly Income
  • Do you have any side jobs?Do you have any side jobs?
  • 32 Best Stay At Home Jobs For Moms & Dads (Great, Flexible Ideas!)32 Best Stay At Home Jobs For Moms & Dads (Great, Flexible Ideas!)
  • How To Become A Ghostwriter And Make $100,000+ Each YearHow To Become A Ghostwriter And Make $100,000+ Each Year
  • How I Make $400,000 Per Year Selling Educational PrintablesHow I Make $400,000 Per Year Selling Educational Printables
  • My Favorite Black Friday Weekend DealsMy Favorite Black Friday Weekend Deals
0 shares
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Reddit
  • LinkedIn
  • Email

23 Comments
Filed Under: Budget, Extra Income Tagged With: Extra Money, Income

About Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Michelle is the founder of Making Sense of Cents, a blog about personal finance and traveling. She discusses how her business has evolved in her side income series. She paid off $40,000 in student loans by the age of 24 mainly due to her freelancing side hustles. Click here to learn more about starting a blog!

Comments

  1. BTHappyHomeowner says

    August 25, 2011 at 6:10 am

    These are all great ideas and such a sweet goal–good luck!I have to ask about this survey company–it sounds too good to be true!

    Reply
  2. Michelle Parker says

    August 25, 2011 at 6:21 am

    It's called Pinecone Research. I was referred to it but I don't know if they're taking any new members. I was doubtful at first also, but it's been great! Each survey is only worth about $3, but I get around 2 surveys a week.

    Reply
  3. Anna says

    August 25, 2011 at 8:05 am

    What is secret shopping? Also, you should post a pic. of your dog 🙂

    Reply
  4. Michelle Parker says

    August 25, 2011 at 8:10 am

    Here's the website />I go to restaurants and stores (such as Best Buy) and pretend I'm a customer. I have to ask A LOT of questions whenever I secret shop. It's a lot of work and the pay isn't the greatest, but it adds up quickly. I usually do around 5 secret shops a week.Haha and I will post a picture of him soon! He is super cute and he is so tiny because he's a runt. Right now he is sick though so I'm a little sad 🙁

    Reply
  5. coupleasaving says

    August 25, 2011 at 8:24 am

    How do you get so much from swagbucks. I cant seem to get that much. WordPress wont let me put a referral link on it so i dont know how i can get more.

    Reply
  6. Michelle Parker says

    August 25, 2011 at 8:33 am

    I forgot to mention earlier that the other "survey" company I use is BzzzAgent.

    Reply
  7. Michelle Parker says

    August 25, 2011 at 8:55 am

    Yes it is. When I get home tonight, I will scan a picture of the latest check I got. Trust me, I was just like everyone else and I was extremely sketchy about it. BestMark is legitimate. They require you to buy something so that the employees don't suspect that you are a secret shopper. You get reimbursed for what you buy though.And I found out about the company because I heard about it on the news, and also the retail store I used to work for went through this company.I'll post a picture of the check later! Let me know if you have any other questions.

    Reply
  8. slobely838 says

    August 25, 2011 at 9:10 am

    I think I'm going to try and find another job. I have extra time, so why not.

    Reply
  9. coupleasaving says

    August 25, 2011 at 9:51 am

    So this secret shopper website is legit? Im always so afraid to sign up for them because you just never know. Do you actually buy stuff when you are at the stores or jsut look. And how do they pay you? haha sorry for asking so many questions. I would love to do thing i have just never known anyone that does.

    Reply
  10. Stephanie says

    August 25, 2011 at 10:23 am

    I agree with Anna, you should post a picture of your dog. (And I hope he feels better soon!)And that is AWESOME that your BF got more hours just by asking!My plan to earn more money this fall is to do a lot of craft shows! I'm hoping that I can cover most of our Christmas shopping budget for this year with money I make selling my jewelry, and I want to buy most of the those gifts from small and/or local businesses.

    Reply
  11. Michelle Parker says

    August 25, 2011 at 10:34 am

    I have a TON of pictures of him since I am a crazy dog person, so I will definitely put one up later.And I know! His boss told him that she'd LOVE to give him more hours haha.Good luck with your craft shows! I wish I was craft enough to do that… 🙂

    Reply
  12. Breana says

    August 25, 2011 at 1:28 pm

    I babysit for friends, sell Mary Kay (just to friends, not through parties), and just started blogging! 🙂

    Reply
  13. ~Carla~ says

    August 25, 2011 at 2:55 pm

    Wow, that's awesome!! I babysit for extra $$ but am rarely paid on time, so it's kinda pointless sometimes. :/ I also sell hand made cards, sewn items, etc… but haven't sold much lately…

    Reply
  14. Michelle Parker says

    August 25, 2011 at 3:35 pm

    I've been thinking about babysitting, but I don't know. I did that when I was younger and I don't know if I have time for that with my schedule.

    Reply
  15. Eric Finlay says

    August 25, 2011 at 4:20 pm

    Sounds excellent! Keep it up, you'll be debt free before you know it.

    Reply
  16. Niki says

    August 25, 2011 at 5:36 pm

    I love the beer girl idea. Sounds like a great opportunity to make some serious cash. Good luck.

    Reply
  17. Michelle Parker says

    August 25, 2011 at 5:56 pm

    Thanks Eric and Niki!And yeah I know, my friends say it's super easy.

    Reply
  18. laura@nomorespending says

    August 25, 2011 at 8:58 pm

    I like all your plans..good luck! That debt will be gone before you know it 🙂

    Reply
  19. Michelle Parker says

    August 26, 2011 at 2:19 am

    Thanks!And to everyone who asked for photos, I made a new post with them.

    Reply
  20. BTHappyHomeowner says

    August 26, 2011 at 5:47 am

    Ahh..I just joined BzzAgent a few weeks ago. How long did it take before you actually were able to participate in a campaign??

    Reply
  21. Michelle Parker says

    August 26, 2011 at 6:07 am

    It actually took a little bit of time, maybe a month or two. One campaign I did was for Covergirl. I got free foundation and around 10 coupons for foundation, and I also got lots of lipgloss. The other one was TRESemme and I got free full size shampoo and conditioner, and around 10 $1 coupons also. And since this was a brand new product, the Target next to my house had them on sale for $1, so I got 10 bottles for free! It's really good shampoo too so I'm stocked up.I also was just offered another campaign yesterday. It was for a computer virus company.

    Reply
  22. BTHappyHomeowner says

    August 26, 2011 at 6:15 am

    That's insane!! I love this, and I can't wait to get into a campaign–I'm all about minimizing expenses for H&B products. Nice work!

    Reply
  23. Michelle Parker says

    August 26, 2011 at 6:23 am

    Yeah it's pretty exciting and REALLY easy! I actually heard about it in one of my MBA classes, we were doing a project about how the company is good, so I decided to actually look at their website, and now I'm hooked!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Making Sense of Cents welcome page photo
Hello and welcome!
My name is Michelle and I'm the author/owner of Making Sense of Cents. Learning how to save money and make more money changed my life. It allowed me to pay off $40,000 in student loans, start my own business, and I now travel full-time.

As Seen On

as seen on
How To Start A Blog
making sense of affiliate marketing for bloggers
My Monthly Online Income Reports
My Student Loans Are Gone - How I Paid Off $38,000 In Student Loans
How To Prevent Financial Fraud From Happening To You
Buying a House at 20 (How I did it)
How To Make Money Blogging Picture
How To Save 50% Or More Of Your Income Picture
How I Graduated From College In 2.5 Years With 2 Degrees AND Saved $37,500
75+ Ways To Make Extra Money

 

HOME
ABOUT
CONTACT
FREE FB GROUP

PRIVACY POLICY
TERMS OF USE
DISCLAIMER / EARNINGS DISCLAIMER
Copyright © 2011 - 2023. All Rights Reserved.

© 2023 Making Sense of Cents
Design by Swoon & Co. Creative