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 to Spend Your Extra Income

Last Updated: July 18, 2020 BY Jordann - 27 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.

12 shares
  • Facebook2
  • Twitter
  • Reddit
  • LinkedIn
  • Email

Find out what to do with your extra income instead of spending it all. This is great list!Michelle has been doing an amazing job with extra income lately. Her blog has been taking off and that’s helping her make a ton of side income every month. Due to this, she’s been getting a boat load of emails about blogging for side income and has even written a few great posts about how to make money blogging. Hopefully her readers have benefitted from her tips and are starting to make money at their own blogs.

One thing she hasn’t covered is what to do with all of that extra income. One of my favorite things about extra income is that it’s not included in the budget, so you can really do anything you want with it. That said, it might not be the best idea to blow it on shopping. So what should you do with your extra income?

Use Your Side Hustle Income to Pay Off Debt

This is probably my number one suggestion for extra income. I make a bit of cash every month through staff writing and my own blog, My Alternate Life. Up until a few days ago, I’ve thrown everything I’ve earned at my debt. This has been a huge boon to me because it’s shortened my debt pay off window. When I first started trying to pay off the $38,000 of debt I’d accumulated through school, my best calculations had me debt free in five years.

Now it looks like I’ll be debt free before my the two year anniversary of Operation Pay Off Debt. This is partly due to me putting all of my extra income towards my debt. Michelle is employing the same strategy to pay off her $38,000 in student loans, and she’s managing to get rid of them amazingly quickly.

Use Your Extra Income to Build Up an Emergency Fund

Using extra income to build an emergency fund and insurance is a great way to use your side hustle to make yourself more secure. While most experts suggest that an emergency fund consisting of 3-6 months of expenses is ideal, very few people actually have this on hand (including me, until I get my debt paid off). Using extra income to fund your emergency fund is a great way to beef it up without having to re-balance your budget.

Take Your Extra Income and Start a “Fun” Fund

This is one of my eventual goals with my emergency fund. Once my debt is paid off, and my emergency fund is fully funded, I plan on shoveling everything I make in side income into a “Fun” Fund. I’ll probably use it for travel and furnishing our 400 sq. ft. house properly. I can’t wait! The best thing about this is that I can have lots of fun without interfering with my other goals, like saving for a house and funding my retirement.

Side Income is Dead Useful

Side income is a great way to achieve your goals faster than you thought possible. My side income has helped me pay off a crazy amount of debt in a very short period of time, which has kept me motivated and interested in those goals. Your side income could work the same wonders in your financial situation, if you’re smart about how you spend it.

What do you do with your side income?

Related Posts

  • 20+ Best Jobs That Pay $20 An Hour Or More20+ Best Jobs That Pay $20 An Hour Or More
  • How To Save Money During The Holidays (20+ Ways To Save & Make Money!)How To Save Money During The Holidays (20+ Ways To Save & Make Money!)
  • How I Started A $650,000 Per Year Litter Cleanup BusinessHow I Started A $650,000 Per Year Litter Cleanup Business
  • 7 Best Ways To Get Paid To Read Books in 20237 Best Ways To Get Paid To Read Books in 2023
  • How I’ve Traveled Full Time For 20 Years (And Make/Save Money)How I’ve Traveled Full Time For 20 Years (And Make/Save Money)
  • 30 Best Money Making Apps Of 202330 Best Money Making Apps Of 2023
12 shares
  • Facebook2
  • Twitter
  • Reddit
  • LinkedIn
  • Email

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

Comments

  1. eemusings says

    April 11, 2013 at 3:42 am

    I started ramping up my side income efforts again over the summer once I decided to commit to travelling in 2013 – so all of that has been channeled right into the travel fund 🙂
    My recent post The kinds of friends you need

    Reply
  2. myfijourney says

    April 11, 2013 at 4:20 am

    Whatever extra income I get goes straight to my investment account.

    Reply
  3. Jenny@FrugalGuru says

    April 11, 2013 at 5:43 am

    I don't have any income from this, yet! My books (I was a novelist) are still bringing in foreign royalties now and again, and my first products will be out next month on my Frugal Guru site, but I'm in a loooong dry spell. 🙁

    My money goes first to retirement, then it's split between remodeling/fun stuff and paying down the mortgage.
    My recent post 25 Ways I Save Money

    Reply
  4. Holly@ClubThrifty says

    April 11, 2013 at 6:11 am

    We are using our side income to help pay off our mortgage!!! We paid an additional $8700 a few weeks ago and it felt crazy because that was the first time that we had ever touched any blog money.

    Reply
    • Rich Uncle EL says

      April 11, 2013 at 11:02 am

      Thats great I wonder how many years you took off the term?

      Reply
  5. FrugalRules says

    April 11, 2013 at 6:30 am

    We're using our side income for a number of different things, investing and for stuff we need done around the house.
    My recent post How Being Cheap VS. Frugal Can Hurt Your Mortgage Freedom Goal

    Reply
  6. nicoleandmaggie says

    April 11, 2013 at 7:14 am

    We're still trying to figure that out. http://nicoleandmaggie.wordpress.com/2013/04/01/a…
    It would be easy if we had just one goal, or if our goals were smaller, or if we had a lot more income! (Or if we had any debt other than our mortgage.)
    My recent post In praise of our partners

    Reply
  7. The Norwegian Girl says

    April 11, 2013 at 7:15 am

    I think side income is a great way of paying down debt, but also adding to a house downpayment savings. I guess it depends on where people are in life, and what their goals are.

    Reply
  8. louisianagirl16 says

    April 11, 2013 at 7:37 am

    It's just going into savings for now, but as it (hopefully) increases I'll have to make more decisions!
    My recent post Savings Goals: April 2013

    Reply
  9. jbutler1914 says

    April 11, 2013 at 7:51 am

    My extra income is going towards 2 things right now. My upcoming cross country trip in July and also my debt snow ball plan.
    My recent post 5 Ways Students Can Make Extra Money

    Reply
  10. WilliamBitetheBullet says

    April 11, 2013 at 8:07 am

    The best thing to do with side income is invest it. In life you get an income from only two possible things:
    – your work
    – your investments

    At some point we all want to (or have to) transition from the first to the second source of income. In order to do that, we have no choice but to invest. Many people are reluctant to invest, because they feel intimidated by the notion and the risks.

    The bad news is investing is inevitable — you may as well accept it. The good news is it's not rocket science, millions do it every day, and you can learn before you have the side income you have to figure out what to do with.
    My recent post You What? Gamble Every Day?

    Reply
  11. Alan@escapingmydebt says

    April 11, 2013 at 8:18 am

    I completely agree with you on side income and its usage. The problem for me is the lack there of. Hopefully we get the debt down a little more and I will definitely be looking into something.
    My recent post What is the Price You Put on Customer Service?

    Reply
  12. Budget & the Beach says

    April 11, 2013 at 9:50 am

    Since my income is so unpredictable as a freelancer, I fold any extra money into my bank account as if it were more freelance money. I don't treat it any different. But now that my cc is paid off and I have no more debt, a lot more has been going to the emergency fun, and I'm going to start car and pet funds as well. And hopefully continue to grow my vacation fund and contribute to retirement. That's if the summer months for work are better than they have been in the past.
    My recent post Surfing: Letting Go of a Hobby

    Reply
  13. moneybeagle says

    April 11, 2013 at 9:58 am

    I think another option is to create an opportunity fund for potential opportunities that you may not have on your radar. Ever looked at a stock, thought it would go big, but didn't have any money to invest, and of course it did exactly what you thought? Sometimes having a fund for opportunities that may not be direct goals is a nice thing to have if you have the flexibility.
    My recent post The Simple Reason JC Penney’s Pricing Gimmick Failed

    Reply
  14. DC@Young Adult Money says

    April 11, 2013 at 10:05 am

    Right now my side income is funding a very expensive sewer drain-out repair. Not the funnest way to spend your hard-earned side income :/ Having side income and seeing how it has benefited me has really motivated me to keep at it, though, even if it isn't always fun to work on stuff on nights/weekends.
    My recent post Wanting More Money Is NOT a Bad Thing…Usually

    Reply
  15. B.L. says

    April 11, 2013 at 10:42 am

    Well… right now I have earned just enough for a candy bar in my first month, but I have big plans.

    The smart side of me says that I will pay off as much of my debt as possible..

    While the other side of me says that I should party with hookers in Vegas.

    I think I will save my marriage and go with the debt thing.
    My recent post What is a Dollar Worth?

    Reply
  16. Rich Uncle EL says

    April 11, 2013 at 11:01 am

    The obvious choice is to pay down debt when you have it, but one thing that we all should do to avoid losing focus is to have a little play money fund, for example 5% – 10% of all income should be allocated to whatever floats your boat.

    Reply
  17. retireby40 says

    April 11, 2013 at 11:11 am

    It just goes into the general pool for us. We'll invest what's left over.
    If we have consumer debt, I would use the extra money to pay it down.
    Great job with the xtra income.

    Reply
  18. krantcents says

    April 11, 2013 at 11:20 am

    I invest my side income! I have always saved and invested any additional income. When I received promotions or salary increases, I always invested half of the money.

    Reply
  19. Pauline @ Reach Financial Independence says

    April 11, 2013 at 11:55 am

    A bit of fun money and a bit of investment to improve the blog and maybe other investments soon.
    My recent post Who is (really) retired?

    Reply
  20. Nick @ AYoungPro.com says

    April 11, 2013 at 12:22 pm

    Originally I used my side income to pay off debt and fund my emergency fund. Now that I am done with those goals I am saving it up for our next adoption!
    My recent post Recent Graduate Budget Infographic

    Reply
  21. morgaine80 says

    April 11, 2013 at 1:22 pm

    Great post! There are SO many posts out there about how to make extra money but not many about what to do with it! 🙂
    My recent post New Blog! And a Giveaway!

    Reply
  22. Frugal Portland says

    April 11, 2013 at 1:26 pm

    For me, it would depend on where the money came from. Internet money went directly toward debt-of-highest-concern. Part-time consulting job money went toward travel. Now, it's all going to savings so that buying a condo doesn't hurt so much!
    My recent post Frugal Portland’s April Net Worth

    Reply
  23. Lance@MoneyLife&More says

    April 11, 2013 at 7:15 pm

    We'll be using it to pay off debt 🙂

    Reply
  24. Dai says

    April 12, 2013 at 11:02 pm

    Wow, with extra income I'd like to put it in a new business or opportunities. I'm working on the extra income part 🙂

    Reply
  25. KC @ genxfinance says

    April 14, 2013 at 10:11 pm

    Extra income always goes to savings and investments. But from time to time, I treat myself and my family for an out of town, or go out and eat dinner and watch movies.

    My recent post How to Start Your Own Business in 10 Steps

    Reply
  26. chrisholdheide says

    April 25, 2013 at 9:57 pm

    Great post Jordann, I actually saved almost all of my extra money from my web business and used it to put a down payment on building a new house, and I think without it I would have never been able to build a house. Now that my house is build I'm looking to pay down my remaining debts and build a nice emergency fund up.
    My recent post 6 Warning Signs To Avoid Fitness, Diet, and Weight Loss Scams

    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 Lennox Creative Co.