We’ve talked about a lot of ways to earn extra cash before Christmas in this series. Many of you have written in and shared stories via email how you’ve implemented the ideas successfully! That makes me so happy to hear!
Before we close off this series, though, I wanted to end by talking about the flipside of earning extra cash. Because it is even more important than earning extra cash when you have a strapped budget.
The Flipside: Managing the Money You Already Have
If you earn more money, but you don’t manage it well, your bottom line isn’t going to change. Instead, you’ll just end up spending more than you used to — and no financial traction will be gained.
If you’re struggling financially, can I encourage you to first focus on getting on a written budget and maximizing the mileage of the money you already have before you go out and try to make more money? Not only will this help you to achieve better financial traction if your income increases, but you might find out that you don’t need a pay increase in the first place — you just need to manage what you already have!
The Best Way to Save Money: Stop Spending It
I’ve got a surefire, proven method to help you save more money. This method has been concocted from years of my own personal experience and years of observing other people’s money management.
It’s very simple: Just. Stop. Spending. It.
It works every time. 🙂
Yes, you definitely need to spend money on necessities like making sure everyone has warm clothes to wear, food in their bellies, and a roof over their heads. But beyond that, there’s very little that we actually need to survive.
There are many things that make survival more comfortable or enjoyable, but when we boil it down, many of these things would be considered incredible extravagances to most of the world.
Our culture is constantly sending us messages that we “need” this or that. Tune out those messages and train yourself to focus on the blessings you already have. Buying more stuff might give you short-term enjoyment, but it will never satisfy you long-term.
Two Things to Do Before Trying to Increase Your Income
If you’re feeling financially strapped this Christmas, make sure you’re already doing these two things before you put time and energy into increasing your income:
1) Commit to getting on a budget and sticking with it. It’ll be the best Christmas present you’ve ever given yourself and your family.
2) Be content with what you already have. “Gratitude turns what we have into enough.”
I’ll be posting a lot of the best deals I find this weekend to help you save money on Christmas presents, but I want you to keep these things in mind before you buy anything. Evaluate every purchase to make sure it’s a good deal for you and your gift recipient. Don’t buy something if you’re not completely sure that it’s going to work or if it’s not in the budget, okay?
Natasha says
I really enjoyed this post! I think some people forget this…. If you use cash and you get change, just start saving it! We started out with a whole .21 on Sept 14(yes, I keep track!), and as of last week when I counted all of our change, we were up to $52! Using cash is another way to “earn” money, if you will. We have a paid for ticket for a bus trip up to Chicago next Saturday and my daughter and I are going to cash in this change as our meal outing 🙂 I don’t care for the shopping part- I just want to see all the pretty decor in DT Chicago, and spend time with my mom and sisters as well!
Mary says
You make a great point. I learned while reading “The Wealthy Barber” that people who would gladly work all weekend to earn over time (that will be taxed) often won’t take time to research the best deal on a major purchase to save hundreds of dollars (that won’t be taxed). It just doesn’t make sense to earn extra money if you aren’t going to be careful with it.
Florence says
Well said Crystal. It is for articles like these that I follow your blog. Of course, I appreciate the deals and the freebies but I don’t sense you pushing them just to get the affiliate income. You always temper them with wisdom and urge us to be mindful of our choices. Of all the money saving blogs out there, it’s only you and Shannon of For the Mommas who do that. Thank you!
Chris says
Well said. This post reminds me of something my son’s friend posted today on Facebook. It went something like “Only in America would we have a holiday devoted to spending the day being thankful for all that we have followed immediately by a day spent trampling others to get the best deals on obtaining more stuff.” It made me proud that my son pointed that out, I feel like he “gets it”. 🙂
Jenn says
Well said, Crystal. I enjoy following your blog due to the aforementioned principles. I follow other saving blogs and at times I question whether the items they post are items they would really buy themselves or are they just trying to earn the commission, which clearly is what separates you from the rest. I appreciate your service of being well rounded. Thank you for introducing me to work from home jobs and Jingit. I already used Shopkick and I now have my $44.00 to start shopping for Black Friday. Have a wonderful holiday weekend and I enjoyed this 31 ways to earn cash before Christmas segment. Thanks again.
Davonne says
My favorite post of this series! Wonderful way to close it out. Thank you!