Oftentimes, when people face a financial emergency or they do not bring enough money in to cover all their monthly bills, they borrow money to help cover these costs. While this often seems like a good idea at first because it covers their immediate need, paying this debt off is not so easy. In fact, the interest accrued on any type of loan will require you to repay a lot more money then you borrowed in the first place.
Unfortunately, this typically causes people to get in further behind on the debt and increase their monthly bills. The good news is that there are effective ways that you can earn money to cover your bills. This will avoid the need to borrow money. Below is a look at some effective ways to avoid borrowing money while still earning cash.
Apply for Centrelink Payments (government benefits)
If you are a low-income earner, you may qualify for special benefits through the Centrelink office. These benefits can bring extra income into your home, or reduce the costs you need to pay for some of your bills, such as childcare expense and rent. Contact your local Centrelink office to see what benefits you qualify for. Many people don’t realise that the government can provide alternative financial assistance to keep you from taking out high interest loans.
Get a Part-Time Job
If you do not have enough money coming to cover all of your expenses, you may need to get a part-time job. Just a few extra hours may be enough to help cover some of your additional bills. You can look for temporary work or seasonal work just to get you through the tough times. You may even be able to find some part-time work online, but be extremely careful to only work through secure sites, and never distribute your personal information.
Create a Household Budget
While creating a household budget will not put more actual money into your pocket, it can help to make more cash available. Managing a budget will help you track your money and prevent you from overspending in certain area and then not having enough left to pay your bills. It is vital that you set up a household budget, if you ever hope to get control of your finances.
Set Up an Emergency Fund
Setting up an emergency savings account is one of the best tools you can use to avoid borrowing in the future. By setting aside just a little bit of money out of each pay cheque, this account will grow over time. This money should be placed in a separate savings account that is not connected to your other bank account. Then when you have an emergency, you will have this money available to use.
Hold a Yard Sale
Most people have many items in their house they the rarely ever use, or no longer use. Rather than having these items clutter up your home, hold a yard/garage sale at your house. Not only will this give you more space in your house, but you will be able to earn some much needed cash, as well.
Start a Side Business
Starting a small side business is not as hard as you may think. Consider things that you enjoy doing, or are good at doing, and then determine how to turn those talents into a small business. For example, if you love pets, you may want to start a business as a dog sitter or dog worker. There are many different opportunities, such as babysitting, home repairs, jewellery making, and woodworking. Start by selling your goods and services to your friends, family members, neighbours and co-workers. Use your social media sites to promote your business and bring in some extra cash.
If you need more cash to help cover some of your expenses, or you want to make a special purchase, try one, or more, of the great ways listed above to bring more cash into your household. This can help you avoid the need to borrow money and pay all of those high fees and interest payments. This gives you more money to spend on the things that are important to you.