Extra money is one of those fabulous surprises of life. If you allow for space for it in your life you never know how often and where it will show up. Like James says, you can tell a lot about a neighborhood by whether pennies are picked up off the sidewalk. Our take is that when money shows up, even if it is just a penny, open yourself up for it. If you don’t stand up for your money, no one else will.
Tips to Make Extra Money
We DINKs have done quite a few things to make extra money. We’ve done everything from selling stuff on Craigslist, doing surveys and mystery shopping, as well as selling our bodies to science. Here are nine ways to make extra money. We also love referral bonuses from ING.
Salary Increases
Negotiate to increase your salary and keep your expenses the same, this results in extra money. You can check out Miel’s high stakes salary negotiations, and see how Miel has managed to make great gains in her salary over time. When negotiating, it is also good to keep in mind the hidden aspects of salary negotiation. Depending on where you work, you can also put in the extra time to earn bonuses. Raises also make a huge difference for your lifelong earnings.
Reduce your Taxes
Since your average America pays around a quarter to a third of their income on taxes, reducing your taxes is a great way to free up extra money. In contrast, we DINKs pay 5.6% in taxes. You might not think you have extra money to put into retirement, but feeding your 401(k) does a lot to reduce your taxable income.
Negotiation
You can also save a great deal of money by negotiating. Just asking for a better deal can often result in great savings. You can also negotiate for discounts on your expenses such as internet and cell phones, and heh, why not negotiate your rent?! For example, Miel saved $455 a year by negotiating with Comcast.
Spend Less
You can check out our posts on tips on being frugal, and how to save, but overall it is true hands down that spending less will free up extra money. One way to do this is to track your spending and see where money is leaking from your wallet. You can also tighten your belt a bit, and give your budget a squeeze.
Rewards & Coupons
With as much as I travel, rewards programs have certainly freed up a great deal of extra money. I’ve had free rooms are nice hotels, plenty of free flights, plus everyday savings. Coupons are also a great way to come up with extra money.
Garage Sales
One person’s trash is another person’s treasure. Here is a guest post on the ins and outs of putting on a garage sale. We had great fun with a garage sale right after we got married.
Passive Income
We DINKs believe that one of the keys to building wealth is acquiring assets that create passive income. One way to create passive income is to manage rental properties. We have also largely managed on one salary with extra throw off from stock dividends.
Educate Yourself
Giving yourself a financial education can also do a great deal to help bring extra money into your life. By giving more attention to this area of your life, you can create prosperity in your life. You realize that you are better off in the long run investing your extra money rather than going to Vegas. And of course, reading DINKs is a first step!
Hang On to Extra Money!
Perhaps most important is hanging on to extra money. It is a common aspect of behavioral economics to spend more when you have extra money than you would have before you came into something extra, don’t fall into this trap. Of course this applies even more in the case of the lottery, but you can always dream of what you’d do if you won the lottery.
