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I am becoming more and more focused on the “how” of repaying my debts and creating a stable life. I wrote a post a few weeks ago about “Quitting” and how I have been working on a number of different habits to enable me to create the foundation of a financially stable future. I don’t want to pay off my debts and find myself in the same situation in five years. That would really suck. How will I repay my debts?
- Modify behavior
- Believe it’s possible
- Spend less
- Make more money-HUSTLE
In the spirit of Michelle’s from Making Sense of Cents Extra Money posts I have decided to take up the challenge of growing my money and embracing the side hustles. I’ve decided that I will consider July the first month of my side hustle challenge. The idea is obvious, I want to see how much extra money I can make outside of my regular income each month! I would also like to encourage the rest of you to try to grow your income too! Let me know what you’ve done/are doing to make more money.
My July Side Hustles:
- $30-Cleaning product survey. I had to clean using a new product. Then, I had to make notes and return the product.
- $63-I had to do a run through for a Scavenger Hunt in the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Basically, I had to check that all of the clues were still correct and note any changes that had happened since the event planners did their first run through.
- $90-Change from Mr. Piggy, my piggy bank. I was surprised that there was so much in there because I had cashed out the change in late April
- $110-Small raise
- $110-Mock Jury on my birthday
- $150-Blogging money from writing for two different blogs
- $160-I watered a lawn for two weeks for a really nice couple. They were on their first trip to Europe together. It was a very chill side hustle and I enjoyed it a lot.
- $180-I cashed in a couple of little stocks that will serve me better by helping me pay off my debts.
Total Earned: $883!
Currently I have 4 credit cards. I am pleased to report that….
- I’ve paid off two credit cards this month!!! This happened a lot “faster” than my original projection. This month I paid off one of my visa cards and my Home Depot Card. I’m not sure if I should consider this a this is a faster pay off as I have been working on cutting my spending habits for the past 6 months.
- Visa #1-I had been paying it down steadily. At the end of June I received my Per Diem for a conference that I went to. With that money I was able to pay off my visa the first week of July.
- Home Depot Card-I had to buy a new hot water heater 2 years ago because it broke. At the same time I decided to replace my 40 year old (no lie!) refrigerator as I had been getting sick off of my food. I decided to replace both of those items at the same time because I had guests coming in from Europe the following week. I also had an incredible case of the flu at the same time so I was miserable!!! I am glad that I replaced both, and immediately noticed the difference when I had my new refrigerator. I wasn’t having as many stomach problems after eating! I have been steadily paying down the Home Depot card as well and have been trying to throw as much extra money as possible at it for awhile now.
I don’t think that the side hustle money would have made a big dent in my bills if I hadn’t adjusted my spending for the past 6 months. I am really excited about the momentum picking up and am hoping to pay off the Mastercard by October. Big visa I’m hoping to have paid off by March. But, I will be picking up extra side hustles so hopefully it will be taking care sooner.
At the top of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science
so cool
Working on my scavenger hunt side hustle
(the rooftop was one of the answers to a clue I had to figure out)
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Michelle is such an inspiration. I have been trying my hand at making extra money (my best month so far is about $800) but so far I am not even close to being able to quit my day job 🙁
Thank you for the kind words. Glen,I think that $800 dollars is a lot of money! Just stay focused and try to mix in some fun things as well. I know that Craigslist is in Australia, I would recommend finding some fun projects to work on. Umm, scratch Craigslist. I just looked at it. Ewww…I will think on this!
Great job on all of the side hustles!
Michelle, having you congratulate me is like Jay-Z giving me props!
Congrats! I’ve just started side hustlin’ and made about $60 this month. Not a lot but it’s something!
And I love Making Sense of Cents too!
Thanks! I’m getting addicted to the side hustles! In August I plan on finding more internet based side hustles. Good luck with your side hustles!
I love it. I call my Mr. Piggy my FFF- My Financial Freedom Fund. It was actually a pink wastepaper basket that I had filled for three or four years. Can I tell you that I had about $800 in that bad boy. As the saying goes, every bit helps.
Isn’t it crazy how fast change adds up? I don’t plan on cashing in Mr. Piggy again until Christmas time. Last year I had around $400 in it!
There are a couple things in there I have no idea what they are about…like the scavenger hunt, but hey, congrats! You had a great month!
LOL. Basically, this guy is running a scavenger hunt event. I had to do a run through to make sure that the clues made sense before he ran the event. It will be held at the Denver Museum Of Nature and Science. They have a lot of adult events there too (happy hours, etc.)
Wow, that’s awesome, congrats on knocking two credit cards out and all the creative side hustles! Those are some pretty great tips/ideas for generating extra income.
Thanks Anna, I’m getting addicted to making extra money and am loving accelerating the debt repayment.
Great side hustles~ Which reminds me of my Mr. Piggy. I forgot that I even had it. Probably not much in there, but as least it’s back in my radar. Thanks~!!
I love Mr. Piggy! I won’t be cashing in Mr. Piggy’s change until Christmas this time. Last year I cashed in $400 in change and bills. That was pretty awesome!
Awesome side hustles, Michelle! Congrats! And oh that’s a gorgeous view, that one in the photo.
I didn’t know that deck existed! I have visited the museum since I was a kid, so that deck was a huge treat for me!
Great job, Michelle. Keep it up.
Thanks, I might slack a little in August…then, pick it up again in September.
How did I miss this? I just collected $300 in side hustle income last week. $70 for food service gig, the rest from Brand Ambassador work. I want to do more online gigs so I can stay at home in my jammies 🙂
Hehe, I had a great month. This month I’m not as motivated so the number will drop a bit. Good job on the side hustles! Maybe we should start a side hustle challenge for September?? I’m trying to grow the online gigs but it’s really hard to do during summer. I want to hang out outside all of the time.