So you're looking for the fastest and easiest way to start saving money and living comfortably without the constant worry of your finances. This article will provide you with a small number of invaluable tips that will have you saving in no time. Get a 2nd job
This may be one of the least popular ideas on this list, but it's also a sure-fire way to increase your income. Moonlighting as a pizza delivery man or working weekends at the home depot may not seem like too much fun, but you have to think of the big picture. The end result. You'll find that a fully funded emergency fund and many nights of restful sleep because little "bumps in the road" financial problems won't affect you the same way is 100% worth the extra effort it took to establish your emergency fund. Sell crap you don't need
Now that we've addressed the wants vs. needs on future purchases, let's go through our stuff and analyse whether we really need all the crap that we have. Let's put everything we don't use in a pile and figure out what we can actually sell. EBay it or garage sale, it doesn't matter just get rid of it and bring in some money. I usually start with EBay (because I hope it would fetch a little more than a garage sale would) but for anything I can't sell on EBay I'd have a garage sale or find someone I know who is having one and sell me crap there. My theory is that if I don't need something and nobody is using it, selling it will not only get you some cash but will free up some clutter around the house as well. Confide in someone you trust Here is where you might compare it to an addiction or changing a bad habit. By admitting the problem to a trusted friend, you are becoming accountable to someone, and that accountability will reinforce your desire to change the way you manage (or don't manage) money. Moreover, it is easy to lie to yourself and rationalize all you want. Not so easy with a friend or relative whom you trust. Chances are he or she will see beyond the bull and call you on it. That's good. That's what you want. Believe in yourself. For people prone to anxiety and depression, this might require a major adjustment in the way you think. Two things I do when I have to pretend like I am a super-confidence person that can tackle any problem: I imagine I am a person in real life that I know who exudes confidence and self-assurance. I try to step into her skin, and see the world from her eyes. It's a bit like Avatar. Step into someone else's perspective for a minute. Would she see anything stopping her from doing this? No? Then why should you?
Get a 2nd job
This may be one of the least popular ideas on this list, but it's also a sure-fire way to increase your income. Moonlighting as a pizza delivery man or working weekends at the home depot may not seem like too much fun, but you have to think of the big picture. The end result.
You'll find that a fully funded emergency fund and many nights of restful sleep because little "bumps in the road" financial problems won't affect you the same way is 100% worth the extra effort it took to establish your emergency fund.
Sell crap you don't need
Now that we've addressed the wants vs. needs on future purchases, let's go through our stuff and analyse whether we really need all the crap that we have. Let's put everything we don't use in a pile and figure out what we can actually sell.
EBay it or garage sale, it doesn't matter just get rid of it and bring in some money. I usually start with EBay (because I hope it would fetch a little more than a garage sale would) but for anything I can't sell on EBay I'd have a garage sale or find someone I know who is having one and sell me crap there. My theory is that if I don't need something and nobody is using it, selling it will not only get you some cash but will free up some clutter around the house as well.
Confide in someone you trust
Here is where you might compare it to an addiction or changing a bad habit. By admitting the problem to a trusted friend, you are becoming accountable to someone, and that accountability will reinforce your desire to change the way you manage (or don't manage) money. Moreover, it is easy to lie to yourself and rationalize all you want. Not so easy with a friend or relative whom you trust. Chances are he or she will see beyond the bull and call you on it. That's good. That's what you want.
Believe in yourself.
For people prone to anxiety and depression, this might require a major adjustment in the way you think. Two things I do when I have to pretend like I am a super-confidence person that can tackle any problem: I imagine I am a person in real life that I know who exudes confidence and self-assurance. I try to step into her skin, and see the world from her eyes. It's a bit like Avatar. Step into someone else's perspective for a minute. Would she see anything stopping her from doing this? No? Then why should you?
advice on debt