5 Simple Ways to Put Money Back into your Wallet

STUDENT LOANS = MY ARCH NEMESIS While I am not required to start paying them until November of 2016, I do have the number that is due and it haunts me. Being as money conscious as possible, I have been very aware of these numbers and have an idea as to ways I can tackle them without accruing much interest. I'm looking forward to writing an ongoing post/journal in the future that highlights the ups, downs and progress made with paying these loans off. With so many very big expenses creeping up (house, car, etc.) I'm going to be working my butt off to save as much as possible and make these high interest loans disappear. With a little over 20k in the hole, I'm currently allocating $100 a month out of my income to help shrink that big number as much as possible before they start accruing interest in November.
The five tips below are what continue to work for me and could possibly work for you as well!

1. SELL YOUR STUFF ON EBAY - I've said it before, and I'll say it again, people will buy anything. I have an entire container filled with items that I have listed or would like to list on eBay. While I certainly find myself donating a majority of the items that we no longer have space for in our home, I do like to see how items that still hold monetary value will do on the eBay market. For the most part, everything sells! Using the eBay app on your phone is the EASIEST way to go about selling items. You can create the listing and take pictures all at once, as well as track the progress of your items that are for sale at the click of a button. I am constantly cleaning stuff out and making room, so eBay is essential... not to mention it really pays off!
   
   
2. OPEN AN ETSY SHOP - I live my life by planners/printables and have always created and referenced to different printables for different tasks. It hit me one day that since I enjoyed designing them so much and using them for myself, why not put them out there for others to utilize. I opened my Etsy shop, kaylieDESIGNS, back in October of 2015 with only a few printables in my shop and have been slowly growing since them. I'm still trying to figure it out, but thus far I can certainly say it has been nothing but positive! While the shop is still very small, it does pay for my monthly electric bill which I am more that pleased with. It's the small things! (:
   
   
3. SELL OLD TEXTBOOKS ON AMAZON - I have recently implemented a "15 minutes of cleaning" rule for myself where I set a timer and must clean as much as possible in that time frame every day. It has truly made a difference because it allows me to tackle the smaller cleaning tasks that I try to avoid. The other day, I found myself sorting through some old text books that I would NEVER use again. EVER. Think, Organic Chemistry. Why in the world am I taking up precious space in our tiny city apartment for unused items like large school books? What a waste! I always turn to Amazon to sell my books, however other sites like Chegg are great resources as well! All you have to do is punch in the ISBN number and they will tell you what they're willing to buy it off of you for. All you have to do it throw it in the mail with the prepaid mail label and you are golden. When they receive the books they will verify that you sent the correct item and then allocate the funds to you via an amazon gift card.
   
   
4. ONLINE SURVEYS - Surveys! I have searched long and hard for a survey site that works for me. There are so many out there, however I question the validity of many of them. Thus far, my favorite to date is, i-say. Once you sign up and they are able to match survey subjects to you, you can pick a survey to take. Be warned though, you may not qualify for some. For the most part, the surveys are pretty quick and they usually average at around 90 points which is equivalent to ~$0.90. Pennies, literally pennies. However, they do add up quickly and after you hit 500 points (~$5.00) you can start cashing them in for rewards. I currently have 2125 points (~$21) sitting in my rewards bank which I will probably continue to save up and cash in for paypal funds. I try to do around 3-5 surveys a day which in the long run is around $100 +/- a month. This is easy cash that helps to alleviate my student loans!
   
   
5. SHOPPING WEBSITES - Shop until you drop! I am a BIG online shopper. Nothing beats laying in my bed with my pajamas on, shopping the best deal and steals! The convenience is incomparable and some of the deals you can find are great! I have been using Swagbucks for awhile now to help get some extra money back. Similar to eBates, all you have to do is make sure you run your purchase through the swagbucks portal and they will give you a percentage back if your order qualifies. If you choose not to use them for their shop and earn program, you can also take surveys and other tasks for points. Similar to iSay, each swagbuck is worth a penny that you can redeem for rewards. I currently have 8,057 SB to redeem, but am waiting until I reach 10,000 SB so that I can trade it in for a $100 Paypal gift card. Easy, peasy, and mindless money all going towards my student loans... I love it! I want to kick myself every time I forget to use it. It's like throwing money away!

Do you have any financial goals? What do you do for extra cash here and there?