How To Have More Money Without Getting Paid More

Many of us will find ourselves struggling with a low income and working hard just to get by day to day. Particularly with the recent financial difficulty that our country has been through, it's difficult for many of us just to pay the bills, to supply for our families and to stay out of debt.

This position can make many of us feel very helpless - as though the situation is out of our hands. We hope that we'll get paid a larger salary via a loan, or by being offered a new job, but other than that, there's nothing we can do right?

Well wrong, actually. The money you get from your basic salary is really only one of the things contributing to how much disposable income you have. At the same time there are your outgoings to consider - which will impact greatly on your overall 'profit' - and then there are other sources of revenue which you can potentially use to fund your lifestyle. Here we will look at all the ways you can start living more comfortably in lieu of a miraculous sudden pay rise.

Spend Less on Your Lifestyle

There will probably be many costs that you are forced to cough out for on a regular basis which apply to most of us. These include food of course, as well as bills, taxes, travel and then the range of activities that we provide for our families.

These costs may be unavoidable in most cases, but that doesn't mean that there aren't ways you can reduce them. For instance you can probably pay less for your various bills simply by switching to different providers, or by negotiating lower rates (try it for your mobile phone contract). Visit price comparison websites and reduce everything from your credit card APR to your car insurance.

Likewise, you can also reduce the costs of your everyday purchases. One way to do this might be to simply spend less on food by shopping somewhere with better prices. Then once you've found the cheapest grocers, you can reduce your costs further by choosing from the 'own range' that most stores provide. In many cases you can get food that tastes just as good for not even a third of the price. Just be willing to shop around.

If you're tech savvy and want to go even further you could consider buying online to find your things for cheaper. This might entail buying books from the 'used and new' section on Amazon, or it might mean buying from a cash back website where you'll get paid money for buying your items through a particular link (the sites work by 'sharing' the commission they make).

Find Other Sources of Income

Another option is to try and increase the amount coming in by supplementing your regular income with another source of cash. There are countless ways you can do this. One great example is to rent out a room to foreign students. Often they will only want to stay there for a few weeks or months at a time but will usually be happy to pay a good amount of rent for that period. Alternatively you could consider becoming a 'secret shopper'. Like renting out a room it isn't another 'job' per say, but it can still earn you a fair amount of money on the side.

Failing that most people have some kind of service that they can provide to friends and family whether it's carpentry, piano lessons or hair dressing. Think about what you're good at then offer your services to your friends for a fee.

The web also provides a vast range of ways to earn money which cater to any level of 'tech ability'. Here are some examples to make money online right now.

Selling Things

Of course if you need money pronto then one of the most tried and tested ways to get cash is simply to sell off your belongings. Whether you sell old DVDs and gadgets on eBay, or go to a car boot sale to sell some of your old crockery and ornaments, there are plenty of ways that most of us can get cash for our old things. And when you next upgrade your phone or computer, make sure that you look into trading your old gadgets in first to get a decent discount.

Featured images:

•  License: Creative Commons image source 
•  License: Creative Commons image source 
•  License: Creative Commons image source 
•  License: Creative Commons image source 

The author of this article, Frank Litt, is a part of the team at Bentham IMF, leading providers of third party funding. Frank loves playing golf and usually spends his weekend at the links.