Your monthly expenses can often make you feel like you are just scraping through, especially when you have a lot of debt to handle. Eunice Sibiya, Head of Consumer Education at FNB sheds light on how to supplement your income to get on top of debt or pay normal monthly expenses.
Sibiya suggests you start by drawing up a budget, listing all the money coming in and going out of your household, and it shows that your expenses tend to add up to more than your income at the end of the month, then it is time to think about how to supplement your income.
Thinking of ways to make a bit more money may appear daunting, especially if you already have a full time job and possibly a family to look after. However, finding smart and efficient ways of bringing in a bit of cash will, in the long term, make your life less stressful.
The first thing she advises you to do is to sit down with your family should you have one explain what you will be doing and why you need the extra money each month. They will need to understand the “why” and “how” as it will require their support. Secondly she advises you find smart ways in which you can bring in a bit of money without putting too much stress on yourself.
OFFER YOUR TIME
A fairly easy way to earn extra cash is by offering your time to provide a service such as babysitting, dog walking, bookkeeping or go to your local store to see whether they require assistance over the weekends.
Sibiya says these types of jobs don’t require particular skills; however they will require time and might interfere with family time which is why you may require additional support from friends and family to help you when you are away from your home.
SELL UNWANTED GOODS
Another way of making some extra money, once off, is to sell unused or unwanted items in your household. There will always be people who want or need something that may be now of no use to you and there are many ways to get rid of these items like online websites or even yard sales.”
USE YOUR SKILLS TO MAKE OR CREATE ITEMS TO SELL
Sibiya encourages you to think of skills you may have that could help you to make money. Are you good at knitting, baking or are you particularly creative.
Making something to sell is another way to supplement your income. This could also be a way supplement your income.
Do consider a few things when thinking of selling such as the margins and marketing. When you have decided on making something to sell, you need to be very careful about what you spend on the items to make sure that you’ll make a profit from selling the items for it to be worthwhile.
You can sell your products in many different environments, to parents at your children’s school, in the taxi on the way to work as well as to colleagues at work.
Consistency is the key. After people know that they can expect a particular item from you, they will tell friends and become repeat customers. This is where you need to make sure that you continue to produce enough items at a good quality.
As soon as you have established a source of additional income, don’t be tempted to spend this on unnecessary items. Rather set a goal for yourself, and stick to it. Try paying off one of your debts, or pay a monthly expense such as the electricity so that the additional income makes a real difference to your household finances. Sibiya reckons this would be the beginning of your journey to financial freedom.
