“Never spend your money before you have it.” – Thomas Jefferson, American Founding Father.
There is no doubt that it is becoming increasingly difficult to make ends meet. Costs are rising while salaries and wages are stagnating. This situation has led (and continues to lead) to circumstances where consumers end up indebted beyond their ability to repay loans and credit card bills.
Even though we know that it’s not a good idea to spend money before we have earned it (as per the quotation mentioned above by Thomas Jefferson), it is sometimes unavoidable. On the other hand, it is easy to overspend even if we know we shouldn’t. We live in a consumerist society where brand marketers do their best to convince us that we have to have the latest gadget.
Reducing expenses and increasing income
Therefore, the questions that beg are:
- If you are currently in a financial trap, how do you get out of it?
- Or, how do you prevent yourself from ending up in debt just to cover the monthly household bills?
The good news is that there are several answers to these questions. Your end goal is to both reduce expenses and increase income simultaneously. Therefore, the first step is to rework your budget to strip out all of the non-essential items. This exercise is worth doing even if you are 99% certain that your monthly budget is as lean as possible.
The next step is to look for ways to supplement your monthly income. The rise of the internet and online business opportunities make it much easier to derive an income from both your day job and a side hustle simultaneously. Therefore, here are six online opportunities to think about:
Online share trading
Trading on the global financial markets is a robust way to earn extra money. Especially, as most online share trading companies trade 24/5 so, you can work during the day and trade online in the evenings. The caveat (and caution) here is, according to the senior Olsson Capital financial analyst, is that financial market trading can be a high-risk venture.
This does not mean that you shouldn’t invest in the global capital markets. It just indicates that you should make sure that you educate yourself about the pitfalls of online share trading before you start.
Affiliate marketing
Randy Duermyer of the Balance.com notes that affiliate marketing is an excellent business to run from home as you don’t need warehouse space to store stock. You are effectively being paid to refer consumers to third-party brands and products. It is vital to note that affiliate marketing is not a “get rich quick” scheme.
As with all other business ventures, it takes time and hard work to build a viable business. However, as with online share trading, the advantage of starting an affiliate marketing business is that you can work from home in the evenings. All you need is a computer (or mobile device) and an Internet connection.
Influencer marketing
Do you have a large following on social media? Or, are you able to garner a lot of social media support? If so, you should consider being paid to promote relevant brands and products to your followers on social media. There has been a move by brand marketers from direct advertising to paying influential people to market their products for them. Not only do you need a large social media following that is relevant to the products you wish to encourage your followers to purchase, but it is also a good idea to blog about your experiences using these products.
In this way, you will spread the brand’s message across as many different channels to as many people as possible. Because, the more people that hear your influential marketing messages, the greater chance there is that they will buy the products and services that you are supporting.
Final thoughts
The salient takeaway point here is that, while it is difficult to make ends meet every month, it is not impossible. All it takes is a lot of hard work, dedication, perseverance, and the ability to keep on working at your after-hours business. You will soon find yourself in the position where you can pay off all your debt and earn enough to cover your monthly costs.
