$ - Using a Credit Card

Dave Ramsey would absolutely hate this post but let me explain. DR deals with people with spending problems and not everyone has them. I have a buddy of mine who hasn't carried a balance on a credit card in more than a decade. What's his secret? He pays the balance in full before he's ever billed for it. He never spends money that he doesn't have in the bank. He simply uses the card when convenient and as soon as he get's home he sends the credit card company their money. See, alot of people have good intentions and claim that they pay their bill in full every month but a closer look at their records would prove that they have occaisionally paid a late fee or carry a balance every January from their Christmas debt until their income tax refund arrives. These are the reasons why DR is so against cards. He knows that the average person has things come up and makes mistakes. These mistakes cost you in the long run.

So how does all of this add up to extra income? If you use the method that my buddy does, then you can earn rewards while basically paying cash. Shop around for a card that has no annual fee and has a 30 day billing cycle so that you are certain to not inquire any fees from paying it off each month. If you do this correctly, you can get some free miles, gift cards, gas savings, etc. Do it incorrectly even once a year and you have lost everything you gained.  This one is clearly not for everyone.

$ - Reduce Your 401k Contribution

Now I know some of you are gonna argue with me on this one. Stating that because of compounding interest you will never catch up. While that is true if you do it for 10 years, the goal is to be out of debt as soon as possible. So if you are currently contributing 5% and can barely pay your bills. Drop the 5% for 18 months then once out of debt, reinstate the 5% and anything else you can afford on top of that. Most of us will go from 5% to 18% and quickly you will be building wealth much faster than you would have if you kept going on the way you were.

Basics - Generate Additional Income $

Look, I'm going to make this very simple. You are in debt and/or not building wealth because you are spending more than you make. There are two ways to correct this but I prefer to use both as it's significantly faster. So first of all you need to establish your monthly spending plan so that you know what you have. Next make sure that you free up all of your income that you can. Now you assign every dollar you have a task. Whatever is leftover can go towards debt. For more information see the post on establishing a monthly spending plan.

Next, generate additional income to speed up the process. Remember that your base income will cover all of your bills so all additional income can go straight to debt. Once you are out of debt then apply the same principle to wealth. This will replace the amount you deprived your 401k and then some in the long run. For more details please see my post on freeing up your income.

So just how do you generate additional income? Of course you can sell stuff on eBay, get a part time job etc. Keep an eye out for posts on here that are labeled with the dollar sign ($). I will be providing numerous other opportunities.

$ - Cash for exercise

Have a Fitbit?  Use mapmyrun?  Myfitnesspal? You could be missing out on some free cash. If you don't know what a Fitbit is, it's basically a glorified pedometer.  It's a pedometer that also tracks sleep patterns and has an online tracking system for calories in and calories out.  With the Fitbit and watching my diet plus walking 5 miles daily I lost 95 pounds in under two years.  

So how was I missing out on cash?  If you link your Fitbit account to Achievemint.com you can get a $50 gift card from points earned doing what you are already doing.  Of course depending on how much exercise you get, that will dictate when you get the card.  

Walgreen's also has a rewards card like every other retail store these days.  Add your fitbit account to walgreens and you get free money from them too.  

There are probably other sites for this too but I'm unaware of them.  Please add a comment if you know of other similar programs.