Things are hard out there in the money game. It seems like every month the cost of stuff goes up, making it harder to get ahead, let alone keep your head above financial water. It can make a fella feel hopeless.
One way to counter a sense of helplessness and hopelessness is to score a quick win. It gives you a sense of agency and momentum.
Socking away an extra $1,000 in the next 30 days is a way to get this win and a goal that’s within reach for most people.
What can you do with an extra $1,000?
Well, you could start by setting up an emergency fund. We’ve talked about emergency funds before. This is money that you keep aside in a savings account and only touch when stuff hits the fan in your life, like a water heater going kaput or a car tire that needs replacing. Instead of having to resort to a credit card to pay for these things (where interest makes the cost go up even more), you use the cash in your emergency fund.
Surveys consistently find that a majority of Americans couldn’t cover a $1,000 emergency with cash on hand. If you’re in that camp, building a $1,000 emergency fund is a goal you can accomplish in a month. It will give you some peace of mind and get the ball rolling for other financial goals.
Even if you’ve already got your emergency fund squared away, an extra $1,000 can be put to productive use. You can use it to save for a down payment on a home or make an extra payment on your mortgage or pay down car and student loans or even just invest it in your retirement account — where, through the power of compound interest, it will start snowballing into serious money.
To help you knock off the achievable win of socking away an extra $1,000, we provide seven ideas to get it done. You don’t have to do all seven. Pick a few that fit your circumstances and put your shoulder to the wheel for a month until you get that one thousand extra smackeroos.
1. Audit your subscriptions. We did a deep dive on this a few months ago. Auditing your subscriptions and canceling the ones you no longer use or that don’t provide value to you is an easy way to save some scratch. A few hours this weekend going through your subscriptions can save you $100-$200 a month. You’re already 10 to 20 percent of the way to the $1k goal!
2. Call the retention department. Internet and cell providers spend a few hundred bucks to acquire each new customer, so they’d rather cut you a deal than lose you to a competitor. Before you call, look up what other providers in your area are charging. Then call your provider and ask to be transferred to the retention department; frontline customer service reps typically don’t have the authority to offer the good discounts. Tell them you’ve been a loyal customer, that your bill has crept up, and that Competitor X is offering a better deal. Then just be quiet and let them work. Haggling like this feels a little awkward, but a 30-minute call can knock $50 or more off your monthly bills.
3. Shop your insurance. Most folks set up their auto and homeowners policies once and never think about them again. Insurance companies know this and count on it. Rates on loyal customers tend to creep up year after year while the good deals go to new customers. Spend an evening getting quotes from three or four carriers, or let an independent agent do the shopping for you. Re-shopping both policies can save you $100 or more per month, and bundling them with a single carrier usually saves even more. I did this a few years ago and saved $500 a month in just a few hours (this isn’t typical — but it’s possible!).
4. Bring your lunch to work. A $10 lunch out doesn’t feel like a big deal in the moment, but over multiple workdays, it really adds up. Brown-bagging it is a classic money-saving tactic for a reason. Eat leftovers from last night’s dinner, or check out how I meal prep macro-friendly, nutrient-rich lunches for just $3 each. Depending on how much you’re currently eating out and how much you’re spending on those meals, bringing your lunch from home can save you as much as $250 a month.
5. Put your spending in a 30-day deep freeze. For one month, go spartan on the rest of your discretionary spending: no restaurant dinners, no drive-thru coffee, and no takeout. Cutting out a couple restaurant nights a week plus the daily coffee run keeps another $200-$300 in your pocket. Instead of buying new books, use the library. Instead of going to the movies, stay in and watch a movie at home. If you’ve had your eye on buying a new piece of gym equipment or a new shirt, put it off for a month and use that money for your $1,000 goal.
6. Put your skills to work on nights and weekends. So far we’ve been talking about how to make cuts to get to that $1,000 goal. But you can get there faster if you start bringing in some extra cash. One way to do that is to moonlight. You’ve probably got some skills and knowledge that you can hire out during your off hours. Freelance in your professional field, officiate youth sports games, teach guitar lessons, tutor a foreign language. Those are just a few ideas off the top of my head; I’m sure you’ve got more.
7. Sell your stuff. Another way to make some extra scratch for your $1,000 goal is to offload your unwanted possessions. Most of us have hundreds of dollars of dormant cash sitting in our garages and closets in the form of old smartphones, books, tools, sporting gear, and clothes we never wear. Have a garage sale without a garage. Spend a weekend photographing things you no longer need and listing them on Facebook Marketplace, Nextdoor, or Poshmark. You can easily net $200-$500. You get a cleaner home to boot.
