We're exploring ways to increase your monthly earnings. See several practical ways to do so here.
Many Canadians may not be prepared for financial emergencies, a recent survey from Financial finds revealed. Close to 50% of respondents from Canada said they had no savings for a major emergency. 53% said they were relying on their next paycheck. This is a sad reality. But there are a couple of ways to try to change it.
Healthier spending habits and focus on reducing monthly expenses can help. Here are a couple of examples.
- You could go for a less expensive car with smaller monthly payments.
- You might also start paying more attention to your monthly grocery bill and cut what's not essential. - Reducing your electricity bill is another way to keep some more dollars in your pocket.
Downsizing is a better option than incurring more debt. You may start with lowering your expenses.
But cutting expenses is not fun. It's about discipline and good judgement. Earning more income is another practical path.
If you reduced your expenses, but still have trouble meeting your financial goals, you might need to earn more. Asking your boss to give you a raise can work, but it is not guaranteed. Here are several practical ways to increase your earnings.
Unfortunately, more earnings may come with more sacrifices. Working more results in less time with family and friends as you spend more time on earning opportunities.
Immediate Revenue Boosters
1. Get a second job
Getting a second job can be an effective way to increase your income. It may be a part-time or remote job.
Check job listings on sites like eluta.ca or indeed.ca. Search by keywords, jobs, and locations. If you want a remote job, search by keywords and job titles only.
2. Freelance
You can become a freelancer. There are a lot of sites for freelancers. Such sites list a lot of various skills, from remote assistants to voiceover artists and copywriters. Build a profile and find job opportunities for your skills. We can recommend Upwork and Fivver as reliable sites to start building your freelance career.
3. Drive around
Uber and Lyft (where available) help get your more income. These ride hailing services connect passengers with drivers via specialized mobile apps. Drivers get between 60-70% of the final bill, with the app keeping the rest for themselves.
Here is how to become an Uber driver in:
4. Join a direct sales company
Working for direct sales company like Avon is another way to bring in a second income and gain entrepreneurial skills. But keep in mind that joining such companies requires upfront fees and purchase of inventory.
5. Rent your place
If your place is spacious, you may want to rent it or its parts on Airbnb, for example. Renting to strangers comes with its own caveats like cleaning or dealing with annoyed neighbours.
6. Earn money online
You can see several fresh ways to make money online here.
Answering online surveys is a small boost as each answer may results in only a couple of dollars. With the length of these surveys, your effective hourly rate may be under $6-7. It's still worth trying.
Stock photography is another field to earn if you have a good eye for everything design. Here you need to front-load a lot: your first 500-600 photos uploaded to such platforms may only bring a couple dollars per month. With more photos and illustrations added, you will start seeing better outcomes.
Long-term Revenue Boosters
7. Start a website and keep investing in it
If you have a hobby or a field of interest, start a website and contribute to it. Blogger remains the best free platform where you can start.
Don't only publish new updates on your new site. Educate yourself about how to earn from ads and sponsorships.
8. Improve your skills
Comparing to the reality from 30-40 years ago, we are so lucky that we have access to free and paid online education. If you check the free and paid courses on sites like Coursera, you can see how much avaialble education and training is out there.
No matter in which age bracket you are, investing in new skills is a good investment. If you want to try #6 and #7 from our list, you might need to learn the basics about the web design. See how much is available for free on Coursera.
Unlocking your earning potential is doable. The first step will hurt, but it all gets better once you get into it.