How To Make Your Money Grow

Looking for ways to make more money from the money you already have? Here are some ideas to get you started.

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(1). Get Out of Debt

There is absolutely nothing like debt hanging over your head and weighing you down.

Being overloaded with debt is a dreadful, awful feeling and situation to be in.

You may consider consolidating debt into one payment with a lower interest rate.

Another method uses the snowball effect of paying off the highest interest debt first and then tackling the next debt, or even one of the strategies below may work for you.

Once you’re out of debt, you can see your way to grow your money further.

Research ‘get out of debt tactics‘ to find additional debt reduction strategies that work best for your situation.

(2). Take on a Side Hustle.

We are in what’s now known as the ‘Gig Economy’…where specific tasks are usually contracted on a short term basis.

Working or creating your own Side Income gig or hustle can allow you to stockpile those monies to grow your income or to even pay off debt.

Popular side hustles include Airbnb, Instacart, Uber, Lyft, and dog walking services, just to name a few.

You may even have a niche idea and decide that starting and growing a blog is a side hustle you wish to pursue.

Read here how this young millenial grew her blog from $0 to over $50,000 a month.

Go here for more ideas to get your side hustle juices flowing.

(3). Stop Stashing all of Your Money in a Regular Savings Account NOW!!!

Enjoy higher interest with online savings accounts that provide a higher interest payout than traditional banks.

High yield online savings accounts are usually able to offer higher earnings than traditional brick and mortar banks because they don’t have the high overhead of a branch building with multiple employees.

The convenience factor is lowered when dealing with an online bank because you can’t just run to the bank and make a transaction.

However, not having instant access to your money can be seen as a plus when working on making your money grow.

Suppose you deposit $10,000 in your traditional bank and mortar bank. You may get about $1 in interest back by the end of the year.

Deposit that same $10,000 in an online bank and that $1 interest could be $150, depending on the current interest rate.

That’s a major difference and an easy way to make the money that you already have grow at a faster rate.

Interest fees vary, so you want to check different online banks. Also, make sure the bank is FDIC insured.

Perhaps this is a bonus strategy you can use to make your money grow while making even more money.

(4). Bank Incentive Bonus Offers.

Taking advantage of bank incentive offers is one of my favorite ways to make my money grow.

There’s the possibility of making thousands of dollars.

I’ve made close to $1,000 for each of the past years, and there’s the possibility to make thousands of dollars.

Please know that you will receive a 1099 for the monies earned, so know that you’ll need to include the earnings when you file your taxes.

Expect that you will need to set aside time to find the offers, figure out which ones you qualify for and you deem worthy of your time.

I’ve found there’s always a multitude of offers during the end of year cycle.

One of my best offers has been a $700 promotional rate to open a Citi Bank account with certain requirements.

After fulfilling the deposit requirements and time passed, the monies were promptly deposited into my account.

I then withdrew the monies, closed the account, and transferred the funds to one of my high interest savings accounts.

The bank manager was quick to tell me that they would love to have my business again and that I would be eligible for bonuses again after only 3 months.

I marked 3 months on my calendar so I would remember to start searching for any new bonuses they may offer in the future.

Another recent offer was a $300 Bonus offer sent directly to my mailbox from Chase.

The offer read “$300 Bonus — New Chase business checking customers open a Chase account, deposit a total of $1,000 in new money within 20 business days of account opening, maintain that balance for 60 days and complete 5 transactions within 60 days — debit card purchases, Chase Quick Deposit, ACH (Credits) and wires (Credits and Debits)”.

Requirements could run the gamut from a minimum deposit, direct deposits, keeping the account open a certain amount of time, living in a particular city of state, and more. Carefully read the requirements.

To find current bank promotional bonuses, Google terms such as ‘Bank Bonus Promotions’ (add the current year at the end) or ‘Banks offering cash for opening account’.

Make sure to keep a spread sheet of all your offers and their requirements if you decide to pursue bank bonuses.

I even go as far as making a screenshot of the offer page and URL.

(5). Build up Your Emergency Fund

Don’t let the lack of an Emergency Fund be the culprit to stopping your money from growing.

The inevitable is bound to happen at some point in life…be it an unexpected layoff, broken water pipes, car problems…you name it.

Guard yourself as much as possible by having an emergency fund to give you a financial cushion when the inevitable happens.

If you’re starting from $0, work towards getting your Emergency Fund to $1,000.

Here are 6 tips to saving $1,000:

• Create a Budget
• Cut Expenses (see below)
• Bring in more income
• Shop new home and auto insurance rates at Gabi.com
• Automate your savings
• Don’t grocery shop without a list

(6). Cut Your Expenses

Cut your expenses by price comparison shopping your cable bill, phone bill, and any other bill that is negotiable.

Are there any subscription based services you can do without to build up your savings? Kindle Unlimited, Amazon Prime, Netflix, Dropbox, or even magazine subscriptions?

Cutting expenses you can learn to do with out will give you room to grow your money by saving more money.

(7). Don’t Leave Money on the Table

I know you’ve probably heard the expression ‘Don’t leave money on the table’.

Just in case you haven’t heard the expression before, it means not getting the most bang for your buck.

Here’s an example. Let’s say your employer offers a 401k and matches it up to 5% of what you put in.

If you only put in 3%, you’re missing out on 2% more of free money that your employer would match. Thereby, you’re leaving ‘money on the table’.

(8). Learn tax strategies

Learning tax planning strategies can help you in paying fewer taxes as possible.

What better way to make your money grow than by holding on to some of it.

Learning tax strategies will help you go beyond claiming the obvious tax deductions. Increase your tax knowledge and increase your bottom line of money saved.

Make sure you are claiming all possible deductions and credits you’re eligible for.

Tax strategies that I’ve used in the past have included making my January mortgage payment in December, also paying my March tax payment in December, and reducing my taxable income by receiving payments in the following year.

I’ve also reduced my taxable income (equates to a lower tax bill) by keeping track of my Airbnb business supplies and expenses and filing tax on my taxes.

If you own a business, strive to keep impeccable records throughout the year. You will thank yourself for it when tax season rolls around.

(9). Declutter

I knew it was past time for me to take decluttering seriously when I purchased a dress and found I had an identical one already in my closet.

Declutter your space while bringing in some extra cash by using a service like Decluttr.com.

This App lets you grow your money by selling them your CDs, DVDs, books, Legos, old tech devices and more.

Find out the details on Declutter.com.

Need more help getting started on decluttering?

Take a look at Marie Kondo’s #1 New York Times on bestseller book on decluttering: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing (The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up)

(10). Watch your grocery bill.

I found that my grocery bill was one area that I had to get a grasp on and lower.

My grocery bill was out of control.

It pains me to throw away food that I’ve let go past its prime in my fridge. I rightfully start thinking that’s literally money I’m throwing in the trash.

And that’s money I could be growing to make even more money.

I’ve gotten better at that by making less trips to the grocery store, which means I buy less.

I’ve even found I save money by using the Costco delivery service versus going into the store at Costco. I swear I buy more when I’m walking up and down those aisles at Costco.

I also incorporate days where I refuse to go grocery shopping and find something to eat in my cupboards first. That can be a challenge when I’m craving ice cream.

I fight the urge though, and eat some yogurt that’s ALREADY in my fridge. I find my life is full of food trade-offs.

To avoid leftovers going to waste, check out the tips and recipes on the site Save The Food.

There are tips on storing food to make it last longer (saving those $$$’s), custom meal plans, shopping lists, and my favorite: amazing food recipes that you can whip up for foods ‘past it’s prime’.

Now it’s your turn. Leave a comment on how you use your existing money to make more money.