When I started this blog a few years ago, I was DROWNING with more than $10,000 in credit card debt!
In fact, it got so bad that there were times I had to roll pennies just to buy groceries!
I had read practically every personal finance book out there, but the idea that cutting out Starbucks from my budget was going to magically make me a millionaire seemed ridiculous.
So instead of cutting lattes, I had to get creative with my budget and that meant not only finding ways to save, but finding a few ways to boost my income.
Here are the 17 things I did to pay off my $10,000 in credit card debt…
1. I Negotiated My Bills to Save $500+/Year
We all know you can negotiate the price of a car, but did you know that you can negotiate your cell phone bill and cable bill?
I recently did this with my AT&T bill. I already had the cheapest advertised plan, but I called AT&T and asked if they could do anything to help me reduce the bill. They ended up knocking off $20/month off, saving me $360/year!
I also did the same thing with my cable bill and racked up another $200/year in savings.
Here are some tips on how to negotiate these bills.
2. I Watched Cooking Shows to Make $50+/Year
I might be a tiny bit addicted to cooking shows, which is ironic since the take-out local Chinese restaurant knows me by name. I don’t actually use any of the cooking tricks I see on TV, but there’s something relaxing about watching someone else do the cooking, even if it includes Gordon Ramsay yelling in the background.
That’s why I was pretty excited to find this hack: Swagbucks will pay you simply to watch cooking shows through their video channel.
Ummm… Get PAID to watch cooking shows? I can’t think of a better way to spend a lazy day!
Once you’ve earned your SBs, take them to the Swagbucks Rewards Store to exchange your points for Paypal or for gift cards. Swagbucks offers gift cards for Amazon, Target and Visa as well as Nintendo, Shutterfly, Old Navy and more.
3. I Learned How to Get (Almost) Free Groceries
I used to think couponing was not worth the time, but the internet has made things SO much easier. The first thing I do is use a coupon match up site like SouthernSavers.com.
They keep track of every deal available and show you what coupons to print, clip and stack to get the cheapest groceries. It takes me about 15 minutes to make my grocery list.
And the last thing I do is to always make sure I have a steady supply of coupons coming in.
We actually get 5 Sunday newspapers for this reason and I joined the mailing list for a bunch of major brands so that I’d have a never-ending supply of coupons. Here are a few good ones…
Collect points to earn rewards when you purchase KFR-participating products. In addition to coupons they’ll email you special offers, free points, bonus offers, and recipes.
Get coupons for up to $250 per year in savings, access to free samples, and tasty Pillsbury recipes.
Get Coupons.com’s free printable coupons delivered via email so you don’t miss any.
The folks over at Tablespoon are giving away 186 coupons for things like batteries, deodorant, laundry detergent and more.
Fill out their short form here (takes 10 seconds) and then select “coupon & sales“. Then click the button marked “clip all” to get the coupons.
4. I Created Extra Income That Didn’t Add to My Work Day
For a lot of our readers it’s not really possible to add another job to the schedule. You’re already working 2 or 3 jobs and still aren’t making ends meet.
It’s a pretty common problem, which is why I always suggest that you look for ways to boost income passively. Income that doesn’t require you to work a ton of additional hours.
Obviously most types of passive income require you to have a huge investment, but there are also little things you can do to make money.
One of my favorites is the Media Research Panel smartphone app. If you install their app on your smartphone or tablet, they will pay you $5/month per device. And you can install the app on up to 3 devices. Plus they’ll send you a $5 bonus after the 12th week.
Their app helps media companies better under how consumers are using their device by measuring activities conducted on a device, such as sharing, viewing, clicking, chatting, and downloading.
This is one of those things that takes about 15 minutes to set up and then you never have to think about it again. You just get to cash the check every month. All told this can add up to an extra $185/year.
5. I Changed Search Engines
If you spend a lot of time searching online, you might want to think about leaving Google/Yahoo and make Bing your default search engine.
Why? Bing wants to pay you for your searches!
You can earn credits through Bing every time you make a search — credits you can cash in for gift cards to a variety of stores like Amazon, Toys ‘r Us, and Starbucks. I usually only make an extra $5-$10/month, but it all adds up, right?
6. I Went Out to Dinner, But Paid Half the Bill
We all know that Groupon is a great way to save on going out to eat. They have 100’s of restaurant gift certificates that you can purchase for 50-80% off. But, if you’re JUST using Groupon… you’re losing out on some easy cash.
Get this – the folks over at SendEarnings.com will give you a $5 cash rebate on every Groupon you buy through their site (as long as the Groupon is $20 or more). Send Earnings is free to join and it only takes about 15 seconds to sign up.
Think about this for a second. If you buy a $40 gift card on Groupon for $20, plus you get $5 cash-back from SendEarnings, you and your significant other can go out to eat for only $15. That’s crazy!
7. I Told My Bank to Take a Hike
I hate to be the one to break it you, but chances are your bank is ripping you off. The top 10 banks in the US charge an average of $7.50/month for an account. That’s insane!
You should try switching to an online bank. They have lower overhead costs and are able to pass those savings along to consumers. There are a bunch of great online banks, but my favorite is definitely Chase because they’re currently offering Penny Hoarder readers $250 just to open an account.
Yearly Savings: Eliminate the fees and save $90/year.
8. I Rented Out My Apartment & Pocketed $125
Alright, this might not work for everybody, but have you thought about renting out your house or apartment for one night? I’ve used Airbnb to both rent out my apartment and stay in many others while traveling, and it’s a fantastic way to put your home to work for you.
Whether you’re renting out a single room or your entire home, make the most of your Airbnb rental by following these tips.
9. I Hosted an Online Garage Sale
We all have way too much junk just sitting around, so this month’s project is to sell some of your old stuff online. Here are some of my favorite websites for doing just that:
– Bookscouter – Use this site to sell your old books
– Ebay: Everything else goes on Ebay.
– Tradesy: Use this site to sell your old clothes
I was able to sell more than $500 in stuff that was just sitting in my garage and closets.
10. I Weighed In on Presidential Politics
What do you think of Donald Trump? Are you going to vote in the 2016 Election?
I’m kind of a political nerd, so one way I’ve made extra money is by registering for the major polling companies (Springboard Panel & Ipsos Panel are the two largest). However, you’ve got to be a registered voter in order to participate. I did this during the 2012 election and I was able to pocket around $100, so I’m looking forward to it again.
A word of caution though: these can be also be frustrating at times because not everyone qualifies. They’re looking for a certain number of people in each demographic, so it’s hit and miss whether you’ll be asked to complete a poll.
11. I Let SlideJoy Put an Ad on My Smartphone
You pick up your cell phone dozens of times a day, whether to check the weather report, answer emails or text a friend.
What if you could make money just by picking up your phone to do all those ordinary things?
Instead of a picture of your dog or some flowers on your lock screen, Slidejoy presents ads for various products and services. Like what you see? Swipe left on the ad to go straight to the advertiser’s website, YouTube video or app download page. If the ad doesn’t resonate with you, or if you’re in a hurry, simply slide right to go to your phone as normal. Or, if you just want to check your notifications, just slide down to display them.
Either way, you get paid just for looking at the ads on your lock screen. In fact, you can earn up to $60 year just by using your phone normally!
12. I Found Free Entertainment
Did you know you can check out more than books and DVDs at your public library?
Literacy isn’t the only thing on a public library’s agenda. Libraries aim to improve access information and provide education for everyone in their community. And book learnin’ on how to become a carpenter or play the guitar can only take you so far. To truly master these crafts, you need tools and instruments. That’s where public libraries can help.
To offer their patrons of all income levels more opportunities to learn and get involved in their communities, check out a few weird and unusual things you may be able to borrow from your public library.
13. I Signed Up for New Bank Accounts
There are a ton of bank promotions out there and they can be a good way to make a little extra money.
For example, right now Chase is offering $150 when you open a new bank account and make a direct deposit within the first 60 days. Check out this post for more details.
14. I Answered TV Trivia
Got a long list of favorite TV shows? Sign up for RewardTV and earn a few dollars by answering trivia questions about the shows you watched last night.
Most of the trivia has to do with shows that have recently aired, so if you’re binging on a three-year-old show on Netflix, you probably can’t compete. But if you love your TV, you can redeem your trivia points for gift certificates to your favorite stores.
14. I Signed Up for Free Gift Card Promotions
Believe it or not, there are sites that will give you free gift cards just for signing up with them.
One of my favorites is Ebates, the cash-back shopping site. They’re giving away $10 gift cards if you sign-up as a new member and earn your first cashback rebate. You can choose either a $10 Target, Walmart, Macy’s, or Kohl’s gift card.
You do have to wait 30 days. But, it’s free money so can you really complain?
Believe it or not, there are sites that will give you free gift cards just for signing up with them.
One of my favorites is Ebates, the cash-back shopping site. They’re giving away $10 gift cards if you sign-up as a new member and earn your first cashback rebate. You can choose either a $10 Target, Walmart, Macy’s, or Kohl’s gift card.
You do have to wait 30 days. But, it’s free money so can you really complain?
15. I Evaluated My Local Stores with Mobee: $10
Have you ever tried mystery shopping? The Mobee app will pay you to go undercover in your local stores and rate the level of customer service and cleanliness, among other things.
Most of you know that I’ve done quite a bit of mystery shopping, so I was pretty excited to find this app. I found it really easy to use and the shops went pretty quickly, but I wasn’t too impressed with the payment amounts. For example, there was a Subway mystery shop in my area that was paying $8. That’s not a huge amount for a mystery shop, plus I had to buy a sandwich during the shop that wasn’t reimbursed.
Regardless, it was like getting a free lunch, so I’ll take it!
Your Turn: Have you done anything creative you pay off credit card debt?
Good luck Penny Hoarders!
The post 17 CREATIVE Things I Did To Pay Off $10,000 in Credit Card Debt appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
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