I’ve learned quite a few lessons about money and how poorly I manage it. It’s unfortunate that in order to learn these lessons, mistakes have to be made.
What I’ve learned in the past two months is that when I get my student loan money, I must immediately sent it to my rental agency for rent. I can not have it sitting in my account because it will get spent. I have also learned that I eat out way too often and that needs to stop. I need to menu plan better and I need to bring in more money.
Where do these mistakes leave me?
I’m currently stressing out over how to pay my bills, household expenses and rent for December.
I will be getting some money within the next few weeks but none of it is guaranteed at a certain time, so I’m not certain if it will be here on time. I have two freelance jobs but neither will pay out until after November is over and neither will pay the rent solely.
You know that I’m suing my landlord and I hope he’ll be wanting to avoid court and send me what he owes me. If that were to happen then rent would be covered. But I can’t count on it.
I need to increase my cash flow!
A few ways that I can increase my cash flow immediately are to donate plasma (if my traditionally low iron is high enough), sell a kidney some silver pieces that I have, find more freelance work and make some money from this blog.
I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to make this work out, so I welcome all suggestions. (Skip the get a job part, I’m freelancing, a graduate student and as soon as I can spare the $75 for fingerprinting, I’ll be a substitute teacher. This post is about this month only!)
You can help too.
One way to make money on this blog is through advertising. I’m only using Google AdSense at the moment so income is rather slow (who clicks on those links anyways?) BUT I would love to have some other forms of advertising here! If you are a blog or business and would like to advertise on this site, please get in touch with me (debtprincess at gmail dot com).
Do you or anyone you know need some freelance writing completed? I’m here for the hiring.
How about some Totally Inappropriate Greeting Cards? A good friend of mine has designed these cards and I do the marketing and shipping of them for a portion of the sales. You buy the cards, I ship and I earn! They are completely hilarious too!
Another way I can bring in some income is from encouraging you to buy this e-book That Makes Me Sick written by Larry Winget. It costs just $5 and personally, it made so much sense that it literally changed my way of thinking. AND that $5 comes right back to me! 
(Just think, if 100 people did that, I’d have more than half of my rent covered!)
I’m going to have faith that something will fall into place. I have a lot of stress just sitting in the background waiting to spring forward and I really hope I can squash it before December 1st.
I’ll keep you posted on my progress. And please, if you have any ideas, I’d welcome them!
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I also blog at A Five Star Life. I write about anything that comes to mind but try to focus on finding the good in daily life.
I know that it feels like you have the world sitting on your shoulders and pushing you down. Oh yes – I have been there and deal with it. Still crawling to the top – but something that my husband was told a couple weeks ago made us think. Don’t dwell on all the hard ships that you are trying to cope with, think about the good in your life. such as your health or that you even have this blog to help with some expenses. I have been trying this & after 2 wks – today I finally had a light bulb moment & more energy than I have had in months or even a year. Blessings and remember the good things and be thankful – it helps to focus on getting even better.
Edna(Quote)
Thank you for your positive comment Edna. I really appreciate it. I have been trying to focus on what I can do each day to keep moving forward while the stress of covering my bills stays in the background. It’s the only way I can get through som days.
Jessica The DebtPrincess(Quote)
You know that I love you to pieces. But you need to get a job. Yes, you’re a grad student and a mom. You aren’t the only person managing those 2 things. Go get a job Jess. Freelance isn’t guaranteed. Go work in a restaurant, a store, anywhere. Somewhere that you’ll have a paycheck coming in every week or 2. Do eet.
xoxo
heathlee(Quote)
I have applications in to some places and I’m looking around for others as well. I also talked to some people about babysitting. Right now freelancing is a guarantee as I have two contracts signed with people/companies that I’m working for, the money is ongoing for one and the other will end in December but it will be a nice chunk of change when it does come in. Once that happens I’ll be able to substitute regularly.
Jessica The DebtPrincess(Quote)
Jess – seriously can you afford to be choosy for the moment? I don’t want to be mean, but stop making excuses and get a darn job. I know you can do this. Do it for the boys. Do it for yourself. Make yourself proud of you… xo
heathlee(Quote)
I have to agree with heathlee. A job is guaranteed pay. Even if it’s part-part-time. You say it’s just this month, but based on this blog you’ve not really been ahead of the game for quite a while.
I know it feels harsh. It’s the same stuff I heard when taking Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University, but sometimes it’s necessary to be told something we don’t like in order to force us to change.
I also say you should really never be eating out. Period. If you can get to a fast food place, you likely can get to a grocery store. It will save you tons.
famousamy(Quote)
oh I agree with you, I shouldn’t eat out. I’m so glad that I heard about the No Restaurants in November Challenge because it really opened my eyes up to how much it was costing me to eat out. It’s almost always due to being lazy. I’m down with ending that and I’m pretty sure I will.
Jessica The DebtPrincess(Quote)
Hmm…Well a lot of ideas that I’m thinking of all involve a waiting period. Whether it’s waiting to get hired, or waiting for the 30 day deposit.
The most instantaneous thing I know of is; selling things on eBay or Craigslist. Also you can find some easy work on Craigslist, even some private tutoring or just a small freelance job.
For future plans, maybe think about getting a part-time seasonal job by taking advantage of the holiday hiring boom. I know you said don’t suggest a job, but it will only be a 8-10 week thing.
That way you get some extra cash for a cushion (plus places like Toys R Us offer discounts for kids xmas presents)
Carrie – Careful Cents recently posted..A Very Spicy Thanksgiving Giveaway
Carrie – Careful Cents(Quote)
Yep, I’ve already started putting in applications in the area. I don’t live too far from a mall area so hoping to pick something up for a few hours a week. I have to work every weekend that I don’t have the kids though in my other job (product demonstrator).
Jessica The DebtPrincess(Quote)